Euro 2008

[Faster]

Portugal - Turkey was an excellent match indeed, with very offensive play on both sides. Very well done! But one also has to say that Portugal was the deserved winner due to its higher tenacity.

But I have a lump in my throat thinking about what happened to Switzerland today. They absolutely deserved to win that match. Plus: They not only lost the match but also their most valuable forward, Alexander Frei. It was so sad to see him hobbling off the field, totally drenched in tears. Now it'll be incredibly hard for his teammates to stay in the tournament. But I hope that they seize their remaining chances.

Switzerland should have gotten at least one penalty and yes it was heartbreaking for the Swiss.

[Ahmet]

Congratulations to Portugal for this victory last night.

They were definitely the better team out of the two and thus deserved to win. I'm just disappointed by how weak and unorganized our overall performance was. We didn't have much of a good chance at scoring other than the corner kick that was delivered at the 81st minute of the game. In addition that, our players always seemed to slip, fall or lose balance whenever they were on the attack on the Portugese side of the field.

Anyways, I hope that we'll step up our game for our next match which will be against the home country, Switzerland who I'm sure are also desperate for a victory in order to keep their chances alive. So this next match for the both of us will be very crucial and interesting to watch. It will be a sink or swim situation for either of us. Even a tie wont cut it for either of the two teams (Turkey and Switzerland that is).

[olympics08]

Hey! Today's June 8, by 9:00am local time my TV's already on channel 9 and Euro 2008's supposed to be on!

My protest yesterday:

Good day, Solar Sports!

From me!

$30.95 for the whole season?

NO WAY!

Balls beware!

Today:

Good morning, C/S Sports!

From me!

What's wrong with you Euro 2008 coverage?

NO WAY!

Solar Sports/Balls* beware!

*Balls - Solar Sports' rival. Airs the French Open at this moment.

My protests this weekend were similar to this:

Video

Explanation

Correction: $84.95 a month!

And another protest!

You know, I'll not be watching Euro 2008 today after all. This was their schedule until the morning's over!

9:00 Cold Case

10:00 The Nine

11:00 Law & Order

RPN-9 then switched over to C/S Sports at 12:00 for NBN All Access followed by a local, Basketball TV production, NBA Hoops Party (with pints of comedy). During this period,the Euro 2008 plug was shown despite the fact that 9:00 has already passed! (Two more Euro 2008 plugs are also shown, one about the PPV-TV coverage and the other about Euro 2008 shown on pubs, which the latter ended with this disclaimer: "Solar Entertainment is the exclusive Philippine broadcaster of the UEFA Euro 2008. Rebroadcast or reproduction of the tournament for public or commercial purposes without the consent of Solar Entertainment is strictly prohibited. Violators will be dealt with appropriate legal action.") That's where I said to myself: "I'll not be watching the Euro 2008 today!"

Oh well. Maybe on Tuesday morning I'll watch. Coverage will be on all Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays of the month, according to an on-screen banner which appeared last Friday morning during Game 1 of the NBA Finals which I watched with local commentary.

[Faster]

Well from what I have heard the German starting lineup is:

Lehmann

Lahm, Metzelder, Metesacker, Jansen

Schweinsteiger, Frings, Ballack, Podolski

Klose, Gomez

Low seems to think Podolski and Schweinsteiger will have their best form.

[Olympian2004]

Well from what I have heard the German starting lineup is:

Lehmann

Lahm, Metzelder, Metesacker, Jansen

Schweinsteiger, Frings, Ballack, Podolski

Klose, Gomez

Low seems to think Podolski and Schweinsteiger will have their best form.

Podolski is in good shape -- he had a good match against Serbia. With him, Germany will have a very offensive lineup -- which proves that the team eagerly wants to score, and hopefully earlier than in the 91st minute (like in the Poland match at the World Cup).

And according to the German newspaper Bild (which is usually pretty well-informed), Schweinsteiger probably won't be in the starting 11. In that case, he'd be replaced by Clemens Fritz. But according to the article, the final decision won't be made until shortly before the match.

[Faster]

Podolski is in good shape -- he had a good match against Serbia. With him, Germany will have a very offensive lineup -- which proves that the team eagerly wants to score, and hopefully earlier than in the 91st minute (like in the Poland match at the World Cup).

And according to the German newspaper Bild (which is usually pretty well-informed), Schweinsteiger probably won't be in the starting 11. In that case, he'd be replaced by Clemens Fritz. But according to the article, the final decision won't be made until shortly before the match.

I say 2 interviews with Low that were all about how great Podolski and Schweinsteiger were. Either way I assume we will see him on the pitch today.

[Faster]

HRVASTKA!

Modric 1 - Ronaldo 0 = Me

[Lee]

Did anyone else find it appalling that the opening game - with the host country playing - could not get a capacity crowd. I noticed that the attendance was 4,000 below capacity. That really is terrible.

[Faster]

Did anyone else find it appalling that the opening game - with the host country playing - could not get a capacity crowd. I noticed that the attendance was 4,000 below capacity. That really is terrible.

Attendance was 39,730 of a possible 42,500, a little less than 4,000. When I went back to get more tickets they were all sold out.

[Olympian2004]

Attendance was 39,730 of a possible 42,500, a little less than 4,000. When I went back to get more tickets they were all sold out.

According to German football magazine Kicker, the stadium was sold out. Maybe they had a reduced capacity for the opening match, just like for the World Cup final in Berlin (when the Olympiastadion only seated 69,000 instead of the usual 72,000 people)?

However, I almost forgot to give my predictions for today's matches (note: I already made those predictions before the kick-off of Austria vs. Croatia):

Austria-Croatia 0-2

Germany-Poland 2-1

[Lee]

Attendance was 39,730 of a possible 42,500, a little less than 4,000. When I went back to get more tickets they were all sold out.

Must admit I didn't look it up. Obviously some confusion as I thought I heard the commentator say that capacity was 45,000 and the attendance was 41,000. Will take your word for it. You obviously looked it up.

[Faster]

Must admit I didn't look it up. Obviously some confusion as I thought I heard the commentator say that capacity was 45,000 and the attendance was 41,000. Will take your word for it. You obviously looked it up.

The game in Vienna wasn't capacity either.

Croatia 1 - 0 Austria

Austria played very well considering the expectations and should give Poland fits.

This game actually reminded me of Croatia vs Brazil in 2006, Brazil scored, but in the second half it was all Croatia and they were really unlucky not to score.

[arwebb]

Croatia weren't very impressive for me, and Germany haven't look that hot tonight either.

[Rob2012]

Portugal have looked the best team so far. Three big teams play tomorrow, so perhaps I'll have changed my mind in 24 hours' time.

[arwebb]

I'd go along with that. I thought the Germans were second best for a good half of their game this evening.

[Mainad]

I'd go along with that. I thought the Germans were second best for a good half of their game this evening.

They had a few bad patches true but the point is,they got the job done in the end just like they usually do.I only wish England had half their precision and staying power!

You can never discount Germany.They must be one of the favourites to win this tournament!!

[arwebb]

While I take the latter part of your point, a little perspective is also needed. If the Germans continue at that level, they will not be winning the tournament whether they're bookies' favourites or not.

[Citius Altius Fortius]

I have to admit that I hadn't watched the match Germany vs. Poland - I was at my brothers house and we did some barbeque since it was a splendid sunny day today in Germany...

[Mainad]

I can't really see your point,arwebb.Sure,it wasn't the best German performance but it was an efficient one and,like I say,it got the job done.They won their opening match 2-0.If that had been England,we would have been singing their praises to the skies and the press would already be crowning them potential Euro champions!

Germany has made a solid start and can only get better and,as they are playing on what is virtually home territory,I foresee a repetition of their World Cup 2006 progress.

Let's wait and see!

[Olympian2004]

But the Germans won't continue on that level. Already tonight was a clear improvement in comparison with the final test match against Serbia. And in the past, the longer it is in a tournament, the German team usually improves more and more. Just remember the 2006 World Cup, with a weak German defensive in the opening match against Costa Rica, and then a more and more self-confident performance against Poland, Ecuador and especially Sweden.

And come on: Germany has won 2-0 against a (nevertheless) demanding opponent like Poland. And it could have even been a clearer victory. Who would have expected that beforehand? I haven't.

[Olympian2004]

That was a reply to Arwebb's last posting.

[Faster]

I enjoyed the Poland v Germany match more than the Portugal v Turkey. The first match is always a cagey affair and against one of their historical rivals it is even more so. Gomez and Ballack should have both scored, if not for a weak touch and a solid stop. Poland's best player is their keeper and it showed. Germany has to improve, but look at how Italy and France started in the World Cup two years ago, neither were impressive until their games against Ukraine and Brazil respectively. Also look at the Dutch and Argentines at the WC, both started really strong and still gotten beaten. Its better to have a slow burn up to a roaring fire, it lasts longer and is more sustainable.

Croatia needs to improve the most out of the 4 winners though

Tomorrows scores

Romania 0 - 1 France

Netherlands 0 - 2 Italy

[Olympian2004]

Croatia needs to improve the most out of the 4 winners though

That's true. I was surprised how weak they are (or at least were yesterday) especially in long passes. They were much less impressive than I originally expected of a team which kicked England out of the competition. And Mladen Petric, one of Bundesliga's top scorers, was also quite disappointing. If they don't improve significantly, the German team actually shouldn't have too much trouble with them on Thursday.

Anyway, my predictions for today's matches:

Romania-France 0-1

Netherlands-Italy 1-2

[Rob2012]

Romania 0-2 France

Holland 0-1 Italy

[arwebb]

But the Germans won't continue on that level. Already tonight was a clear improvement in comparison with the final test match against Serbia. And in the past, the longer it is in a tournament, the German team usually improves more and more. Just remember the 2006 World Cup, with a weak German defensive in the opening match against Costa Rica, and then a more and more self-confident performance against Poland, Ecuador and especially Sweden.

And come on: Germany has won 2-0 against a (nevertheless) demanding opponent like Poland. And it could have even been a clearer victory. Who would have expected that beforehand? I haven't.

You would hope that the Germans don't continue at that level. All I am saying is that if they do, better teams than Poland will punish them and punish them severely.