OT: Euro 2012

[CalamityX11]

Spain with a flawless victory once again... zero goals allowed in the Eurocup. With a shaken up roster/lineups, still the main identity of the team remains unchanged.

Italy, on limited chances, had some quality ones but Casillas uncharacteristically made the big saves(can't do it for real can't ya!!!) Italy, atm, is a not a team on design to make a comeback. Take a lead and put a stronghold til the end.

As for the World Cup, it's Uruguay to take!

 

[mem49er]

Spain with a flawless victory once again... one goals allowed in the Eurocup. With a shaken up roster/lineups, still the main identity of the team remains unchanged.

Fify

 

[clyde_carbon]

It's just annoying that the World Cup is 2 years away.

 

[CalamityX11]

lol World cup can't come soon enough... it just means I'm getting older lol... darn it!!!

 

[Yoshi]

Spain with a flawless victory once again... zero goals allowed in the Eurocup. With a shaken up roster/lineups, still the main identity of the team remains unchanged.

Italy, on limited chances, had some quality ones but Casillas uncharacteristically made the big saves(can't do it for real can't ya!!!) Italy, atm, is a not a team on design to make a comeback. Take a lead and put a stronghold til the end.

As for the World Cup, it's Uruguay to take!

LOL! Uncharacteristically? Maybe for RM, but that's a little harsh, he's still the top keeper in the world and if it wasn't for some untimely luck, RM would have a UEFA CL championship by now.

As for the WC in Brazil, man I'm stoked. Spain needs a replacement for Puyol at CB (perhaps the kid who plays for Arsenal right now who was plucked from the Barca youth system) because Ramos needs to be at RB. However, Spain has more than capable backups with Alba and Arbeloa. Gonna cross my fingers for a 4th title in a row!

 

[clyde_carbon]

LOL! Uncharacteristically? Maybe for RM, but that's a little harsh, he's still the top keeper in the world and if it wasn't for some untimely luck, RM would have a UEFA CL championship by now.

As for the WC in Brazil, man I'm stoked. Spain needs a replacement for Puyol at CB (perhaps the kid who plays for Arsenal right now who was plucked from the Barca youth system) because Ramos needs to be at RB. However, Spain has more than capable backups with Alba and Arbeloa. Gonna cross my fingers for a 4th title in a row!

A lot can change in two years, but the only two teams that can threaten Spain at this point are Brazil and Germany. Brazil has just so much attacking speed with Neymar, Pato, and Robinho that can score on anyone any minute.

 

[Bemular]

Soccer rule-makers approve goal-line technology

 

[Yoshi]

A lot can change in two years, but the only two teams that can threaten Spain at this point are Brazil and Germany. Brazil has just so much attacking speed with Neymar, Pato, and Robinho that can score on anyone any minute.

There's actually more teams than that - and actually, eventhough FIFA rankings are overrated, Brazil has talent but their back end scares me a bit and to be quite frank, they are not the Brazil of old with strikers such as Ronaldo and Rivaldo.

Here's my thoughts:

Portugal: played Spain the toughest out of any team in Euro's. They don't have that complement of stars the way they did back in Euro 04 when Figo and company were there, but they can really move the ball and are pretty solid on the counter. Should be interesting what they do in 2 years.

England: Finally since Seaman hung em up does England have a GK in Joe Hart. They have Rooney and possibly some serious danger on the wings with Walcott and Oxlade Chamberlain. My concern is will Lampard and Gerrard be back in the middle of that midfield for them in 2 years? Also, will Ferdinand be healthy enough to partner up with Terry (not to mention, Terry's spat on younger Anton Ferdinand was the impetus for that rift).

Argentina: With Messi, Arguero, Di Maria, Tevez, and Higuain, Argentina has some of the best attacking players on the planet. However, where's there defense? Can their midfield be creative enough to feed these guys the ball?

Germany: A well oiled machine, but what showed during their loss to Italy is their lack of creativity from the midfield. Granted, not starting Muller was a head scratcher, but they could use a real stud in the center there, ehem, Michael Ballack (although I know he's retired from international duty).

Uruguay: Forlan, Lugano, and Suarez - enough said. Wouldn't be surprised to see these guys in the semis once again. What a real threat they are.

 

[CalamityX11]

LOL! Uncharacteristically? Maybe for RM, but that's a little harsh, he's still the top keeper in the world and if it wasn't for some untimely luck, RM would have a UEFA CL championship by now.

As for the WC in Brazil, man I'm stoked. Spain needs a replacement for Puyol at CB (perhaps the kid who plays for Arsenal right now who was plucked from the Barca youth system) because Ramos needs to be at RB. However, Spain has more than capable backups with Alba and Arbeloa. Gonna cross my fingers for a 4th title in a row!

I seen him let easy ones/less difficult ones go throuh more than I could stomach. Especially for a guy who doesn't see too many shots at Real in the first place. (and i know keepers let easy ones in too... but doesn't help vs Barca!!! lol)

I think Spain may be ok with some talent back there but not experience... but who knows.

 

[CalamityX11]

A lot can change in two years, but the only two teams that can threaten Spain at this point are Brazil and Germany. Brazil has just so much attacking speed with Neymar, Pato, and Robinho that can score on anyone any minute.

Don't discount La Celeste!!!!

 

[clyde_carbon]

Points well taken.

Portugal matches up with Spain well, but they don't match up with a lot of other teams well. If they make it they could be a problem, but that's a big IF, in my opinion. Though Ronaldo finally showed something on the international stage, and Nani should only get better and better.

I agree about England in terms of talent, but they can never put it all together on the field. I absolutely love Joe Hart, but how good will Lampard/Gerrard be in the midfield in two years?

Argentina's offense is scary, but their midfield is suspect and their defense is hollow. And Messi isn't the same player on the international stage as he is in club soccer, though that's probably because Argentina's midfield is sub-par.

Uruguay? Forlan is gonna be like 85 years old in 2014.

Just wait a couple of years for Neymar and Pato. They're going to be absolutely deadly on the attack for Brazil, and defensively they still have Danny Alves, Thiago Silva, and Lucio.

 

[CalamityX11]

There's actually more teams than that - and actually, eventhough FIFA rankings are overrated, Brazil has talent but their back end scares me a bit and to be quite frank, they are not the Brazil of old with strikers such as Ronaldo and Rivaldo.

Here's my thoughts:

Portugal: played Spain the toughest out of any team in Euro's. They don't have that complement of stars the way they did back in Euro 04 when Figo and company were there, but they can really move the ball and are pretty solid on the counter. Should be interesting what they do in 2 years.

England: Finally since Seaman hung em up does England have a GK in Joe Hart. They have Rooney and possibly some serious danger on the wings with Walcott and Oxlade Chamberlain. My concern is will Lampard and Gerrard be back in the middle of that midfield for them in 2 years? Also, will Ferdinand be healthy enough to partner up with Terry (not to mention, Terry's spat on younger Anton Ferdinand was the impetus for that rift).

Argentina: With Messi, Arguero, Di Maria, Tevez, and Higuain, Argentina has some of the best attacking players on the planet. However, where's there defense? Can their midfield be creative enough to feed these guys the ball?

Germany: A well oiled machine, but what showed during their loss to Italy is their lack of creativity from the midfield. Granted, not starting Muller was a head scratcher, but they could use a real stud in the center there, ehem, Michael Ballack (although I know he's retired from international duty).

Uruguay: Forlan, Lugano, and Suarez - enough said. Wouldn't be surprised to see these guys in the semis once again. What a real threat they are.

Agree with all...

Portugal - They surprised me in the Euro and I see some guys with interest coming off the bench. Could make into something special but overall they all need to know there's one ball on the field at a time.

England - I'd like to see more from Carroll. I think he can really change the dynamic of the offense with Rooney.

Argentina - Like you said, one of the better attacking units but no D to back them up. A good Keeper though in Romero. Any team Messi has a realistic chance of winning IMO.

Germany - Spot on. I guess I didn't realize the lack of creativity from the midfield since they played pretty well and strong as a team for so long. Muller needs to start IMO to really take advantage of their attacking power.

Uruguay - Biased I may be but I believe they are the most complete team in South America. Attacking, Mid and Defense(goalkeeping is pretty good from Muslera and with his experience, he should only get better). I expect Uruguay to attack with Suarez and Cavani(with Abel Hernendez spotting minutes from the bench) up front and Forlan(last ride?) in the middle.

 

[Yoshi]

Points well taken.

Portugal matches up with Spain well, but they don't match up with a lot of other teams well. If they make it they could be a problem, but that's a big IF, in my opinion. Though Ronaldo finally showed something on the international stage, and Nani should only get better and better.

I agree about England in terms of talent, but they can never put it all together on the field. I absolutely love Joe Hart, but how good will Lampard/Gerrard be in the midfield in two years?

Argentina's offense is scary, but their midfield is suspect and their defense is hollow. And Messi isn't the same player on the international stage as he is in club soccer, though that's probably because Argentina's midfield is sub-par.

Uruguay? Forlan is gonna be like 85 years old in 2014.

Just wait a couple of years for Neymar and Pato. They're going to be absolutely deadly on the attack for Brazil, and defensively they still have Danny Alves, Thiago Silva, and Lucio.

I'm not so much worried about Neymar and Pato, I'm worried about who's playing behind them. Brazil has some stars, but I think Spain has outdone them in their own game as far as the succinct passing attack. And for anyone who follows Barca, no one will disagree that Alves has issues moving forward and supporting the attack, but I'm not so sure he's that solid defensively on his own end. I would take guys such as Sagna and Ramos over Alves defensively.

Messi isn't scoring goals for Argentina the way he does for Barca, but the Catalan midfield for Spain is hands down the best midfield in the world. Also, in a recent clash between Brazil and Argentina (about the time same time Euro 2012 started), Messi tore apart that Brazil defense in a 4-3 victory for Argentina. Messi I believe scored 3 goals in that game.

Also, if anyone is a dinosaur, it's Lucio, who actually is a year older than Forlan.

The thing I just realized about England is that I don't expect Gerrard and Lampard to start simultaneously in central midfield for England in 2 years. I'm betting on Wilshere, if healthy, pairing up with one of the 2, possibly Lampard for the central midfield partnership for the Three Lions. England has the lineup, but just don't get them involved in a shootout, because it's almost guaranteed that they'll lose.

 

[spacedoodoopistol]

Its kind of crazy how limited England is when it comes to good young prospects, and almost all their good players are on the verge of being past it. Rooney and Hart have plenty left in them obviously. Hopefully Wilshire comes back strong, he was looking amazing last time he played But other than that as far as teenagers with big potential its basically Ox and that's it. Welbeck may be something if he improves. The other players they talk about have done nothing.

I would say the problem definitely comes down to the EPL being too good for the youngsters to get real playing time, the top squads buy so much of the young talent, but are all stacked with quality top-to-bottom and can't give a teenager much run. They obviously need to fix that, I've heard suggestions of making the Reserves league more competitive somehow....or they just need to be smarter about loaning players to lesser clubs like you see much more elsewhere.

You look at Spain and Germany and there are all these 19 - 22 year old players that can't even crack those squads that would probably start for England.....those teams will stay on top for foreseeable future.

 

[spacedoodoopistol]

re: Spain vs. Brazil.......I think Brazil's problem these days is that the players play on so many different teams, they are really disadvantaged when it comes to team cohesion. The best teams right now - Spain, Germany, Italy - all have players that come from a much smaller number of teams, and mostly play in the same leagues, and benefit so much from that. Germany starts 7 Bayern guys and 2 Real Madrid guys, Italy had an all Juve defense, Spain is all Madridistas and Barcelonans......teams that know each other as well as they know themselves.

Brazilians are dispersed throughout different leagues, hardly any of the national team guys play together. Tough to compete.

 

[potzer25]

Looks like someone will not be happy...

Soccer rule-makers approve goal-line technology

[YOUTUBE]Zj-dfq7lDs4[/YOUTUBE]

 

[CalamityX11]

I'm not so much worried about Neymar and Pato, I'm worried about who's playing behind them. Brazil has some stars, but I think Spain has outdone them in their own game as far as the succinct passing attack. And for anyone who follows Barca, no one will disagree that Alves has issues moving forward and supporting the attack, but I'm not so sure he's that solid defensively on his own end. I would take guys such as Sagna and Ramos over Alves defensively.

Messi isn't scoring goals for Argentina the way he does for Barca, but the Catalan midfield for Spain is hands down the best midfield in the world. Also, in a recent clash between Brazil and Argentina (about the time same time Euro 2012 started), Messi tore apart that Brazil defense in a 4-3 victory for Argentina. Messi I believe scored 3 goals in that game.

Also, if anyone is a dinosaur, it's Lucio, who actually is a year older than Forlan.

The thing I just realized about England is that I don't expect Gerrard and Lampard to start simultaneously in central midfield for England in 2 years. I'm betting on Wilshere, if healthy, pairing up with one of the 2, possibly Lampard for the central midfield partnership for the Three Lions. England has the lineup, but just don't get them involved in a shootout, because it's almost guaranteed that they'll lose.

I wish Marcelo gets a good shot to make the starting XI for Brazil at CB

 

[TobyTyler]

Toby - just to add a little more to this discussion ...

There are also rare cases where a super team like my beloved Juventus gets shafted by dirty owners who fabricate a match fixing scandal (Calciopoli) which results in them being demoted to the second division for a year. I am still pissed off about that since Moratti (Inter) and Berlusconi (Milan) were just as guilty yet we were made the scapegoats. Alright, I'll get off that soap box now.

However, if a top team were to get relegated, even though they might have been under contract, they can still demand to be sold to a different team. Contracts are not as binding and as cash strapping as they are in the NFL. Every player has a "buy out" price, and with there being no salary cap implications, players can easily be sold back and forth. In Juve's case, it was Ibrahimovic and Zambrotta who were the highest profile players who refused to play the one year in Serie B and were thus sold.

With all that has happened, this years championship was that much sweeter and I'm so happy for players like Del Piero who remained loyal to the team through the relegation and tasted victory once more before calling it quits.

Thanks. I figured there had to be something like that as part of the deal.

 

[TobyTyler]

Roberto Baggio?

I agree though. Balotelli is quite different than most Italian players.

Paulo Rossi?