Behind The Wall: Flaws With Claws

So Germany are through to the semi-finals and one match away from fulfilling this observer’s prediction that Joachim Loew’s men would reach the European Championship final in Vienna.

Thursday night’s 3-2 victory over Portugal was achieved in spite of the many flaws that afflict this German squad. The central defensive partnership of Per Mertesacker and Christoph Metzelder harks back to a time when Marko Rehmer and Christian Woerns were regularly embarrassed by speedy attackers.

Lukas Podolski, once again played out of position on the left side of midfield, attacks wonderfully but is woefully out of touch with the defensive duties of his new role. His inability to predict an obvious Deco pass led to the exposure of both Mertesacker and Metzelder for Portugal’s first goal.

Arne Friedrich offers little on the right, but at least proved more solid than Werder Bremen’s Clemens Fritz. How Loew can pick two players from the notoriously suspect Bremen rearguard remains a mystery.

All that said, Germany’s redoubtable team spirit and self-belief saw them through. Miroslav Klose finally got off the mark. One wonders if the sidelining of the lumbering Mario Gomez contributed to the Bayern striker’s renaissance. Podolski was clever in possession and provided a sure outlet when the pressurised German rearguard required respite. His technique is as sharp as ever as evinced by a wonderfully executed drive mid-way through the second half. There will be no way back for Gomez now.

Bastian Schweinsteiger was his typical industrious, optimistic self, always willing to attack and take on defenders who are much happier when faced by static forwards. And Michael Ballack finally put in a performance befitting his status as Germany’s leader. Philipp Lahm was once again excellent, and Simon Rolfes acquited himself well.

These performances, allied to the ineptitude of Portugal’s defence at set plays, earned Germany an impressive win. Croatia will be favourites to set up a rematch of last week’s Group B clash in the semi-finals, but it’s hard to beat the Germans once in a major tournament, let alone twice. However, they must first preoccupy themselves with dangerous, gutsy Turkey - a team that would love a shot at the Germans.

Portugal, for all their flair, were found out, Ronaldo revealed as the Pyhrric hero that he is. He’s no Figo yet. For the Germans, it’s on to the last four. In spite of themselves, their fragile defence, and limited technique, they earn a semi-final berth for the third time in four major tournaments. And this in a period widely considered to be a barren one for German football. It’ll take a good team to stop them. It nearly always does.

Brian A. O’Driscoll

Euro 2008 Diary: Days 9 & 10

Malingering musings:

1. Austria’s forwards left the rest of their squad down. While the defenders and midfielders acquitted themselves well, the Austrian attack could have a case for false advertising brought against it by the football fans of Europe. Still, the co-hosts were far from disgraced and gave their all in Group B.

2. Germany continue to limp on. Never in any real danger against their neighbours, Joachim Loew’s men are underdogs for Thursday’s quarter-final with Portugal. The German full-backs are vulnerable, perfect fodder for Simao and Cristiano Ronaldo. So you would think…

3. Michael Ballack’s excellent free-kick doesn’t mask his anaemic performances in this tournament. Germany remain bereft of leadership. Philipp Lahm has been their outstanding player - but he’s not the greatest defender…

4. Poland flop again. Leo Beenhakker can’t be blamed. He got the most out of a severely limited squad. It’s the lack of talent combined with an obvious inferiority complex that haunts this Polish generation. Without the superb Artur Boruc, it would have been a debacle.

5. Croatia power on and look serious contenders for the title. Their match with Turkey is going to be explosive.

6. Italy deserve qualification from Group B and remain my tip for ultimate glory in Vienna. They’ve done the hard part. Now, watch them psych out the Spanish.

7. France are a shambles. Domenech will get the bullet and a clear out of the great generation that helped bring World and European titles to the country is inevitable. Thierry Henry should not be spared. His pathetic attempt at getting out of the way of Daniele De Rossi’s free-kick sums up the sunshine boy attitude of the primadonna that he has undoubtedly become. Karim Benzema was mature beyond his years and showed Henry up for the preening mercenary that he now is.

8. Romania were finally undone by their own lack of ambition. Losing to the Dutch reserves was a poor way to go after doing so much of the donkey work and in such impressive fashion against France and Italy. Looks like Adrian Mutu’s penalty miss was decisive after all.

9. Holland, like Croatia, roll on. They’ve both got momentum. Like the Croats, they’ve also got a relatively handy quarter-final. Russia or Sweden should not be the obstacle that they fail to negotiate.

10. Portugal and Spain must now prove their credentials against Europe’s tournament masters, Germany and Italy. Whoever wins those games must be taken seriously. I’m still backing the tried and trusted against opposition that must start favourites in each game.

Games of the Tournament

Despite the excitement in Switzerland and Austria, I don’t yet feel that this tournament has quite hit the heights of the 2000 event in Belgium and the Netherlands.

That said, it’s a far better tournament than any of those played in 1980, 1988, 1992, and 1996. It has also surpassed the last event in Portugal.

The standard however has been set by the European Championships of 1976, 1984, and 2000. The 1976 finals in Yugoslavia were contested by four sides, so it’s perhaps unfair to use that miniature competition as a yardstick. However, all four games were classics.

Euro ‘84 in France was fantastic, with at least six games worthy of classic status. Both semi-finals, France’s games with Belgium and Yugoslavia, Spain’s defeat of West Germany, and Denmark’s classic comeback against Belgium all merit that accolade. Six classic games in a tournament of 15 matches.

Euro 2000 had the brilliant France-Italy final, two excellent and dramatic semi-finals, the France-Spain quarter-final, Spain’s amazing 4-3 win over Yugoslavia, the 3-3 draw between Yugoslavia and Slovenia, and England’s thrilling defeats by Portugal and Romania. I make that eight classic games in a tournament of 31 matches. Spot the trend, yet? The more matches we have, the more diluted the football.

Last time out in Portugal, the hosts’ matches with Holland, England, and Spain were all sparkling occasions. England’s collapse against the French was also a highlight (only in the manner of Zidane’s performance, of course), and the Holland-Czech Republic group game was the coruscating delight. The Germany-Holland clash was memorable too. I make that six outstanding games.

This time around, the group stages have already given us Holland-Italy, Holland, France, Romania-Italy, Switzerland-Turkey, Turkey-Czech Republic, Croatia-Germany, Portugal-Czech Republic, and Germany-Poland. At least four of those games merit classic status, and you could certainly argue that the others were hugely entertaining group stage matches.

Given that the group stages have yet to complete, and that the knockout matches typically provide at least two bona-fide classics, this has been a better tournament than that four years ago and looks set to challenge 84 and 2000 for the right to be regarded as one of the best ever.

Euro 2008 Diary: Days 6, 7, & 8

Random thoughts from the weekend’s dramatics:

1. Holland were magnificent against France, showcasing their brand of exhilirating  counter-attacking football against the World Cup finalists for the second time in four days. They take defensive chances at times, but they’ve got a goalkeeper bang in form - something every European champion team needs.

2. Arjen Robben’s sabre-like goal dispelled any notions that some of us had about Holland’s stomach for a fight. It was magnificent - the best of the tournament to date (well, along with about four other Dutch goals) - because it came when most needed. The question now is, what would happen the Dutch if they went behind?

3. Clarence Seedorf hasn’t been missed on or off the pitch. This Dutch squad looks the most harmonious in years. Seedorf was present at each tournament since 1996…

4. Marco van Basten looks to have complete control over his squad. His reputation and status have never looked better. His decision to introduce Robben at half-time shows that he realises where his squad’s strengths - and limitations - lie.

5. Raymond Domenech is a dead man walking. His decision to drop Karim Benzema was rash and unfair. Thierry Henry did get a goal, but he’s the past - and comes with too much egotistical baggage. Just as Lilian Thuram, a formerly wonderful player, and Claude Makelele, as snidely nasty as ever, are and do.

6. Romania were superb against the Italians and look a good bet to qualify from the group now. That game was one of the best of what is turning into an unpredictable and hugely absorbing competition. Better than 2004? Probably. Up there with 2000? Not just yet.

7. Bogdan Lobont has been in the kind of form that made him one of Europe’s most promising goalkeepers at Ajax. His bravery and agility earned his side a well-deserved point on Friday. Gianluigi Buffon made a wondrous save from Adrian Mutu’s penalty to preserve the Italians’ chances. Italy will be hard done by if they beat France and still go out.

8. Alessandro Del Piero - not quite the great player some will have you believe. This tournament has copper-fastened his status as nothing more than a cult hero who failed to hit the true heights when it really mattered. His epitaph will surely be Rotterdam in 2000.

9. Spain just about passed their Swedish test on Saturday, but still look a triumph of style over substance. Greece’s elimination proves 2004 to be the fluke some of us always thought it was. No shame in that, for Rehhagel’s achievement is still the greatest of any coach in the modern era.

10. Turkey are the undoubtedly greatest fighters in the tournament - and they are technically adept to boot. Arda and Nihat have been superb, and Servet continues to play in a fashion not seen since Bulgaria’s heyday in the 1994 World Cup. They’ll give Croatia one hell of a game.

Behind The Wall: Grim Reality Breaks Through the Cracks

Reality bites. For the first time in over two years, the fundamental flaws in the German nationalmannaschaft have been brutally exposed. For all the hype about Germany’s attacking style and Jürgen Klinsmann’s revolution (a euphemism for the importation of American psychobabble in place of tactical and technical substance), this morning finds the harsh light of reality breaking through the cracks and shining brightly on the naked deficiencies of Joachim Löw and his squad.

This observer has long scoffed at notions perpetrated by those easily taken in by the charisma and personality of the new Bayern Munich coach that Germany had somehow found a new glittering generation and style of play that would return the nationalmannschaft to the top table of world football.

Klinsmann gambled that as his defence was so poor the only option was to exploit the youthful endeavour of his inexperienced players and ruthlessly attack the opposition. That worked well enough against Costa Rica, Ecuador, and Sweden in the World Cup. It worked less well against Poland, and didn’t really work at all against Argentina or Italy - the only genuinely good sides the Germans met in the 2006 tournament.

Löw, credited as the brains behind Klinsmann’s vacuous but charismatic project, has obviously continued in the same tactical vein - except that he now believes his own publicity.

As Bundestrainer, the Swabian has a profile to maintain. He loves his wraparound scarves and Grecian 2000 dyes. Perhaps he thinks a little of King Otto’s Hellenic magic will rub off? On Thursday, he lost the run of himself.

Marcell Jansen was played at left back instead of Philipp Lahm - the real deal in that position at least in an attacking sense. Torsten Frings and Michael Ballack were given the run around by Croatia’s technical midfield. Frings, a fine dogger in the middle of the park, had his limitations exposed. It’s why he failed to truly make the grade at Bayern Munich. He’s an honest grafter, but he’s no Paul Breitner or Lothar Matthäus - and these players are the ones by which all German midfielders need to be measured.

Ballack, the team’s leader, was anonymous. He appeared only to harry and heckle the referee, something Matthäüs made into an art form. However, the 1990 World Cup-winning captain also contributed on the field of play. The Chelsea man failed spectacularly to provide leadership by expample. It’s hard to see how he can expect to feature in 2010 World Cup plans on this evidence. At 31, it looks like his time is up.

The fragile central defensive partnership of Christoph Metzelder - who barely kicked a ball for Real Madrid last season - and the lumbering Per Mertesacker (a member of Werder Bremen’s back line - enough said, surely) just doesn’t work. How Löw things another Bremen player Clemens Fritz is an international defender remains a mystery to this observer.

Up front, Miroslav Klose is woefully out of form and needs to be rested. He barely registered for Bayern last season - quite a task given their supreme domestic dominance - and Mario Gomez looks as limited at international level as he did in Stuttgart’s embarrassing Champions League campaign. Gomez is a trier, but he has not found his feet at this level yet.

Lukas Podolski is wasted on the left of midfield - the position Bastian Schweinsteiger should surely have started in. Then again, just as the appallingly coiffured midfielder was playing himself back into the starting line-up, he lost his head and was sent off.

Germany face Austria and need only a point from Monday’s meeting in Vienna to progress to a quarter-final with Portugal. Unless Löw gets his tactics - and selection - right, the palpable limitations of this generation of German players will once again face lamentable exposure on the big stage. Austria won’t be good enough to do it, but Portugal certainly have the capacity. Time for some substance over style.

Brian A. O’Driscoll, Berlin.

Euro 2008 Diary: Days 4 & 5

Random thoughts on the last two days of action:

1. As expected, Spain looke great in attack. They also look highly suspect in defence - and in their own heads. Witness the panic that broke out when they led 3-1.

2. Cesc Fabregas’s goal was disgracefully offside. Poor old Akinfeev in the Russian goal deserved better after making a superb save. The officiating at this tournament has been sub-par far too many times.

3. Russia are true to form: technically excellent but not too bothered about losing. Coach Guss Hiddink needs to get them out of this group to maintain his reputation.

4. Sweden just about deserved to beat Greece in a truly awful game on Tuesday night, but one fine goal doesn’t make Zlatan Ibrahimovic a player. Henrik Larsson is the true standard-bearer of Swedish football.

5. Otto Rehhagel should have quit after the Euro 2004 final. Hubris to stay on, Otto. Why spoil the greatest coaching achievement of the modern era?

6. Portugal for all their faults look the best team in the tournament to date. Cristiano Ronaldo is producing the goods. It’s churlish to be critical at the moment - but equally silly to hail him the greatest player on the planet.

7. The Czechs look set to repeat the pattern of the last World Cup: win the first game, come a cropper in the second, and crash out in the third.

8. Switzerland-Turkey was one of the most entertaining matches of the tournament - and not for the technical quality. We need more “wasserfests” a la Frankfurt in 1974.

9. Hakan Yakin missed three glorious chances in two games. That’s why the Swiss are out.

10. Servet Cetin, the Turkish full back, is a proper player. And well ugly to boot. A man’s man.

Euro 2008 Group A: Penalties to Decide Group Stalemate

UEFA have confirmed that penalties will be used to decide the second qualifier from Group A if the Czech Republic and Turkey draw their final group match on Sunday.

The sides have identical records after two games, both having three points, scored two goals and conceded three. This will be the first time that penalties will be used to decide the qualifiers from a group.

In the past, coin tosses and lots have been the preferred method of tiebreaking. At least an element of skill is required to determine the winner this time.

Of course, penalties aren’t always a viable solution in tied groups. It just so happens that the tied sides in this group are playing each other in the final group game. If they were tied after playing different final group match opponents, penalties would be less appropriate as the teams would have to meet specifically for the purpose of a shoot out.

Euro 2008: Predictions Update

Not a bad start for the Soccer Scribe. Okay, it’s looking difficult for both Italy and Romania to progress from Group C, but a draw in their meeting on Friday will keep both in contention. I’d fancy the Romanians to beat the Dutch - they already did in qualifying - if they have two points by Friday night.

As for the Italians, they will need to beat France inside 90 minutes, something they haven’t done in major competition since the 1978 World Cup. They’re capable of it. That said, it does look like only one of my tips will progress at this stage.

The Swiss fell unluckily last night. Fortune didn’t favour them, but they weren’t up to it in the end. At least they had a go. My other Group A tip, Portugal, are flying, though doubts remain about their potential to win the tournament.

In Group B, Germany and Croatia are well placed to qualify as expected. However, Poland will have a say yet, especially if the Germans beat the Croats and the Poles get something from Thursday’s match in Vienna.

Finally to Group D where champions Greece got off to a disastrous start. The Swedes should give Spain a game, but it looks as if the Iberians will be my only tip to progress here.

As of Thursday afternoon, I’m looking at about 5 tips progressing with a margin of error of plus or minus three. All still to play for and I see no reason to revise my prediction that the Germans will meet the Italians in the final. Not yet, anyway.

Euro 2008: Group D Preview & Predictions

Group D features champions Greece, quadrennial fancied tip Spain, the ageing Sweden, and dark horses from the east, Russia.

With matches in Innsbruck and Salzburg, Group D is perhaps the most unfashionable of the four pools. With Germany, France, Italy, and Marilyn Monroe, I mean Cristiano Ronaldo, elsewhere, most eyes will be on everybody’s favourite busted flush, Spain.

You’ve got to go back to 1984 for the last time Spain made a serious impression on a major tournament. Go back another 20 years and you find their only European triumph.

This time it will be different, so they say. Yet, for all the talent, Spain have many question marks. First and foremost is temperament. Spanish players just aren’t used to cutting it at the highest level for the national team. Cesc Fabregas, so impressive for Arsenal, has yet to really perform for Luis Aragones. The defence will be marshalled by Carles Puyol, a fine player in his day but now going rapidly downhill. While the midfield and attack looks good on paper, matches are never played on desks. And then there is Aragones himself…

If the Spanish haven’t got the backs, Greece don’t seem to have the forwards. Then again, they didn’t need any four years ago. Otto Rehhagel has worked wonders and may work the oracle one more time to smooth passage to the last eight.

That’s because Sweden have resorted to the retired Henrik Larsson as a final act of desperation. The oldest squad in the tournament just got a little bit older.

As for Russia, who knows? Lucky to be in the finals at all after losing in Israel, Guus Hiddink is Napoleon’s kind of general. The Corsican never managed to control the Russians, so what makes anybody think Hiddink will be any different? Andreii Arshavin is out of the first two games thanks to suspension, and Russia’s equilibrium will be affected by his loss and that of Pavel Pogrebnyak.

Predicted Qualifiers: Greece and Spain.

Euro 2008 Diary: Day 3

Random thoughts:

1. France look spent.

2. Claude Makelele gets away with war so often, another spiteful tackle against Romania goes unpunished.

3. Victor Piturca got his tactics spot on - but may regret not being more offensive against what could turn out to be the weakest opponent Romania will face in the group.

4. Fabio Cannavaro was hugely missed in Italy’s collapse against the Dutch. We all knew he would be a loss, but last night showed just how big a loss he is.

5. Wesley Sneijder looks to have matured as an international player.

6. A lot of things went very right for Holland. They rode their luck well.

7. Luca Toni still has it all to prove at international level.

8. Media pundits the world over have had their ignorance of the laws exposed by van Nistelrooy’s “offside” goal against the Italians. No shame in that, but some are still inisting they were right all along. Oh dear.

9. The offside law as it currently stands is a complete ass.

10. The Berne pitch was a disgrace. Imagine if England had had to play the Russians on that!