After a terrific first round, Euro 2008 is already one of the best international tournaments ever. Hopefully, the knockout rounds will continue the entertainment and drama. Goalkeepers have been beaten 57 times, a better than two-goal-a-game average with only a single goalless draw. Referees have been controversial as usual, attacking football has been rewarded and the atmosphere is tremendous even through a television an ocean away. Some awards are in order.
Best Team – The Netherlands
The Group of Death is a wonderful name for a group. It’s delightfully over-the-top and dramatic and you only see it in football tournaments. The Dutch put on a show to gain maximum points in the Group of Unending Terror.
Worst Team – Greece
Poland and Austria have a claim here but at least they entered the opposing team’s half. Defending champions Greece were pathetically negative and toothless. It was an embarrassing display and few outside or inside Greece are sorry to see them out of the tournament.
Most Surprising Team – The Netherlands
I got the Group of Lost Souls all wrong partly because the Dutch were such a pleasant surprise. After an unimpressive few years under Marco van Basten, the Dutch destroyed their opposition with little effort. I think they scored more in the first game against Italy than in their entire qualifying campaign.
Most Disappointing Team – France
Bon voyage to a team that many thought could win the tournament. The French may rue their luck with Ribery’s injury but in truth they were undone by an aging and uninspiring core and poor management. This team will require major plastic surgery.
Best Player – David Villa
Honestly, there hasn’t been a single man who has been the hands-down best of the tournament so the top scorer gets this award. He had a great hat-trick in the demolition of Russia and a brilliant solo effort to beat the Swedes at the death.
Most Disappointing Player – Mario Gomez/Luca Toni
The two most dangerous hitmen in the Bundesliga have been gunshy on the big stage. Gomez has been terrible and had the miss of the tournament. Toni has been given at least a dozen clear opportunities but has crapped the pie each time. By the way, Germany needs much more out of their forwards. Pundits are suggesting Schweinsteiger will replace Gomez, pushing Podolski to striker, but I think the better move would be giving Kevin Kuranyi a run.
Best Manager – Marco van Basten
Faced with injuries to key wingers, van Basten settled on a 4-2-3-1 (instead of the traditional 4-3-3) with two inexperienced holding midfielders. The strategy, combined with lightning-fast counter attacks, succeeded wildly against Italy. His masterstroke was introducing Robben and van Persie for defensive players while holding a lead against France. If the risk hadn’t paid off, there’d be another name here but then again the best managers also have the biggest balls.
Worst Manager – Raymond Domenech
His list of mistakes runs as long as the Maginot Line and his defense was breached just as easily. He stayed with the ancien regime and has been duly punished. Some of the mistakes off the top of my head:
Thuram and Gallas were the center backs. Govou started the second and third matches. Benzema was benched for the second match. Nasri barely got twenty minutes on the pitch. A left-back (Abidal) started as center back against Italy and, when he received a red card, the bumbling buffoon Boumsong replaced Nasri instead of Govou (or no one, a change wasn’t necessary in my opinion when chasing the game). Toulalan and Makelele played all 270 minutes together (no Diarra). Gomis was preferred to Benzema and Anelka in the second match as a substitute. Sagna, Flamini, ben Arfa and Mexes were left home. And so on. Conservative management has been punished in this tournament and so it went with France.
Best Game – Turkiye 3, Czech Republic 2
This is one I’ll always remember. The first half was actually kind of drab but the second half was breathless, breakneck football at its finest. Before the Czech scored their second, Koller had a clear breakaway (though it was obvious the lumbering oaf would miss) and after they scored, they had one come off the post. The Turkish comeback in the last fifteen minutes had it all: a budding superstar (Arda) beginning the flurry, unending pressure and dangerous crosses, an unbelievable gaffe by a world-class goalkeeper, a world-class finish minutes later, a dramatic goal-box scramble that came inches from equalizing and a position player wearing an inside-out goalkeeper shirt after a red card.
Worst Game – France 0, Romania 0
At least the games Poland and Greece played had goals. This was the type of match that turns casual fans off football. Thankfully, this was the only goalless game.
Best Goal – Wesley Sneijder against Italy
While my heart says Nihat’s winner and Sneijder’s effort against France was spectacular, the best goal so far has been the Netherlands’ second against Italy. Individual efforts fill the highlight reels but football is a team sport and the best goals are team goals (witness Brazil against Italy, 1970). This goal saw the Gio van Bronckhorst clear a sure goal off his own line before providing a wonderful cross-field pass to Kuyt, who cushioned it to Sneijder to take care of the rest.
Worst Goal – Ruud van Nistelrooy against Italy
It turns out the referees’ decision was technically right but for all the wrong reasons. I seriously doubt they even noticed Panucci was off the field, and, even if they did, I doubt they knew about the obscure implications of the offside rule and, even if they did, they should have ignored them. Well, at least it created controversy and fueled Italian conspiracy theorists, especially after a perfectly good goal was disallowed against Romania.
Best Trend – Positive football
Thus far, teams that attack have been rewarded with results. Save Italy, no team in the quarterfinals is a defensive team and even the Azurri have shown some entertaining attacking endeavor. The Greek triumph of four years ago is now only an evil spectre that haunts Arsene Wenger’s dreams, the boogieman in Rinus Michels’s closet and a vulgarity in Brazilian dictionaries.
Worst Trend – Fussy refereeing
I think that refereeing has been decent overall (despite all those blown offsides) but the fussiness of the men in the middle has been annoying. Except for american football, the testicular fortitude of athletes of all shapes and stripes has been on a steady decline and referees have done little to stem the loss of testosterone.
Weirdest moment – Austria/Germany
I was totally perplexed by the referee’s decision to send both the Austrian and German managers to the stands for constant bickering. It was a stupid decision. At least we were treated to a warm meeting between Germany manager Joachim Low and his supreme leader Angela Merkel. I love it when heads of state watch games in person.
Best Save – Gianluigi Buffon against Romania
The importance of Buffon’s brilliant penalty save was underlined by how results went for Italy and Romania in their third match. Sure, Mutu hit the shot terribly but Buffon still had it all to do. Besides changing the destiny of both teams, the save led to Mutu breaking down on the pitch. It’s always interesting watching a grown man run around the pitch like a four-year-old who’s been denied his ice cream. Still, we should congratulate him for holding back the tears – more than William Gallas did earlier this season for Arsenal.
Worst Save – Petr Cech against Turkiye
Someone mentioned on a podcast that Cech hasn’t been the same since getting kicked in the head and having to don that ridiculous cap. I agree. While still a terrific goalkeeper, Cech has been prone to errors since then (a match against Reading if I remember correctly) but his gaffe against Turkiye will haunt the dreams of a nation for years to come.
Best ESPN Commentator – Andy Gray
I didn’t have much hope after his repetitive and often daft commentary on the FIFA video games but he’s been a revelation in the broadcasting booth. He makes great points and is effusive in praise and disabuse. ESPN for once made a great decision in pairing Andy Gray with Derek Rae (who I think is a fine play-by-play man) for the Czech Rep. – Turkiye match.
Worst ESPN Commentator – Rece Davis
Isn’t this guy ESPN’s college basketball anchor? I have no idea why he’s anchoring the studio for this tournament when ESPN has a self-professed football nut in Bob Ley who would be perfect.
Best 11 of the First Round
(I probably should have a couple guys from Croatia but I unfortunately didn’t catch any of their games)
GK Arthur Boruc (Poland)
D Khalid Bhoularhouz (Netherlands), Dorin Goian (Romania), Fabio Grosso (Italy), Gio van Bronckhorst (Netherlands)
M Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal), Arda Turan (Turkey), Wesley Sneijder (Netherlands), Libor Sionko (Czech Republic)
F David Villa (Spain), Ruud van Nistelrooy (Netherlands)
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