Euro 2008 Final Comments

I know I'm two days late and I should have written this earlier, but better late than never. I just want to say I throughly enjoyed Euro 2008. Before this competition I really wasn't a big fan of International soccer as I see it somewhat secondary to club football in several aspects. However this tournament was great, and what could possibly be better than playing for your national team.
I want to congratulate, Spain for winning, I said from the beginning of the competition that they were my favorite European team, and they proved why I like them so much. Their passes and timed runs were brilliant and I have to give a round of applause to their defense, who many people questioned since the beginning. It was good to see them end a 44 year period in which they acquired no trophies, and I have to commend Fernando Torres for that brilliant goal he scored to secure victory and the title. He was rather disappointing throughout the tournament and I was just elated to see him seal the deal.
I have to also say well done to Xavi, who played excellent all tournament and was voted Castrol Player of the Tournament. He dominated and dictated the Spanish midfield throughout the tournament, showed his maturity as a player and leader and thus he really deserved this award.
Uefa also named its Team of the Tournament which is dominated by Spain, the 23 players include: Casillas, Buffon, Van der Sar, Marchena, Puyol, Bosingwa, Pepe, Lahm, Zhirkov, Senna, Xavi, Zyryanov, Modric, Altintop, Fabregás, Iniesta, Ballack, Podolski, Sneijder, Villa, Torres, Arshavin, Pavlyuchenko.
If you look at the list you will see there is no Cristiano Ronaldo and rightly so. I am very critical of Ronaldo as I don't think he deserves to be called the best in the world just yet, even though he has won the Champions League. He is constantly a no show against big teams, missed two penalties, one in the Champions League semi-final and the other in the final, which almost cost his team the title, and he didn't show up against Germany in the Euro quarter-final. Until Ronaldo becomes unselfish in character and play, I believe he is not deserving of the award. His lack of ability to pass in the manner that Xavi did, cost Portugal dearly and hence my reason for why he's not on Uefa's 23 man list.
Once again, congrats to Euro 2008 winners, Xavi and Spain, they played the best football known to man and are worthy champions. Viva Espana!

Russia vs Spain Semi-final Live! Online

The second semi-final of Euro 2008 kicks off the same time today as yesterday, 20:45 GMT between favorites Spain and red-hot Russia.
Russia is the underdog as Spain thrashed them 4-1 in their first encounter in this tournament, however I do have a feeling that things will be a lot different this time. Russia has picked up momentum since that defeat and subsequently has beaten Greece, Sweden and the Netherlands to book their place in this semi-final. Also with the their star player Andrei Arshavin, back in the lineup after being suspended for their first two matches, including the one which Spain won, one can't help but think their chances of upsetting the Spanish are quite possible.
Spain, having crushed their quarter-final jinx, will be upbeat about winning this game and booking their place in the final against Germany. Their performance against Italy was somewhat frustrating especially for their strikers, and you could tell by the looks on the faces of Fernando Torres and David Villa. To win this one Torres needs to look for his teammates as he did in the first encounter with Russia, he is often marked by two, three players and only by passing the ball will he able to create room for his teammates and occasionally for himself.
Yesterday's game was a thriller and I have no doubts that today's game will be any different. To watch the match go to www.myp2p.eu there's a list of live sports listed on the website, just click on the Football tab for a list of today's matches and you will see the Russia vs Spain match. Bare in mind that if you don't have P2P software installed on your PC, you will need to download it. A guide for P2P software is listed on the website and my personal favorite is Sopcast. Enjoy!