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Germany Vs Portugal: Schweinsteiger show stuns Portugal

June 21st, 2008

 Germany Vs Portugal: Schweinsteiger show stuns Portugal

The showdown between Germany & Portugal was felt to be the EURO 2008 Final by most experts. However with this awaited encounter coming early in the knockout stage of the tournament, fans were in for an enthralling time, as both sides knew that a single mistake might lead to their downfall.

At St. Jakob Park, it was a capacity crowd seeing a spirited German side defeating Portuguese in an excellent football game. Although everyone had an eye out for Ronaldo, it was the Bayern Munich & German Star, Bastian Schweinsteiger with similar number 7 shirt as his archrival, who eventually stole the show for his side.

First Half

With fast-paced game from both the sides, there were several close calls in the first quarter. However, the deadlock was broken in the 22nd minute by a Podolski pass that found Schweinsteiger’s boot and into the back of Portuguese net. Another goal followed only four minutes later rattling the Portuguese defense, when a free kick from ‘Man of the Match’ Schweinsteiger found Miroslav Klose, who headed a goal past Portuguese keeper Ricardo. If it was not for a goal from Nuno Gomes, it would have been tough for Portugal to make a comeback.

Second Half

If first half was amazing, then second one was not far behind. With shots from both sides flying pass the keeper, it was thrilling to watch this battle. However, the match was sealed by another Schweinsteiger free kick that found German Skipper, Ballack’s head and went into the Portugal net for the third time. Although there was a goal minutes before the end from the Portuguese substitute Postiga, who headed a Nani pass into the German net, it was too late for them to recover and the final score line was 3-2 for the Germans.

Germany will next play the winners of the game between Turkey & Croatia in the semifinal.

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EURO 2008 | Greece Vs Spain

June 20th, 2008

 Greece Vs Spain: Another last minute goal wins it for Spain

June 18 2008. EURO 2008 has been studded with teams showing attacking instincts for overpowering others and marching into the quarters. The one team, which lacked that instinct and eventually failed to qualify for the next stage, was the Champions from the previous edition of European Championships, Greece.

With defeats against Sweden and Russia, they were already knocked out of the competition and looking to salvage some pride in their final league game against Group D leader, Spain. Spanish side was riding on a majority of changes with only one player, Andres Iniesta, in the playing eleven, who played in the ties against Swedes and the Russians. Again, Greek Coach, Otto Rehhagel, also came up with a new look side from their previous two games.

Luis Aragones Spanish Side started the game with their usual flair and attack, as they dominated the early part of the game with the ball sitting in Greek half. However, the former Champions struck back with a spirited performance and it was three minutes from the first half when Charisteas went past Spanish Keeper on the night, Jose Reina, to hand his team with a 1-0 lead going into the second half.

Aragones resisted the temptation of bringing in his star players with his side a goal behind and his players on the field did him justice. Xabi Alonso, skipper for the night, came close of equalizing, as he hit the bar just after resuming. However, the equalizer came from De La Red, who shot past Nikopolidis (playing his last game). After a scintillating second half, the winner came from leading scorer of La Liga, Dani Guiza, who headed a goal just couple of minutes from the end making it 2-1 for Spain and ending any hopes of retribution for Greek Side.

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EURO2008 – Sweden Vs Russia

June 19th, 2008

 Sweden Vs Russia: Dutchman Hiddinks side set for a faceoff against Dutch in EURO Quarters

June 18 2008. The final major encounter in the group stages of EURO 2008 was going to be another slobber knocker, as Russians faced off against the Swedish side. With a narrow victory against group leaders Spain last time around, Sweden only needed a point to prove and a draw world have been enough for them to qualify. Simultaneously, with a win over European Champions Greece, Russia was all set to put yet another determined effort for booking their own place in the quarters.

Russians were on top of their game from the onset. They used a similar strategy with Roman Pavluychenko, which got them past the defense of resilient English side last October in the European Qualifiers. Striker, Pavluychenko, opened the scoring for Russians early in the first half with a goal in the 24th minute missing the efforts of Swedish keeper Andreas Isaksson. Although there were efforts from Ibrahimovic & Ljunberg, still the first half belonged to the Russians with side being a goal ahead

It felt like a mismatch in most part of the game with Russians running away with the tie and looked to end it in the first half only. It was only to some brilliance from Isaksson that Hiddink’s men were not able to score more than a brace. However within five minutes of the restart, Arshavin, who returned to the side after a suspension, scored the second goal for the Russians and ended it for the Swedes. Russian attack was so promising on the night that they could have scored more than the final score line 2-0. It was only the woodwork that saved them from scoring in the final minute.

Now, Dutchman Hiddink’s Russian side will face off against the might of Van Basten’s Netherlands in what is going to be an eagerly anticipated match of the tournament.

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Euro2008 ~ Romania Vs Netherlands

June 19th, 2008

  Romania Vs Netherlands: Another professional performance by the Dutch side

June 17 2008. After a dream start to the EURO 2008 with thrashing victories over World Champions, Italy, & Runners-up, France and already a seat booked in the quarter finals of the showdown, Netherlands were pitted against Romania, who had everything to play for in this Group C (Group of Death) match.

A win was needed for the Romanian team to qualify for the quarters, whereas it was nothing more than an opportunity for Marco Van Basten to test his bench strength. Even with as many as 9 changes in the side that crashed France 4-1, Netherlands Coach promised their fans of a professional approach and was looking for another win over Romania to keep the momentum going into the quarters. On the other hand, Romania, who almost shocked World Champions Italy where only the brilliance of Buffon saving a crucial penalty crushed their hopes, was determined to give everything for a win.

With no goals in the first half, it promised to be another nail biter for the fans of both the sides. Holland was on the attack from kick-off and was looking the side to draw first blood at most times in the first half.

Romanians resistance came to a halt with a brilliant goal from Robin Van Persie, 4 minutes following the restart. When Klaas Jan Huntelaar shot past Lobont, it sealed the game along with the hopes of the Romania. The game ended with a score line of 2-0 in the favor of the Dutch side.

Netherlands delivered what their coach promised to deliver (a professional performance) and defeated Piturca’s men to yet another victory

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Italy Vs France

June 18th, 2008

 Italy Vs France: World Champions survives the group of death

June 17 2008. After two classic confrontations in as many years, European giants and World Cup 2006 finalists, France & Italy, again logged horns against one another. However, there were lots at stake for both these teams, as the final place in the Group C (Group of Death) was up for grabs. With Netherlands already making it to the quarters with two thumping wins over both these giants, it was a win-win situation for both these teams.

Experts felt that it was going to be another thrilling game in between both these teams with heated confrontations and the players did not disappoint one bit.

For the first quarter of the game, it seemed that the game could go either way with strikers from both the teams taking shots on the goal at their will. However, the game tilted into the hands of the Italians, who got an opportunity in the form of penalty in the 25th minute after a foul was committed on Luca Toni by France and Barcelona defender Eric Abidal. The situation got worse with the France defender sent off for his rusty challenge.

The Penalty

Although there were several contenders for taking the penalty in the Italian Side, but with the pressure of the situation and the misadventures in penalties leading to the game, Andrea Pirlo was given the job. Mr. ice-cool did not disappoint and hit the back of the net past France goalkeeper Gregory Coupet to make it 1-0 for Italy.

It became a hurdle too tough to overcome for France, who continued showing resistance in the second half. However with the deflected free kick from Daniele de Rossi in the 62nd minute sealed the game for the world champions and booked their ticket in the quarter finals.

It did not have the same chills of the World Cup final, yet it was not far from being one of the best games in the EURO 2008.

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2008 UEFA Champions League Final – Manchester united vs Chelsea: Match of the Year

June 9th, 2008

2008 UEFA Champions League Final – Manchester united vs Chelsea: Match of the Year

UEFA Champions League is believed to be the greatest football tournament of Europe with the best clubs of all European countries fighting it out for claiming the top spot in the continent. This year, two of the best clubs in UK and probably Europe, Manchester United and Chelsea, fought in the final at Moscow.

This was yet another enthralling encounter between these two giants, who had saw each other thrice before this match and were even on all grounds. With the Premier League in their pocket and an impressive outing in the Champions, Manchester United had the advantage. Still, Chelsea was not going to surrender easy

Manchester United dominated the first half with Christiano Ronaldo scoring within 30 minutes. However, Chelsea struck back with a goal from Frank Lampard going pass the outstretched hands of Edwin Van der Sar in the late moments.

Second half saw the United defense tumbling and the tide turned towards Chelsea for most parts. There were many opportunities missed by the latter, which could have sealed the game. However, the game moved into extra time with both teams tied 1-1.

It was visible that the situation was tensed in extra time and when Carlos Tevez through the ball out of hands, situation went out of hand. In a heated confrontation, Didier Drogba, star Chelsea striker, slapped Nemanja Vidic and was sent off. This was the probable turning point of the game, as he had been responsible for a late strike in another encounter between the two.

With no result possible even in extra time, the match went down to penalty shootouts and when Christiano Ronaldo missed a penalty, it spelled doom for United. However, with courageous goalkeeping by Van der Sar, who saved shots from John Terry, Mr. Chelsea, and Nicholas Anelka, along with brilliant penalties taken from United players, they did the inevitable and became the Champions of both UK and Europe.

Although United won, football, as a sport, was victorious. There is no doubt that until now, it is the ‘Match of the Year’.

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Posted in Champions League, Chelsea FC, EURO 2008, General, Man U, UEFA Cup

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Euro 2008 Update

June 8th, 2008

 Euro 2008 Update

On a day of efficient rather than all out cavalier soccer, Portugal and Czech Republic took a large step towards securing their places in the knockout stages of the Euro 2008 championships. At the end of matchday1, Portugal and the Czech Republic lead Group A with a victory each and they will be hoping to continue that form over the reminder of this footballing extravaganza.

 

The first match of the Euro 2008 championships saw the Switzerland soccer outfit put up a strong fight against the Czech Republic only to lose out to a Sverkos goal in the second half. After losing Alexander Frei to injury in the first half, the large Swiss home crowd must have expected the worse as the Czech Republic poured into attack from all sides. However, a strong rearguard action from Switzerland took the match all the way to the wire and despite losing the clash, there are plenty of positives that the Swiss national team can pick up as they look to enter into the knockout stages of the European championships for the first time in history.

 

The other clash in Group A saw Portugal put in an efficient performance to down fighting Turkey 2-0. Despite possessing some of the very best flair players in Cristiano Ronaldo, Simao, Deco and Nani, it took a wonder strike from Real Madrid central defender Pepe to help Portugal take a lead. Pepe had a goal ruled out earlier for offside and his performance will surely go a long way in securing him a permanent berth alongside Ricardo Carvalho at the heart of the Portuguese defence. Raul Meireless added a second one in the 81st minute to strike a dagger into the hearts of the Turkish players who now have a mountain to climb if they are to make it to the quarterfinals of the Euro 2008 finals.

 

The next round of matches sees Germany take on Poland while home outfit Austria take on promising Croatia.

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