Friday, May 18, 2012
Issue # 1 "First Batch"
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Although the recent 2010 World Cup is becoming a distant memory, the Euro 2012 promises to satiate our appetites for top-level international football to ease the pain of waiting until Brazil 2014.

In this opening of a series of emails, I’ll identify the 16 teams playing in the Euro 2012 Tournament, and get you thinking about who you should pick to go all the way.  Will we see a repeat of the World Cup Final, Spain v. Netherlands???  Will UEFA Euro defending Champs from 2008 Spain reign supreme, to be the first European country to ever win three major tournaments in a row (Euro 2008, 2010 World Cup)??

Here's the tournament draw:

Group A:

Poland (tournament co-host)

Greece

Russia

Czech Republic

Group B: (the unofficial Group of Death!)

Netherlands

Denmark

Germany

Portugal

Group C:

Spain

Italy

Republic of Ireland

Croatia

Group D:

Ukraine (tournament co-host)

Sweden

France

England

So you think you know which two teams will pull thru in each of these groups?  Which are the favored teams, and which are the dark-horse candidates that will pull off a few upsets and slip through?  Here are my preliminary thoughts on the four groups:

Group A:  Playing host or co-host in this case is a great position to be in, but if Poland weren’t hosts, how would their side measure up against their competitors?  The Czech Republic were ranked No. 2 in the world a few years ago.  They've got some international superstar players filling the squads of Europe's top leagues...they may well make it through the group stage...but are they the favored team in Group A?  Russia always has a strong side of talented players, but do they have the team chemistry to go deep in the tournament?  And then there’s Greece.  If you recall, they won the Euro 2004 tournament… yes…GREECE, those economic slackers!!!  Back then, nobody thought they’d even get past the first round, but they managed to beat Portugal twice…in the group play and again in the final, IN PORTUGAL to take the title!

Group B:  The Dutch proved to be great on both offense and defense in the World Cup, and their top internationals have been in high form, including the English Premier League’s top scorer Robin Van Persie.  If they can focus on cooperative team play and less on dirty fouls and the art of the flop, I might start rooting for them someday.  Denmark is an underdog, but they typically have size and power, which is always dangerous on corner kicks and set plays, which can take them thru the elimination rounds before meeting more consistent opponents.  But then again, this is the Group of Death!  Germany looked very good in the 2010 World Cup, and always seem to be the best-coached side with superior team chemistry.  Did anyone still feel they underachieved two years ago…or did they go farther than they should have given their levels of talent?  Germany should make a strong run to the final match.  Rounding out the group is Portugal, no slouch.  The competition here is staggering…it seems unfair for Portugal to be lumped in with the Germans and Dutch, but someone’s gotta win, and someone’s gotta lose.  Ronaldo will surely have to score a lot of goals to keep up with the competition and get thru the group stage.

Group C:  Spain is the favored to win the tournament and repeat as champion.  But we know how hard it is for any team to defend a title amongst so many talented, dangerous sides.  Rest assured they’ll make it thru the group stage if not the final match.  Italy had an early exit, and displayed poor team chemistry in the 2010 World Cup.  Some say the Italian Serie A league has lost its luster, that the Italian style of play is too often ineffective (This style would be to score first, then play defense until the final whistle).  But remember, defense wins championships, and as boring as Italian soccer can sometimes be, their style of play may carry them far as it did in 2006.  And what about Ireland?  Second time ever in the tourney, first time back in a few decades…three and out in my book.  Croatia is my sleeper…that country has the best athletes in the world, on a per-capita basis…and they always have great team chemistry and talents…perhaps they can upset Italy or pull through on goal differential with a tie against them or Spain.

Group D:  Ukraine has some great talents and as co-hosts, they have a legit shot at pulling thru group play, better than Poland at any rate.  Sweden is frequently a top 16 European team, and has made numerous World Cup appearances…but they may lack the depth and midfield talents to go deep.  Keep an eye on Swedish-nationalized émigré Zlatan Ibrahimovic…he has peaked in Serie A (AC Milan) and has a thirst for victory in national soccer.  Who thinks France is ready to look better than they did in the recent World Cup, where they lost all three games, embarrassingly?  I do.  They have a fresh crop of young skilled players, which I’ll get to in a future segment…but I think they’re ready to go far in this tourney with great new talents on defense and midfield, as well as an experienced set of strikers.  England rounds out Group D with another formidable side.  It’s easy to get caught up in the big names of England when following the English Premier League, but England often underperforms on the national stage in big games.  Can they get over that hump and put together a side that looks like they know and like each other very well???

On a side note, is anyone following the UEFA Champions League? 

In what was billed to be a showdown between Real Madrid and defending champs Barcelona, both teams were upset in the Semifinals by underdogs Bayern Munich and Chelsea, respectively.  Real Madrid failed to get a win over Bayern Munich in both home and away games.  With Real Madrid actually in the lead in La Liga over rivals Barcelona, surely they were the best team in the UEFA Champions League…what a blown opportunity! 

After losing the road game 1-0, Barca took a 2-1 lead at home over Chelsea (who were a man-down after a foolish foul by England Captain and defender John Terry) but needed another goal due to road goal differentials to win the aggregate match to move on to the championship.  Instead of Messi having his way again, the unlikely hero was…Fernando Torres!  Until this weekend, he had scored a mere 3 goals all season long in the English Premier League, a dismal year.  But soon after being subbed in late, he had a big break away during a goal-hungry Barca lapse on defense, and tied it 2-2 to seal a trip to the Championship May 19^th in Berlin with a 3-2 aggregate win. 

A couple of Bayern’s players are out injured or suspended due to too many recent yellow cards…but Chelsea will be missing six players, including two starting defenders…surely they will be the underdog.  But maybe that will once again work in their favor.

Well there you have it…I hope this whets your appetite for some great club soccer finishes and the subsequent Euro 2012 tournament this summer.  Until the next Brew, ferment on this: in every World Cup, a couple new faces make a big name for themselves.  How many of you could have predicted the rise of a guy named Oezil (German of Turkish decent), Luis Suarez (Uruguay), or Prince Boateng (Ghana)? Who will be the big new names to watch?