Euro 2008; A Few Observations
A few things have caught my eye in the first week or so.
1) Free kicks - how many from outside the box have been on target? Not many! I hate to say it, but I think the ball plays a part in this. It looks like the one I bought in 1982 from a newsagent.
2) Diving - Jesus, how many times are people going to get away with this? Refs were told to clamp down on it, as with the shirt pulling, yet it just goes on and on.
3) Defending - I think the team that wins this tournament will be the one with the best defence; so far, I reckon that’s Holland. My initial prediction has gone out the window, with the French back four looking like they met in the tunnel just before the game.
4) Coverage - ITV’s is crap. Radio Five’s has been crap on occasion too. Steve McLaren for fuck’s sake.
5) Best player - Wesley Sneijder for me.
6) Worst player - apart from Thuram has to be Wasilewski for Poland who gave away the penalty in the Austria game. He’s terrible.
7) The hosts - if it hadn’t been held in those two countries, I can’t see how they would have qualified.
The holders - glad they’re out, they were pants too.
9) It’s not over yet - despite Spain’s outstanding display in the first game, they struggled to break down a well-organised if not very creative Sweden team. Germany look good going forward but suspect in the middle of the back four. Italy are spawny bastards and could still get out of the group; the game against France could be a cracker. Luca Toni is a handful and against ropey Thuram and shouty Gallas so he could cause big problems.
So, just a couple of things, and I think the tournament is fairly open with the Dutch looking as early favourites over Spain. Van Nistelrooy looks a more rounded and better player than he was at United and Sneijder is class - even Ooijer, who I thought was bobbins has looked capable!