Germany

Written by Angela Asante

Congratulations to Luis Aragones ’ side! They came a long way to be crowned as the new Champions of Europe.

On Sunday night in Vienna , it took 90 minutes for Spain to defeat history.

A single goal by Torres and a defensive resistance were all what the team needed to write a new page in their country’s football history.

24 years have past since Spain appeared in a European Championship final and 44 since it last lifted the trophy.

Yesterday was the perfect moment to end this lack of success’s curse and the Spaniards did not fail to do so.

In the first quarter of the match, they struggled to play their fluid passing game due to Germany ’s aggressive attacking style.

But they did not take long to claim their superiority; with a country like Spain that plays tactical soccer, loosing possession as the Germans did always turns out as a punishment.

In the whole of the match, Spain had several chances which they could not convert. And among them all, only one proved to be decisive.

The Golden Goal

In this tournament, Fernando Torres looked very calm and was left in the shadow of the competition’s top scorer David Villa . However, the Valencia striker’s fate was to miss Sunday’s grand finale which give Torres the opportunity of playing as a lone forward in Spain ’s 5-1-4-1 formation.

He certainly wasn’t as good as he can be but the 33^rd minute of the game was the golden moment of his life:

Fernando Torres combined pace and skill to strike the ball past Lehman and score probably the most important goal of his career.

He might have got only two goals in this tournament, but the nominated man of the match showed up when it was needed the most – which makes him a true number 9 player.

Iglesias with the official Euro 2008 song, a coincidence?

One can think that Spain ’s victory is also due to the fact that Spanish Pop Star Enrique Iglesias sang the official Euro 2008 track before the match.

Perhaps did it help the Spanish crowd to feel in the mood of a premature party but on the other hand, this could have nothing to do with the support Spanish fans generated behind their team. 4 years ago, Nelly Furtado – of Portuguese origins – sang the official Euro 2004 song “Forza” at the final but it surely had no effect on the Portuguese squad as over anxiety contributed to their 1 – 0 loss to Greece.

Either way, it looks like the final was made for Spain to win it.

Iglesias seemed to have started the party with his dynamic soundtrack and celebrations indeed continued as Spain triumphed over Germany.

Like Enrique, many of the Spanish fans had to wait a lifetime for a moment like this.

Spain has won the European Championship for only the second time in their entire history.

Angela Asante

Euro2008TV.com

By Tom Cremins.

Spain could be on the brink of shedding their ‘perennial underachievers’ tag in tomorrow’s Euro 2008 final in Vienna (Kick-off 8.45 pm, 2.45 pm EST). After breaking their quarter final curse against Italy – they had been eliminated at that stage in tournaments 5 times in a row – they charged past highly fancied Russia by a 3-0 scoreline. The last time they won the continental title was 1964. And amazingly it is so far their only honour in international soccer, despite their strong tradition in the game.

Germany on the other hand are in familiar territory. They will be playing in their 6th European final and are chasing their 4th title. Despite this record,  Germany haven’t been overly convincing during this tournament, but they always seem to do enough to get the job done. They were anything but convincing against injury ravaged Turkey. They only managed to beat them 3-2, despite the fact that coach Fatih Terim’s squad was reduced to 14 fit players.

 It should be a fascinating contest, with Spain’s attacking prowess pitted against Germany’s organization and efficiency. The Spaniards will need to be very wary of Germany’s ability to attack on the break. But after the way they handled the threats posed by Italy and Russia, there is every reason to think that they can also contain the Germans.

The key to this game could be whether Michael Ballack overcomes a calf muscle complaint and plays. He has been Germany’s most inspirational player by far. He was somewhat disappointing against Turkey but is definitely the sort of player who will rise to the occasion when called upon. If he can’t play then either Tim Borowski or Bastian Schweinsteiger could slot into his position, but it would be a huge loss to the team. It may also mar the game as a spectacle, as the Germans may lack confidence and play more defensively in his absence.

In the centre of the Spanish midfield, Cesc Fabregas has been in outstanding form, and put in a devastating performance against Russia. He was ably assisted by Xabi Alonso and Andres Iniesta. Between them they may have enough to fashion a famous victory against the Germans.

In defence, players such as Carles Puyol, Carlos Marchena and Sergio Ramos have made the Spanish defence resemble a brick wall. And if their opponents should somehow get past them, they have the magnificent goalkeeper Iker Casillas to contend with.

The German defence is muscular and will yield little to attackers. Christoph Metzelder and Philipp Lahm have been very solid indeed. Goalkeeper Jens Lehmann has had a good tournament for the most part, with the exception of the semi-final against Turkey when he was far from convincing. He will have to improve considerably on that display.

The teams will both probably start with just one striker, Miroslav Klose for Germany and Fernando Torres for Spain. They have worked tirelessly during the tournament without hitting the headlines, with Klose netting 2 goals so far, and Torres just 1. Spain’s top scorer in the competition, David Villa, is sidelined through injury.

Both teams clearly clearly have quality players throughout, and coaches Joachim Löw and Luis Aragonés are both known for their thorough preparation and attention to detail. In all likelihood this will be a very tight game with both sides working hard to keep possession and avoid mistakes, so we may not see some of the free-flowing soccer that has so far characterised the tournament up to now. But this has been a tournament full of surprises.

The safe money will be on Germany winning their 4th European title. But this Spanish team could have the guile, creativity and above all self-belief to bring to an end 44 barren years.

Written by Angela Asante.

“There will be no miracle” said the coach of Turkey… and there has been NO miracle for his team!

Turkish fans might feel it’s hard to accept that their team has not made it to the final in Vienna.

Going into the game, the Reds were ravaged by injuries and suspension. Their team counted only 13 available players to face in-form Germany.

Most soccer analyst had predicted that Joachim Low’s side would “easily” pass the test and qualify to the ultimate stage.

But Germany was stunned when Turkey opened the scoring in the first half. They played with determination and dominated the game. However, almost out of nowhere, Germany found their way back as Schweinsteiger scored to provide his side a precious equalizer.

75 minutes had run down the clock and it was still 1 – 1. Turkey could have converted two or three shots into goals but keeper Jens Lehman was alert enough to make excellent saves.

Instead, it was the Germans who took the lead at the 79th minute when P. Lahm’s cross found Klose’s head who fired the ball past Rustu.

Turkey was desperate for another comeback.

And indeed, they had it: Sabri tapped the ball across the line from close range for the match to be all square. Germans fans could not believe it that point and suddenly, the red crowd came alive… but not for too long.

At the 90th minute, defender P. Lahm stepped in the penalty area and brilliantly scored the game’s fifth goal. 3 – 2 to Germany and the Turkish just couldn’t find another miraculous touch: an injury time free-kick was virtually their last chance of survival but the ball went well wide.

Certainly, the Germans did not deserve their victory. For Turkey, Lahm’s goal was questionable because the referee let the game continue though one of their players was injured on the ground.

Well, the Turkish have been brave throughout the tournament and their fans can certainly be proud of their heroes’ performance: these gentlemen have proved to the whole world what soccer is indeed about; but this time, luck wasn’t on their side.

Germany will face either Russia or Spain in Sunday’s final.

Angela Asante
Euro2008TV Writer

Written by Angela Asante

Germany have qualified for the semi-finals of the Euro 2008 on a 3 - 2 score line at the expense of Portugal who are out.

Germany’s 4-2-3-1 plan stunned coach Scolari and the rest of the Portuguese team: with less than half an hour gone down the clock, they had inflicted pressure and anxiety on the 2004 runners up.

L. Podolski made a great run at the left hand side of the pitch and finished his work by making a good cross in the penalty area. The ball found B. Schweinsteiger who tapped it into the net to give his side a 22nd minute lead.

Sadly, things got worse for Portugal who went down 2 - 0 in a space of 5 minutes.

Germany’s number 7 shirt Schweinsteiger was involved in the build up of his side’s second goal as his ball - out of his free-kick - reached Klose who headed it into the net. The goal seemed to be apparently offside but no one can change what a referee has or hasn’t decided…

So it was time for Portugal to organise a “red revolution”:

Captain Nuno Gomes’s strike in the 40th minute reduced Portugal’s deficit at half time.

(read full article…)

(read full article…)

Angela Asante
Euro2008TV Writer

In a repeat of the 2006 World Cup third place final, Germany and Portugal will clash together, this time in the quarterfinals of the Euro 2008 Championship.

Germany won 3 – 1 in their last meeting which earned the Germans the third place at the expense of Portugal who then finished fourth.
But on Thursday, it is another story and it could all be different.

Most people might tip this game to be a tight encounter featuring two of football’s finest national teams and they will hope the new pitch at the stadium will not affect both performances.

Four years ago, Portugal had to force a 1 – 1 draw against England before winning on penalties at this same stage.

As for Germany, it has been 12 years since they won a quarterfinal game but they still have hopes of breaking this curse:

In Ballack, they possess a potential and influential captain who powered them through to this stage by scoring a bullet free-kick which earned them a 1 – 0 victory in the last round of matches in Group B.

Cristiano Ronaldo is Portugal’s big man among his star team mates but Portuguese fans should watch out who are on the other side of the battlefield:

Germany are strong at the back with goal keeper Jens Lehman and better as they push forward with P. Lahm and their top striker Lucas Podolski.

Who knows what is going to happen? One mistake might just be deadly!

Angela Asante
Euro2008TV Writer