Cesc Fabregas, Spain confident

The quarterfinals of Euro 2008 are underway and there are indeed some interesting matches ahead, but I want to speak about the Italy versus Spain game on Sunday.
The Spanish will indeed be looking to overcome their quarterfinals jinx by beating the defending World Champions, Italy, who have looked rather shaky so far in this competition. Spain on the other hand has been playing well and have won all three of their group matches, and if momentum counts for anything they will beat Italy come Sunday. I am very excited about this game and hopefully Spain can live up to their hype.
Cesc Fabregas stated in an interview today that he believes his team will overcome their Italian opponents, primarily because they take care of the ball much better in terms of possession. I too agree with his statements, as long as Spain settle into their rhythm, the game is theirs. Don't get me wrong I'm not writing Italy off, they are a very good team and I respect them very much, but they seem to be struggling in the aspect of cohesion and chemistry. They don't have a fast counter attack like Spain or the Netherlands and their creativity seems a little watered down. However in football anything can happen.
Spain will certainly be hot favorites to lift the trophy if they do beat Italy, and with their morale bursting the roof right now, they certainly believe that impossible is nothing.

Netherlands: Reasons For Success @ Euro

With the Netherlands securing their spot in the quarter-finals of Euro 2008 with an impressive 4-1 display over France, that literally had me jumping out of my seat, I just want to point out why I think they're being so successful thus far in this competition.

Attitude
Wesley Sneijder declared before this game that he and his teammates are afraid of no one and you can vividly see it. These players really want this cup, you see it in their attitude on the pitch ,they never look like loosing and they play at a high energy level especially on their fast-breaks.

Chemistry
With Ruud van Nistelrooy, Robben and Sneijder all playing at Madrid, it is clear that this team has an upper hand in terms of knowing each other very well. You can see how easily they play as a unit and definitely playing with each other at the same club is a big factor in competitions like this one, where teams are comprised of players who play in various leagues.

Raw Talent
Just take a look at Sneijder's screamer in the top V, Robben's fantastic left footed strike, which he scored even while Gallas was closing his space, Van Nistelrooy's incredible ability where if he isn't scoring he's providing, and also with the likes of Van Persie and Van der Vaart. Clearly the Dutch aren't short of raw talent, this team oozes it through their pores.

Good Management
I know many people question Marco Van Basten's ways and tactics, but clearly he has the formula for winning. Italy blamed their lost on the poor tactics of their manager, never giving the Dutch credit for the way they played, but they proved today that Italy's beat-down was no fluke. Van Basten's tactics and decisions may be questionable to some, but let's face it, he's Dutch, and the Dutch produce good managers.

After seeing the Netherlands destroy two heavyweights in this competition, I definitely see them going all the way to the final. Let's wait and see if my prediction holds true.

Does C.Ronaldo, Portugal have what it takes?

I've been following Euro 2008 and I have enjoyed watching the competition thus far. I watched two impressive victories thus far Spain's 4-1 brilliance over Russia and the Netherlands' thrashing of Italy.
I want to draw some attention right now to the Portuguese, who seem to be in good form, as they have won both of their matches thus far. Although they don't look to me as impressive as the Netherlands or Spain, they get the job done and have been beating their opponents quite convincingly, but i don't think the score lines in both their matches truly reflected how close their games were. The only difference between them and the teams they have beaten is that they took their opportunities when they came, and in football this is what separates the best from the rest.
Portugal has a good team with the likes of captain Nuno Gomes, Simao, Deco, Cristiano Ronaldo and Pepe, but do they have what it takes to be crowned the best of Europe. With the lineup they possess I believe they are capable of doing it but I really don't see them winning this one. They have a good midfield but their defense looks a bit shaky at times and their chemistry seems to be a bit off. I do like the way Cristiano Ronaldo is playing, as he is passing the ball a lot more than he would had he been playing for Manchester United, but I'm never overly impressed with the things he does.
One thing that I have really questioned about this Portuguese team is the fact that team coach, Luiz Scolari allows Ronaldo to wear the captain's armband when Nuno Gomes is substituted. Personally, I think the band should be given to a more experienced player like Deco, but I guess the armband is given to Ronaldo to boost his confidence. However he is still very young and I don't think he's ready to lead the national team.
Overall Portugal are playing well and with a little bit more time together they most likely will get better, we just have to wait and see how they hold up against the bigger guns of the competition. Good luck to Portugal.

Nehtherlands the Shock of Euro 2008?

After watching the Netherlands win convincingly over current World Champions, Italy, in their first group encounter at Euro 2008, I felt compelled to write something.
Everyone knows the Dutch have quality and they are capable of beating anybody, but nobody probably thought they would have thrashed Italy the way they did. I myself was so shocked but I throughly enjoyed the display they put on. Shadows of doubt are often placed on the Dutch because although they possess extreamely gifted players, they too like Spain often disappoint on the big stage. However after defeating current World Champions, Italy, one is left to ponder if they have what it takes to win Euro 2008.
Ajax, Barcelona and Dutch legend Johan Cruyff said in an interview before the match with Italy, that his country has a good team but he questioned head coach, Marco Van Basten's tactics, saying he has doubts about them. I wonder what he thinks of his tactics after Italy's 3-0 thrashing. Tactically what I gathered from the way the Dutch played, is that they counter attacked very well, caught Italy off-guard when they pushed heavily up the pitch, they found their wide players frequently to stretch Italy's defense and they often looked to beat the offside trap with quality balls down the middle. To me they played like an ideal Dutch team and I personally found nothing wrong with Van Basten's tactics, as they played quality attacking football.
I was going to state who I personally thought stood out in this game, however it is very hard to point a finger at any one player because overall this was an excellent team effort. The Netherlands truly played like a cohesive unit.
It is still early days in the competition and we are yet to see if the Dutch will play this well again, but after their first game against Italy, they have definitely tipped themselves as one of the favorites to win Euro 2008.

Euro 2008

With Euro 2008 coming up on on June 7th, I just want to run through briefly who I personally believe are going to be favorites for the tournament.

Italy
Let's start with the current World Champions, Italy. With Totti out of Euro injured Italy will particularly look to Pirlo to lead the team, and I believe he is quite capable of doing so. It is quite unfortunate however that Fabio Cannavaro has been ruled out as he has sustained an injury in the team's last friendly game which would probably cause some defensive woes, but Italy is a team which is known for its solid defense, and therefore there should be a suitable replacement. The players to watch in this team are Pirlo, Del Piero, Zambrotta and Luca Toni. Look for Pirlo to dictate the midfield, Zambrotta to come up big in the defense and Luca and Del Piero to bang in the goals, as they both have been the top scorers in their respective leagues this season.

Germany
People hardly consider this team when they think of big teams but Germany is a very big side. Dating back to 2002, Germany has made the World Cup final loosing out only to Brazil and they finished third at the last World Cup by beating Portugal. Ballack, Klose and Torsten Frings are the stars for this side, so look out for big performances from these players.

France
There's no more Zinedine Zidane but France continues to produce amazing talent. After loosing out to Italy at the last World Cup, France will most definitely want to crown themselves champions of Europe. Look out for the young, talented Karim Benzema and Samir Nasri, Bundesliga's best Frank Ribery and veteran striker Thierry Henry.

Spain
Finally my favorite team, Spain, the great underachievers of Europe. Yes, they do not have many trophies as they have only won just one European title in 1964 but I just love the way they play. One journalist referred to the way they play as "tika taka" which means pass and go. I just love to see nice touch football and for this reason Spain is my favorite European team. Look for hitmen El Nino, Fernando Torres and El Guaje, David Villa to come up with big performances, along with the "midfield midgets", as I like to call them Xavi and Iniesta and Arsenal talisman Cesc Fabregas. The biggest concern for Spain right now would be the defense, hopefully they can get it together before the competition starts.

Euro 2008 should be great and although these teams I have mentioned may be the favorites, this is football, and we all know what they say, anything can happen.