Official EF EURO2008 thread

[Dodger]

	Quote:	ze devil's advocate
	I find it amazing that England with such footballing traditions does not manage to produce many technically gifted players. The population is there and the money is there so I don't know what is lacking?

Talent perhaps?

[ze devil's advocate]

	Quote:	Dodger
	Talent perhaps?

That can be cultivated with lot of practice maybe? When I was on holiday in Lisbon I saw kids playing on grass less dirty dust bowls and I was very impressed with their skills. I don't see why English kids on green grass pitches cannot do the same or better? Unless there is some relation between poverty and talent?

[tomcat]

	Quote:	ze devil's advocate
	...With such a young team Spain should go far in the WC.

Such a nice quote has to be preserved for posterity.

[PlantHead]

	Quote:	ze devil's advocate
	That can be cultivated with lot of practice maybe? When I was on holiday in Lisbon I saw kids playing on grass less dirty dust bowls and I was very impressed with their skills. I don't see why English kids on green grass pitches cannot do the same or better? Unless there is some relation between poverty and talent?

Plenty of poverty in the UK...the talent is there, but kids get pushed early on.
I remember having to play in full sized goals with a size 5 football at 8 years old...what was the point.
There was also too much emphasis on "traditional" football values of hard work, hard tackling, and determination..tactics and 1 touch football weren't taught...I even remember being told to not pass back to the keeper because it was negative.

[PlantHead]

	Quote:	ze devil's advocate
	Fabregas rightly said that it's been a very long time since a team playing beautiful attacking football actually won something.

He obviously forgot about Manchester United this season then.

[ze devil's advocate]

	Quote:	PlantHead
	He obviously forgot about Manchester United this season then.

Think he was talking about national competitions Although for some ManU is like a nation

[seyon]

OEEE OEEEE OEEEE CAMPEONES!!!!!!


WE WONNNNN, at least!!!! We deserved! I am soooo happyyyy. After many years. Sorry for the noise of the celebrations but we needed to celebrate!! It was great!!! Such a nice feeling!!!

¡¡¡¡¡VIVA ESPAÑA!!!!!!

[flow23]

i think it can be all over next WC/EM for spain.
there were/are alot of "experts" saying this or that team can make it very far next tournament and they were kicked out first round. i think it all depends on having and following the right stratgey, thats what you could see when we had the world cup in germany. we played all crap before, but klinsmann could set up a strategy that was so offensive and attacking. no cross passes, all 2touch vertical play. thats nearly the same spain was playing now. and we had and still have limited talented players. its motivation, concentration on the concept and crowd support. boom!

brazil failed big time because in 06 a) they did no real practice but public viewing at their training camp in Wengen in 06 b) they had no real good concept and thats it with talented players. its not having ronaldinho playing 5 no-look-passes to win the game, when defense and midfield is not set right and a team cant play lots of varieties in their attacking and defendeing game even when a key player is out-> spain/villa.

[ze devil's advocate]

Flow experts are dime a dozen and we all like talking out of our backside hence this thread On this occasion the BBC experts at least kind of got it right as most tipped Spain to win (check post No.24).

Yes Germany is not a bad team and after all they did reach the finals so don't be too hurt In the tactics department for example they had Scolari/Portugal out foxed in the quarters. I was expecting more of the same from Germany in the finals with Spanish being tiny as well and playing similar style of football. It just didn't happen for Germany. Spain really shut down Germany and I was quiet impressed.

In all fairness the difference between all the top sides is tiny. Bad luck and one mistake is all it takes.

[adrian76]

	Quote:	PlantHead
	I remember having to play in full sized goals with a size 5 football at 8 years old...what was the point.

Yeah me too. I can remember playing on a full size pitch in junior school (8-11yrs) where the quickest, strongest lads have a massive advantage regardless of skill. I remember being told to smack the ball into touch, rather than try to play out from the back.

This quote sums up the lunacy quite nicely.

	Quote:	Alan Ball
	"I knew I was better at football than the others in the playground, although the teachers just looked at my size and that was against me from the start.".

Alan Ball (Ball was never selected for his school side despite winning a World Cup winners medal some 4 years later at the age of 19)

http://www.giveusbackourgame.co.uk/quotes.php

[adrian76]

	Quote:	Dodger
	Talent perhaps?

	Quote:	Arsene Wenger
	"In England there is so much talent. I am convinced that at least 20 players at non league level could have played as well as Thierry Henry in the Premiership if they had been exposed to the correct coaching. I think it is easier to spoil your talent than bring it to the top."

http://www.giveusbackourgame.co.uk/quotes.php

Ooooh, who to believe???

[flow23]

spain really, really deserved it, no doubt! 5 games in a row won,
killed russia two times, eliminated italy...pow-wow!
i was thinking, hoping for the same german game like against
portugal but found myself back watching my team not gaining any room on the field beyond middle line at min 75! no fighting, no throwing all up front.
so for that we had to lose. but im happy we made it 2nd.

[ze devil's advocate]

New FIFA world ranking out.

[Polorise]

	Quote:	ze devil's advocate
	New FIFA world ranking out.

ahem ... 15 / 16 .....

[jamesturkey]

england have got to do smth. in world cup 2010.that s enough dont wanna get sad any more.capello will give us what we need.at least hope so

[ze devil's advocate]

What do you make of this?

	Quote:
	Former FIFA President Joao Havelange has made some quite sensational, and potentially damaging, allegations by claiming that the 1966 and 1974 World Cups were fixed so that England and Germany would win respectively.

[danm3]

Official: I have EM withdrawal sickness.