[Archmage]

Wow, what a crazy Euro 2004. None of my picks to make it to the semis advanced. How in the heck did Greece beat France ????? I picked France to win the whole darn tournament. I applaud Greece for their victory, but France has a far more talented team. France must have played a piss poor game, or have taken Greece far to lightly. Either way there last two international results have been horrid. Getting bounced in the first round of World Cup 2002 and then getting beat by Greece in the Quaterfinals of Euro 2004. With all the talent they have, it simply makes no sense. Obviously they are not playing up to their potential, or maybe they are not playing as a team. Or maybe they are playing to arrogantly and not taking certain opponents seriously enough. Whatever the cause, I am sure the French Soccer Governing Body is none to happy and I would not be surprised if we see a major shake up of the team and coaches before the next World Cup.

And Germany getting knocked out in the first round ???? What was that all about ?? How can a team that was so good in the last world cup play so poorly only two years later ?? The coach Rudy Fuller (I am spelling his name wrong I am sure) was let go or has already resigned.

And Italy not advacing to the Quaters ? The was another major surprise.

And How in the heck did Beckham miss that PK against Portugal ?? I mean there is absolutely no excuse for that. A player of his quality, with his shooting ability, to launch it ten feet over the crossbar, wow, bad form. I cannot even imagine what the reaction in the papers in England was after that loss to Portugal.

Anyway, out of the four teams that are left, I think Holland is going to win the tournament. Van Nistelroy is on fire right now. I think Holland will beat Portugal and the Czech Republic will beat Greece. And I think Holland will beat the Czech Republic in the Final.

[Archmage]

Well, Portugal just beat Holland today in the first semifinal. So I called that one completely wrong ! *lol* Been a crazy Euro 2004. Who knows, Greece might end up winning the whole thing. Certainly has been the most unpredictable soccer tournament I have seen in quite awhile. Well, that and this years Champions League. Regarding the Champions League....when will FIFA realize that aggregate scoring is a bad way to determine who advances. Best two out of three would be much better.

[Blabla]

Archmage, if you watched the prepation matches you would have been less surprised i think. Germany was predictably average. France lacked creativity, motivation and determination (plus fresh legs). England seemed better than usual but still not a strong title contender. Spain is spain alas and Italy... well is italian. The czech republic was (and is still) awesome and portugal was always be a stong contender at home. So the only real surprise is indeed greece, but hey, such tournament almost always have those unexpected teams.

edit: regarding the CL, it's the UEFA and not FIFA who decide. IMO it's a fair system. Three games per round would be too harsh on the already overcharged calendar. Plus you are not taking draws into acount.

[Archmage]

Archmage, if you watched the prepation matches you would have been less surprised i think. Germany was predictably average. France lacked creativity, motivation and determination (plus fresh legs). England seemed better than usual but still not a strong title contender. Spain is spain alas and Italy... well is italian. The czech republic was (and is still) awesome and portugal was always be a stong contender at home. So the only real surprise is indeed greece, but hey, such tournament almost always have those unexpected teams.


The pisser is that I live in the states, and none of the Euro 2004 games or qualifiers were broadcast. So I never got to see what kind of form alot of the teams were in. So you are right I am sure. Had I been able to watch the qualifiers, I would have had a better guage on what kind of form each team was in. Still, there was no excuse for Beckham to have missed that PK against Portugal. At that level, with his shooting expertise, that was a piss poor effort on his part.

[Archmage]

Archmage, if you watched the prepation matches you would have been less surprised i think. Germany was predictably average. France lacked creativity, motivation and determination (plus fresh legs). England seemed better than usual but still not a strong title contender. Spain is spain alas and Italy... well is italian. The czech republic was (and is still) awesome and portugal was always be a stong contender at home. So the only real surprise is indeed greece, but hey, such tournament almost always have those unexpected teams.

edit: regarding the CL, it's the UEFA and not FIFA who decide. IMO it's a fair system.


Yeah good point, UEFA decides on the CL format. FIFA is the world governing body, I should have been paying better attention to what I was writing. Anyway, I dislike aggregate. I think often times, the better team does not advance because of the ridiculous away goal rule. Play a best two out of three, and then there is nothing to dispute. The better team earns the right to advance.

[Leiali]

The pisser is that I live in the states, and none of the Euro 2004 games or qualifiers were broadcast. So I never got to see what kind of form alot of the teams were in. So you are right I am sure. Had I been able to watch the qualifiers, I would have had a better guage on what kind of form each team was in. Still, there was no excuse for Beckham to have missed that PK against Portugal. At that level, with his shooting expertise, that was a piss poor effort on his part.


We really were robbed though. There was nothing wrong with the header by Sole Campbell that was disallowed by the referree.
Beckham was the only player who didn't stomp the ground where the ball was, which was extremely bumpy, which probably partly explained the miss.

But anyway, I think the czech's are playing marvellously, but I am also gutted that France is out as Zidane is such a pleasure to watch. Glad I am not in the states - wouldn't miss this tournament because it is so gripping!

[Archmage]

We really were robbed though. There was nothing wrong with the header by Sole Campbell that was disallowed by the referree.
Beckham was the only player who didn't stomp the ground where the ball was, which was extremely bumpy, which probably partly explained the miss.

But anyway, I think the czech's are playing marvellously, but I am also gutted that France is out as Zidane is such a pleasure to watch. Glad I am not in the states - wouldn't miss this tournament because it is so gripping!


Man when it comes to the states, most people could care less about soccer. I mean the MLS has helped raise awareness about the game, and has also helped to develop a number of great players and therefore has helped to move the US up into the top 10 in the world now internationally. All I can say is thank goodness for Freddie Adu. That kid is remarkable, and he is going to be absolutely incredible by the time he is 18. He just now turned fifteen and he is keeping pace and has even scored a few goals for DC United. He is raising awareness of soccer in America much like Tiger Woods has done for Golf and Lance Armstrong has done for cycling.

[kahnovitch]

Portugal and Greece in the final.
What are the odds that the first and last games of the tourney have the same teams.

I watched the Greeks all the way through and although they don't play the most exciting footy in the world, their tactics are spot on.
No great, big name, flair players, but a solid team, that defend and attack as a unit.
The French (and Czechs) seemed to just run out of ideas!

The bookies have probably got Portugal odds on to win, despite the fact that the greeks have beaten them once already.

I guess nobody will give them the respect they deserve unless they win it. :rolleyes:

[Beleg]

LOL, I'll be rooting for Portugese in the final. I am not an avid watcher of Europeon football, but by all means what greeks have achieved seems quite an achievement and I got to say they certainly were the better of the two in France vs. Greece although luck favored them against the Czechs though. I thought Czechs deserved to win.

[Nimea]

Portugal vs Greece - I sooo wished for it! :)

And about Germany: harhar, we ourselves weren't really surprised. The World Championship 2002 was unexpected fun - but there was some luck involved.
Honestly, it was much more fun to watch the German U21 team play, but unfortunately they did not get far in the Euro Championship either. *pout*

Archmage: his name is Rudi Völler aka Tante Käthe (Aunt Kate) . . . And God knows who is going to be the next coach.