The quarterfinals have come and gone, and the results were about as suspected. The first (Czech vs. Portugal0 and last (England vs. Italy) games were the most hotly contested matches. Both the Czech Republic and England were just outclassed by their opponents. The Czech team at least came to play. That English team truly did revert to their old ways -- defense, defense, defense. They couldn't put three passes together. Sloppy, ugly futbol. England needs to rethink their game plan if that is the best they can come up with, better yet, go back to the fundamentals of offensive futbol.
There is a reason that the Spanish brand (Possession and crisp passing) of futbol has come to dominate these types of tournaments. It works! Look at who is left, Portugal, Spain, Italy and Germany. Each of those teams, except maybe to a lesser extent Portugal, likes to possess the ball. and they do it very well. However, only two teams can proceed to the final game.
Matchups:
Portugal vs. Spain - Without David Villa, the only true striker for Spain is Fernando Torres. Torres has been running hot and cold, and more cold as of late. The past two games he's had too many offsides runs and just can't seem to time things right. The coach appears to be playing games with Torres psyche, trying to motivate him. Will it work? We'll find out tomorrow.
This is Cristiano Ronaldo's tournament so far. It has been a bit of redemption for him, since his poor showing in the Champion's League. The man has a chip on his shoulder and has since reclaimed his place amongst futbol's elite.
Spain is not the Czech Republic; they play brilliant defense and will control the ball for the majority of the 90-minute match. Portugal's opportunities may be few and far between. This should be a brilliant game to watch. Both sides will likely score, but Spain is the classier of the two teams and should move on.
Italy vs. Germany - Italy looked amazing against the English. Their passing was crisp--Pirlo truly is the Maestro. The Azura possessed the ball for 70% of the match, they just couldn't score. Some credit should go to John Terry; he was absolutely brilliant. However, the midfield and the forwards, besides Carroll and Gerrard, were bloody awful.
The German side had only one weakness against the Greek, Bastain Schweinsteiger. I don't know if he is just suffering from the ankle injury or if it is from a concussion that he received during the Champions League final, because what he did out there against the Greek's made absolutely no sense. The man is one of my favorite German players, too. His passes belonged on a high school team or at the very best the English team. Yuck! I was happy to hear that he will not be starting. Poor guy hits the post during PKs at the Champions League Final and is now totally ineffective here in the Euro. Good thing for Germany that they have so much depth and class to compensate for the loss of Schweinsteiger.
Will Pirlo have enough magic in those 33 year old legs to take Italy to the finals? No, Germany wins big and advances to a Clash of the Titans with Spain.
Italy is tired and banged up. They have gone as far as they can go. Portugal has been a great team to watch in this tournament. There is so much anticipation whenever Ronaldo puts his cleats on the ball, but they are unfortunately lacking some depth to take them all the way to the final. There is a sliver of a chance that Portugal might sneak by Spain due David Villa not being out there to put additional goals in the back of the net. If it is Germany and Spain, and it should be, oh what an electric final we will all see.
-aap
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