Euro 2012 General Discussion

[Stuttgart88]

The French claim they're all drug cheats! It's not just the work ethic, their play off the ball involves a lot of footballing intelligence - they take up such clever positions that actually winning the ball back becomes easy.

I dunno about player of the tournament but Pirlo, Ozil and Xavi have all been superb in their own ways. All playmakers, but of subtly different types.

[BonnieShels]

What a miserable end to the tournament for Italy.

[Colbert Report]

This Spanish team is unreal. No shame in being trounced 4-0 by them.

[BonnieShels]

There's always shame being trounced 4-0

[paul_oshea]

stutts intelligence has nothing to do with having 4 or 5 players alwqys within 10-15 metres of the ball.they defend in numbers like the old northern teams in gaelic. italy have been shagged since ~70(granted down to 10 men since), yet they had most of the possesion in the first half....people always say chasing is more tiring than possession.spain could play another half after this.italy are properly shagged.the spanish players play about 58 games a season way more than the english for example
over 4 years thats about an extra season!!!

[BonnieShels]

And that's that. Another miserable tournament finale.
This soccer lark is killing me.

[Stuttgart88]

I disagree. I think the Spain players read the game very well as well as play it well. I also love how they almost always win the ball standing up, nicking the ball of opponents' feet.

[Colbert Report]

There's always shame being trounced 4-0

I don't think this Italian team has anything to be ashamed about. Sure, they were very unlucky with injuries in this match, especially Motta going down right after he came on, but the Spaniards were infinitely better I think.

[paul_oshea]

I disagree. I think the Spain players read the game very well as well as play it well. I also love how they almost always win the ball standing up, nicking the ball of opponents' feet.

I think we are on about two slightly different things here, you are on about when the ball is in tight areas, pressurising the opposition, taking up the best positions to nick the ball off the opposition, anticipating where the ball will break or where it will go is based on percentages, intelligence and experience. I'm on about when Italy were countering or when spain were countering, or when any bit of space opened up they still outnumbered the italians everywhere on the pitch, their fitness and their running was just unbelieveable.

Italy were beaten 4-0 but they were down to 10 men with 20 mins to go and looked very very tired. Id love to know the average age of the team, spain was 27, so it cant be that. But a lot of the italians looked to be bandaged and on 1 limb, spain looked as fresh as the fist game.

[BonnieShels]

Ah sure let's have a conspiracy...

Johan Bruyneel seen leaving RFEF headquarters with a sack of cash.

[paul_oshea]

thats not how it was meant to sound. well not a conspiracy anyway. i hate people wasting their time on such things.

[Stuttgart88]

Probably because they don't have an extradition treaty with the US!

[BonnieShels]

Probably because they don't have an extradition treaty with the US!

Still wouldn't explain why he would be in the RFEF. I mean, there's whole lot of Spain to be inconspicuous in. :P

[geysir]

The thread has taken a turn for the worst, I suspect Paul must have been the precursor
That was some game. Sympathy for Italy who got whipped in that manner on the finals' stage for all the football world to witness. I was hoping for a tighter game but sometimes you just have to put your hands up and accept the perfect display of football for what it was.

[Stuttgart88]

Goals change games - Di Natale missed 2 great chances in the first 10 mins of second half. Things might have been different.

Italy had a go from the start but I wonder if they'd played the same shape as they did in the group game would they have been more competitive. The narrow midfield allowed Spain's full backs to roam the flanks.

Great stuff from Spain though, no doubt.

[geysir]

Just too much quality in that Spain team tonight. They were up for the game right from the start. Italy might/could have got a goal but I doubt if it would have changed the winning game that Spain were in form to play.

[mark12345]

So - lessons learned from euro 2012?

[mark12345]

Lessons learned for me. Ireland are still babies at the game, and so are England. How many years until Trap gets his charges to play the type of football Spain
played tonight?

Where does the answer lie, in improving the LOI, in sending our kids to foreign leagues to play instead of England, in importing Spanish coaches to coach our kids?

The feeling of depression is all consuming right now.

[ArdeeBhoy]

No depression, Spain, Italy and the other two semi-finalists are currently light years ahead of us. And probably always will be.

More seriously, this article (& comments) is worth a read, if only for highlighting Pl*tini for being an even more deluded fool than Bl*tter...

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/foo...020-plans.html

[tricky_colour]

So - lessons learned from euro 2012?

We are no better than Italy or Germany. or Spain.