Spain wins Euro 2008

¡Viva España!

Spain won its first major trophy in 44 years, capping off an excellent European Championship tournament. I couldn't find the TV ratings for the final just yet, but early indications here and here are that the tournament boasted successful TV ratings for the previous stages. Just more great news for soccer fans in the U.S.

A quick note about D.C. United before I sign off; yesterday's match against David Beckham and the L.A. Galaxy at RFK Stadium (the lead-in to the Euro final yesterday on ABC) was just amazing. From the blowout win, to the awesome pre-game display for Ben Olsen, to his stirring and unexpected introduction in the 75th minute, and even to the disorienting and stifling heat, yesterday was just a day I will never forget. And I was about as wrong as I possibly could have been about United earlier this season. A public apology to Coach Tom Soehn, Luicano Emilio (nine goals in his last six matches, including two yesterday), and the entire team, who are beginning to look like the most dangerous squad in MLS again.

Euro XI

With Sunday's Euro 2008 final between Germany and Spain fast approaching, I thought I would compile sort of an All-Euro team comprised of the best players of the tournament. I have no idea whether they do this in real life or not, but it's a pretty good idea, no? Without further ado, here is The Train of Thought Euro XI:

Goalkeeper
Iker Casillas, Spain (Real Madrid)
Without a doubt, the most clear-cut selection to this team. Seen by many as the best keeper in the world, Casillas cemented his spot with a stellar performance in penalty kicks in the quarterfinals against Italy.

Defenders
Philipp Lahm, Germany (Bayern Munich)
The diminutive left back may not be known for his outright defending skills, but he more than makes up for that going forward along the flank and contributing to German attacks. His assist to Miroslav Klose, then his brilliant run and one-two with Thomas Hitzlsperger that lead to his 90th minute winner against Turkey earned him a spot on this team.

Carles Puyol, Spain (Football Cunts Barcelona*)
His solid play and leadership in the center of defense has helped Spain reach its first major tournament final since 1984.

Denis Kolodin, Russia (Dynamo Moscow)
His thunderous shots from 25-30 yards out raised plenty of eyebrows, but Kolodin was just as effective as a member of a Russian backline that, apart from an opening-game blowout loss to Spain, only surrendered two goals in three games, including a shutout of Sweden (Kolodin was suspended for Russia's semifinal loss to Spain).

Robert Kovac, Croatia (Borussia Dortmund)
Kovac led one of the most airtight defenses of Euro 2008. The team registered two clean sheets in its first three matches and held Turkey scoreless for over 120 minutes of its quarterfinal match until a miracle goal, then a loss in PK's eliminated the unlucky Croatians.

Midfielders
Wesley Sneijder, The Netherlands (Real Madrid)
The most electrifying player for the high-flying Dutchmen (get it?), Sneijder scored one of the best goals of the tournament from a nearly-impossible angle against Italy. He was clearly frustrated by the Russians, but that doesn't erase the brilliance he showed during the group stages.

Bastian Schweinsteiger, Germany (Bayern Munich)
He exhibited style and flair rarely associated with the German team and played his way into the starting lineup after registering a goal and two assists in the quarterfinals against Portugal. Schweinsteiger followed that performance with a goal in the semis against Turkey.

Cesc Fabregas, Spain (Arsenal)
Another player who inexplicably doesn't start for his team, Fabregas' effect has been clearly visible as he's amassed a goal and three assists coming off the bench.

Forwards

David Villa, Spain (Valencia)
Villa terrorized opposing defenses in the first few games of the tournament and while his scoring has slowed since then, his four goals still lead all players thus far. Unfortunately, Villa will miss the final due to a thigh injury.

Nihat Kahveci, Turkey (Villareal)
This man only scored two goals for Turkey but those two goals came three minutes apart, erasing a 2-1 deficit against the Czech Republic in the 86th and 89th minutes to send his squad through to the knockout rounds.

Andrei Arshavin, Russia (St. Zenit Petersburg)
Easily the most talked-about player of Euro 2008, Arshavin lived up to the hype in his first two matches. Even though he failed to do so in Russia's loss to Spain, his spot on this team is still warranted.

As for the Spain-Russia match, it definitely failed to match the excitement most people were expecting. Spain methodically took apart the Russians despite losing top-scorer Villa to injury early in the match. Russia lacked the urgency and drive of its previous matches, but what's not to like about a Spain-Germany final? I'm eagerly awaiting it.


*Until F.C. Barcelona stops relentlessly going after Arsenal players every single summer, I will refer to them in this manner instead of Football Club Barcelona.

More drama in Basel as Turkey bows out

As a sports fan, this point in time of the calendar year usually becomes what I like to call "the dead zone." The NBA and NHL have both recently wrapped up. The NFL has long since finished. Baseball is still in the pre-All Star Game doldrums and by the time the games start to have any meaning, all of the other major sports have started back up. Even as much I've gotten into international soccer in recent years, most of the European club leagues finish their seasons in May.

But thanks to some unknown heroes at ESPN, I have not had that same problem this year due to the fact that the entire 2008 European soccer championships are being televised in the United States. This was such an unexpected development that there was actually a plan in the works at one point to actually travel to Austria and/or Switzerland, where this year's tournament is being co-hosted, in order to catch some of the action. It never occurred to me that I would be able to watch all of the games on TV. Not once.

Four years ago, the games were only available on pay-per-view for somewhere in the region of $20 to $30 per game. I also recall that JJ happened to be vacationing in Montreal with his family during Euro 2004 and how jealous I was that he got to see even a minute of the action on TV. In four short years, every single game has been shown on some form of ESPN and even featured on ABC over the weekend. This is huge progress for soccer in this country.

As for the games, each one has just been more riveting than the last. Yesterday's semifinal was no exception. Germany faced Turkey, with each trying to book a place in the final. The Germans had been here many times before, while Turkey pulled off one unexpected victory after another en route to their first-ever Euro semifinal, with three come-from-behind wins in a row. Turkey was also missing several starters due to injury or suspension, including their keeper and in my opinion, the player of the tournament to this point, the influential Nihat Kahveci. 

So it made perfect sense when they took the lead over heavily-favored Germany about 20 minutes in.  

After hitting the crossbar a few minutes earlier, Turkey neatly played a cross in from the right after a throw-in, a looping shot from the center again crashed against the bar only this time it fell right to Ugur Boral, whose scuffed shot snuck underneath German goalie Jens Lehmann. 1-0, Turkey.

Turkey's shock lead only lasted for five minutes though as Germany equalized through Bastian Schweinsteiger. By this point, I only considered Turkey's fast start against mightily-stacked odds "a shock" because they hadn't waited until the last 15 minutes of the game to pull off their miracle. However, at 1-1 going into the half it was clear that anything could happen and that Turkey would not go down without a serious fight.

Germany would score a go-ahead goal in the 79th minute on a textbook Miroslav Klose header after a nice run and cross from Philip Lahm. But as they had done in each of the last three games, with their tournament lives in the balance, Semih Senturk deflected a shot at the near post and past Lehmann again in the 86th minute. Absoultely unbelievable. In a strange way, the more you see the Turks pull off something unexpected, the harder it truly is to see it coming yet again! So with such a late equalizer it's now EVEN MORE OBVIOUS that Turkey is a team of destiny and simply will not lose and with the prospect of extra time looming... Lahm unleashes a devastating shot into the top corner. Germany 3, Turkey 2, and so would end an amazing run from this team.

You clearly had to feel for the Turks. To battle back so many times and show such resilience without anything to show for it is definitely a shame. Credit is due to Germany though and it's on to a sixth Euro final for them, more than any other country in the history of the tournament. The only downside of the match was the worldwide live feed being knocked out multiple times by lightning, causing the live audience to miss Klose and Senturk's goals, as well as the final whistle. That being said, this post goes out to Turkey who were without a doubt the story of the tournament and always incredibly fun to watch.

Today's game features the other underdog of Euro 2008, Russia, as they take on Spain in what should be another fantastic game. Russia's Andrei Arshavin has been a revelation and has led the team farther than it's been in this competition since the dissolution of the Soviet Union (not exaggerating). Meanwhile, Spain has done well to disprove its reputation for underachieving and has done so playing a stylish, attacking brand of soccer you may have read about. Soccernet also has an interesting opinion piece about how nationalistic stereotypes are disappearing on the soccer pitch (i.e. the technical Germans, the underachieving Spanish, the diving Italians). 

My money is on Spain to pull it out 2-1, but if there is anything this tournament has taught us, it's to truly expect the unexpected.

Soccer overload

As I write this, Switzerland is playing Turkey on TV and it's not even pay-per-view. And no, I didn't figure out a way to hijack a neighbor's cable that has a special international sports package. Today marks the fifth day in a row that ESPN 2 has broadcast the 2008 European Soccer Championships and it's going to be like this for almost three more weeks.

Unfortunately, lack of access to television, a hangover and school (in that order) prevented me from catching the first two days of the tournament. But the two games I did catch more than made up for the games I had missed, a 3-0 thumping of defending world champions Italy at the hands of The Netherlands, then an electric 4-1 Spain triumph over Russia. With all 16 teams having played one match, the theme of Euro 2008 in its nascent stages is clear: the teams playing a more attacking, free-flowing style are having the most success.
Giovanni van Bronckhorst celebrates after scoring to put Holland up 3-0 on Italy. The name may sound kind of familiar to some. (Photo courtesy of www.theage.com.au)

What does this mean exactly? Well, the more defensive-minded (read: boring) teams have failed miserably. Italy won the last World Cup in 2006 by packing its entire team into the defensive end, diving to earn free kicks and playing for corners, and getting opposing players sent off (we all remember this). As a result, they allowed only two goals in seven matches and did so in the most boring way possible.

When it comes to club soccer, my favorite team is Arsenal because, besides the fact that their logo is a fucking cannon, they play the most beautiful style of soccer in the world. Now compare that with what I like to call the "Sam Allardyce approach to soccer," which is downright ugly and tedious, but had been somewhat effective in recent years. The good news is that Allardyce has since been fired as the manager of Bolton Wanderers FC and, more recently, Newcastle FC. Additionally, with attacking football prevailing so far, chances are this will become the order of the day for the rest of the tourney and maybe for the near future in both club and international soccer.

So if you aren't that big of a soccer fan, tune in anyway and you might be treated to some very entertaining matches featuring some of the world's strongest soccer nations. For those who already consider themselves quite the "footie" fans, sit back and enjoy the next few weeks, when you can turn on your TV and see soccer pretty much every day. Four years ago, I would have never thought that this would happen in the United States.