EURO 2012

My gf has a 'soft spot' for di Natale, too.

A guy who sends work my way is a ringer for di Natale, I've been wrestling hard with whether to mention it or not.

I like the way they don't seem to have anyone who puts his hands together to implore a referee. That's the main thing.

There hasn't been much of that from any team and also not that much diving and play-acting, not even from Portugal

http://www.oleole.it/media/main/images/blogs/images/group1/subgrp166/iniesta_452179.jpg

http://inapcache.boston.com/universal/site_graphics/blogs/bigpicture/euroaction/bp28.jpg

need to do a poll "diving and playacting vs fouling and kicking" and then abuse everyone who thinks that the former is somehow a worse form of cheating in football.

Not been much fouling and kicking either!

spain really are impressive, they've managed to make all my french friends root for italy on sunday ! which is quite a feat considering there's usually not a lot of love between france & italy in football

Balotelli managed by Redknapp would have been awesome. What a lost opportunity!

http://inapcache.boston.com/universal/site_graphics/blogs/bigpicture/euroaction/bp34.jpg

Platini has to be stopped

the perfect tournament would be all teams playing each other all the time everywhere

Turning the Euros into the CL is a bold/bonkers idea yes.

Just give it to Turkey, but imo this could be a good chance to back down from the 24-team format. Knock-out format, everyone enters, the first few rounds are two-legged home & away, it'd be great.

NB that won't happen

Ha, yeah, make it like the old UEFA Cup, no qualifying, unseeded draw, over 2 years away you go.

Isn't that basically the old European Championships... I mean in the 60s?

Supposedly, but afaict nobody's ever seen even a single moment of any of these tournaments (bar Panenka's coup-de-grace)

has there been a red card since the two in the first game?

Irish dude vs Italy?

https://p.twimg.com/Awpl7GWCMAARzQz.jpg:large

diamante looks like a homeless person

still, tho

/diamanti

front row, center: Giovinco

Been wondering which player was more hard done by* this tournament, Cazorla (10' v Ireland, 6' v France) or Mata (hasn't got off the bench).

*not wrongly, just in an ability/opportunity sense

Pirlo needs a place in this team: good defensive midfielder who also has a bit of skill.

― Omar (Omar), Monday, June 14, 2004 1:48 PM (8 years ago)

Been wondering which player was more hard done by* this tournament, Cazorla (10' v Ireland, 6' v France) or Mata (hasn't got off the bench).

*not wrongly, just in an ability/opportunity sense

― boxall, Sunday, 1 July 2012 03:50 (3 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

gotze

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-A23c30toM&feature=player_embedded#!

Been wondering which player was more hard done by* this tournament, Cazorla (10' v Ireland, 6' v France) or Mata (hasn't got off the bench).

*not wrongly, just in an ability/opportunity sense

― boxall, Sunday, 1 July 2012 03:50 (3 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

gotze

― Smothered, Covered and Chunked!!! (a hoy hoy), Sunday, July 1, 2012 6:13 AM (3 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

just somebody that i used to know...

heh

are gooners worried about podolski yet? he has been absolute pony

A lot of players don't perform at summer championships for whatever reason. Xavi has been poor, etc.

It's a Newcastle Stéphane Guivarc'h after WC '98 circumstance.
xp

To be fair, Van Persie has been pony as well, whereas Rosicky was amazing in Euro 2004 and has done very little of note since, even before the injuries.

my initial reaction was to say poldi has way more pedigree than guivarc'h ever had but it's not true really is it

he'll probably be alright tbf

in that "the stats prove arteta is a gamechanger" kinda way

Sort of thought of him as the new Wiltord.

yeah, i was kinda joking, he'll be fine. Put him down for 15 goals, 7 assists, no trophies.

podolski has been coasting for years but it's there for all to see now, a big fat waster so he is

Arsenal do need another player with loads of talent and no strength of character though.

uhm that is like the exact opposite of podolski

he is not particularly talented but he's made a good career through being intelligent, reliable, a willing runner and latterly a good finisher

podolski has been coasting for years

Kinda thought that tbh but needed it confirmed by people who are more informed on footall in Europe

giroud is cut from the same cloth but it seems he requires a lot of chances to score and though he's very strong might lack the explosiveness over the first few yards that counts for a lot in the epl

fucking hell, sylvain wiltord

now there's a player who has literally never crossed my mind since he went away

can't really tell if playing in a hot team made him look very decent and probs underrated but my intuition is that poldi can't hold a candle to him

similar players

they are probably the highest tier of game lads in football, beyond that is the twp category of gameness augmented by a certain amount of actual skill

i was under the impression poldi was a jumped up wunderkind tart who had been beaten back by harsh reality into a drudging purgatory of channel shuttling when not being indulged at koln

might be wrong of course

That was my impression as well. You can't be a coaster and have strength of character. Otherwise you're making him sound like Dirk Kuyt or some other condescending pat on the head works his socks off type.

the story at the time was that he was homesick and couldn't hack the extra attention/pressure at bayern but now supposedly he is grown up etc

his international success suggests he can do it so long as he is in a holistically nurturing environment overseen by a benign cossetting manager rather than being a moderately sized country dog cast into the bad newz kennelz of hollywood fc

They don't do working your socks off at the Arsenal (xp)

i was exactly thinking of kuyt when i wrote that

he is faster and more skilful than him, but still closer to kuyt than pires