***OFFICIAL*** UEFA Euro 2004 thread

[nagger]

Rundown of the games for today:

Greece vs Spain
Bessa Stadium, Oporto
17:00 GMT +1

Greece (probable): Nikopolidis; Seitaridis, Dellas, Kapsis, Fyssas; Zagorakis; Giannakopoulos, Basinas, Karagounis; Nikolaidis, Charisteas.

Spain (probable): Casillas; Puyol, Marchena, Helguera, Raúl Bravo; Albelda, Xabi Alonso; Etxeberria, Valerón, Vicente; Raúl González

Portugal vs Russia
Stadium of Light, Lisbon
19:45 GMT +1

Portugal (possible): Ricardo; Paulo Ferreira, Rui Jorge, Fernando Couto, Jorge Andrade; Maniche, Costinha; Luís Figo, Cristiano Ronaldo, Deco; Pauleta.

Russia (probable): Ovchinnikov; Sennikov, Bugayev, Smertin, Evseev; Kariaka, Loskov, Aldonin, Alenichev; Sychev; Bulykin.

 

[ndee]

I think Group A sux majorly. Group C is awesome. Group D SHOULD be good but I didn't like the games so far from Group D.

 

[damiano]

ALLEZ LES BLEUS !!!!!!!!!!

 

[spherrod]

Spittin' Totti!

I didn't see this during the game but if they're not going to ban him for that tackle then this is as good as anything

 

[Sephy]

Greece get the vital draw! GO GREECE

 

[biostud]

Originally posted by: spherrod
Spittin' Totti!

I didn't see this during the game but if they're not going to ban him for that tackle then this is as good as anything

Originally posted by: biostud666
WTF!!!! I just saw a replay where Totti spat Christian Poulsen right in the Face in the Denmark Italy Match. This guy should be permabanned from matches!!!!

I soooo hope Italy looses rest of their games.

 

[nagger]

Today's results:

Greece 1 (66' Charisteas)
Spain 1 (28' Morientes)

Official Stats

Portugal 2 (7' Maniche, 89' Rui Costa)
Russia 0

Official Stats

________________________________

Russia is out of the Tournament with 0 points from 2 matches.

________________________________

Tomorrow's matches:

17 June - Group B

ENGLAND - SWITZERLAND 17:00 (Cidade de Coimbra Stadium, Coimbra)

CROATIA - FRANCE 19:45 (Dr. Magalhães Pessoa, Leiria)

 

[Achtung]

Huge game for England tomorrow... a loss and they go home. Even a tie won't be good news. Both Switzerland and Croatia played like crap in their first game though, so hopefully England can get by.

 

[maddogchen]

Go England!
I wonder if they're gonna make any changes.

Great effort by Greece, they should easily move on, facing winless Russia
Portugal-Spain match should be interesting

Speaking of Portugal, why didn't you start Deco in the first game? sad sad sad

 

[spherrod]

Looking forward to the England game, although slightly worried by reports that we're playing the Diamond formation again :-(

 

[Anubis]

Originally posted by: spherrod
Looking forward to the England game, although slightly worried by reports that we're playing the Diamond formation again :-(

i know, they plaied reall well last game except for teh last 5 min, i dont see wht they would change anything

 

[spherrod]

John Terry is back in defence, shame for King who was outstanding against the French on Sunday. Rooney/Owen and the midfield should have more than enough to beat the Swiss comfortably but I would rather play 4-4-2

 

[ndee]

Originally posted by: Achtung
Huge game for England tomorrow... a loss and they go home. Even a tie won't be good news. Both Switzerland and Croatia played like crap in their first game though, so hopefully England can get by.

Come oooooon, Switzerland didn't play like crap They're like a C-class team and the French and English are A-Class, Croatia being B-Class, they played ok against Croatia And tonite, they will send home Beckham! harhar

 

[nagger]

Originally posted by: maddogchen
Go England!
I wonder if they're gonna make any changes.

Great effort by Greece, they should easily move on, facing winless Russia
Portugal-Spain match should be interesting

Speaking of Portugal, why didn't you start Deco in the first game? sad sad sad

It was probably because Deco SOL during the preparation matches...

Yesterday was his best match with the Portugal shirt, although me as a portuguese still don't accept foreigners in my national team :disgust:

 

[maddogchen]

Totti three match ban for spitting!!!

Whats Italian for "DOH!!"

LISBON, June 17 (Reuters) - Italy forward Francesco Totti, one of the biggest names at Euro 2004, has been banned for three matches for spitting at Denmark's Christian Poulsen.
European soccer's governing body (UEFA) ruled on Thursday that Totti had been guilty of 'gross unsporting conduct' after viewing video evidence from the Group C game in Guimaraes on Monday which ended 0-0.


'We will not tolerate this kind of behaviour,' said UEFA spokesman William Gaillard. 'We did not tolerate it in the past and we will not tolerate it in the future.'

Totti, looking serious, left the building without comment after a hearing lasting more than three hours in a Lisbon hotel.

The ban means Totti will miss the remaining two Group C games against Sweden and Bulgaria, and the quarter-finals if Italy get that far. It is a serious blow for the Azzurri who were among the pre-tournament favourites.

The Danish Football Association (DBU) made an official complaint to UEFA following the release of images showing the Italy forward clearly spitting in the face of Poulsen.

'Prosecutors' at the hearing had asked for a four-match suspension. Totti's lawyers wanted a one- or two-match ban.

Italian news agency Ansa quoted the lawyers as saying they were partially satisfied by the ruling which 'leaves open the door to a decision on an appeal after seeing the reasons behind the sentence'.

Giovanni Trapattoni has built his team around the Roma captain, allowing him a free role, and the coach must now swiftly restructure his side for the game against the in-form Swedes in Porto on Friday.

The incident is also a major blow to the image of Italian football which had hoped to put their bitter exit from the World Cup two years ago well behind them.

The Italians were knocked out in the second round of the World Cup to co-hosts South Korea in a controversial golden goal defeat in which Totti was sent off for diving.

Then Totti was seen as the innocent victim of Ecuadorian referee Byron Moreno whose alleged bias towards the Koreans was seen as part of a plot to keep Korea in the competition, according to many Italians.

But this time there has been little sympathy anywhere for Totti whose status in Italian football is comparable with that enjoyed by David Beckham in England or Ronaldo in Brazil.

The official Italian team brochure produced for Euro 2004 describes Totti as 'a symbol of Italian football worldwide' and the forward has several lucrative sponsorship deals.

The Totti case recalls an ugly incident at the 1990 World Cup when Dutchman Frank Rijkaard spat at German Rudi Voeller during a match in Milan. Both players were suspended, though Voeller returned to help his team win the tournament.

In the most recent similar case in European competition, Lazio's Serbian defender Sinisa Mihajlovic was banned for eight games after spitting at Chelsea striker Adrian Mutu in a Champions League match in November.

France playmaker Zinedine Zidane was suspended for two matches at the 1998 World Cup for stamping on an opponent, like Voeller returning to the team and going on to win the title.

In the 1994 World Cup, Italy's Mauro Tassotti was banned for eight matches for elbowing Spain's Luis Enrique.

The referee did not see the incident and Tassotti was charged on video evidence. His ban effectively ended his international career.

 

[ndee]

YEAH, take that! Stupid Totti!

 

[biostud]

He's so a looser, he should be glad he got of that easy, but it doesn't really matter since Italy only have two matches left

 

[joohang]

Originally posted by: brigden

Originally posted by: joohang

Originally posted by: blakeatwork
Oh and Joohang... I'm a Corkman first and foremost, but since most people don't know we Irish have our own league

I cheer for Chelsea if I watching Premiership Football...

I'm almost hoping someone from Bulgaria takes a run at Totti... They don't have much to lose, as they weren't going to win their group anways... get him right good on his "blisters"

bloody Italians...

I am aware that the Irish and the Welsh got their own leagues, but I know nothing about them.

BTW, I never figured out the difference between the League Cup and the FA Cup. I understand that the FA Cup got more participants, but where lies the actual difference? Could anybody explain?

Serie A is unbelievably boring, but I noticed recently (and I hate to admit it) that Argentinian football is in fact even more boring.

On another note, I'm dead scared of Chelsea next season.

The FA Cup is the main competition in England with the most prize money (2 million pounds AFAIK), however the winner of the League Cup gets a spot in the UEFA Cup. The League Cup is only for the professional teams in the Premier League, First, Second and Third Divisions, while the FA Cup is open to all clubs in the country. The most important rounds of the FA Cup take place from November to May, while the League Cup goes from August to February.

Thanks. That clarifies just about all my questions.

 

[kaizersose]

did anyone watch the highlights of greece-spain yesterday?

joaquin was the most dangerous guy out there. he was taking on defenders right and left, crossing dangerous balls and winning corner after corner. if him and vincente are both on their game, spain could be extremely dangerous. i say 'could' be because their finishing is still severely lacking.

 

[joohang]

Pic of Mr. Totti: http://www.euro2004.com/MultimediaFiles/Photo/Euro2004/NewsE04/194698_BIGPORTRAIT.gif

I never learned "bad words" at school, but I can say this:
Arrivederci, signor Totti. Danimarca t'ha Pwn4ato.

 

[joohang]

Originally posted by: kaizersose
did anyone watch the highlights of greece-spain yesterday?

joaquin was the most dangerous guy out there. he was taking on defenders right and left, crossing dangerous balls and winning corner after corner. if him and vincente are both on their game, spain could be extremely dangerous. i say 'could' be because their finishing is still severely lacking.

Joaquín played very very well. Spain attack almost completely depends on their wingers Vicente and Etxeberria (or Joaquín) but the finish is still not quite there. I am so far rather disappointed with the performance of Raúl and Morientes.

Or perhaps Spain is attacking well but Greece defence has been very very solid. I loved the flick from Raúl and the lovely finish by Morientes, but they had to take advantage of an error in Greece defence.

Spain vs. Portugal should be a treat to watch.

 

[joohang]

Originally posted by: nagger

Originally posted by: maddogchen
Go England!
I wonder if they're gonna make any changes.

Great effort by Greece, they should easily move on, facing winless Russia
Portugal-Spain match should be interesting

Speaking of Portugal, why didn't you start Deco in the first game? sad sad sad

It was probably because Deco SOL during the preparation matches...

Yesterday was his best match with the Portugal shirt, although me as a portuguese still don't accept foreigners in my national team :disgust:

It's not all that different than Argentinians playing for the Italian national team, really. He already speaks fluent Portuguese, and if he got Portugal citizenship and identifies himself more as Portuguese than as Brazilian, then why not?

However, I do think it is a bit of a problem because he had already played for the Brazil national team (correct me if I'm wrong).

 

[spherrod]

Cmon England! Very anxious for the game to start now!

 

[joohang]

Originally posted by: spherrod
Cmon England! Very anxious for the game to start now!

I will keep myself neutral and just enjoy the play.

I personally like the England players and know them better, but ndee would kill me if I cheer against them Swiss.

 

[Achtung]

Originally posted by: joohang
It's not all that different than Argentinians playing for the Italian national team, really. He already speaks fluent Portuguese, and if he got Portugal citizenship and identifies himself more as Portuguese than as Brazilian, then why not?

However, I do think it is a bit of a problem because he had already played for the Brazil national team (correct me if I'm wrong).

Yeah we have foreigners playing on the USA team as well, which is all good especially because most of them came to America as kids.

I don't think that Deco had played for the full Brazillian national team, maybe some youth teams or something. As long as he never played as a senior international, its not a problem to change nationality.