Mohamed Haniff recaps the unpredictable and exciting group stages of the long awaited Euro 2012 with a plain and simple review of the good, the bad and the downright ugly.
The Good
- Goals are in fact not hard to come by. A group stage which served up no 0-0 draws is surely a sign of good things to come as the games start to pick up in intensity.
- Upsets still happen. The Danes handing the Netherlands a 1-0 defeat surprised many of us, not to mention the progression of Czech Republic and Greece. This tournament certainly has not been short on surprises.
- Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s goal. If you haven’t seen it yet; YouTube.
- Shevchenko’s heroic swan song against the Swedes. (Yes I choose to forget the other matches he played).
- Germany. Perfect group stage record; enough said.
The Bad
- The isolated incidents of racism which have thankfully not been as widespread as we would have been initially led to believe.
- Outbreak of violence outside of Poland vs. Russia on Russia day. When are we all going to buy into this one world, one people stuff?
- Balotelli’s haircut. Seriously even Meireles has decided to just take it all off, Mario.
- Ireland. Special mention goes out to the Netherlands who only escape full punishment because Robin Van Persie bagged me some fantasy points before he unceremoniously bid farewell to the tournament.
The Ugly
- Pepe and Bruno Alves but in a good way.
- Sergio Ramos and Arbeloa in a slightly less good way.
- Greece and England not in a good way. England only receives a slight pass because their lacklustre defending against the Swedes offered up one of the tournament’s best games so far. Still both of these teams are a cure for insomnia. Honourable mention goes to the Czech Republic and Spain only for their last game against Croatia.
The Interesting
- Italy might just be the most tactically flexible team in this entire tournament. They seem to be able to switch seamlessly between a back three and four. This ability to intelligently move between formations could serve them well as the tournament goes on. That is if they can defeat the grit and steely determination of Hodgson’s England.
- Spain not knowing whether they should play a striker or not. Fernando Torres should never play against a defence that sits deep. He offers nothing if he is not able to run in behind; however I don’t think the answer is Cesc Fabregas. Llorente playing with Jesus Navas could be worth a punt as I thought the little man from Sevilla did well against the Croats, while Llorente deserves a shot after the season he’s had. However the French defence has looked rather poor(ous) and I wouldn’t put it beyond Torres to bag a brace and leave the English media running out of superlatives.
- Robben’s quotes about the selfishness of Dutch players. Interesting in that we aren’t quite sure who he’s talking about if he’s not talking about himself.
- Laurent Blanc’s continued search for the right formula. So far Le President as he is known has been unable to find that right midfield three and the last spot in that trio up top as well. He has gone with various combinations giving opportunities to Florent Malouda who is presumably in the squad because Blanc forgot to take his name off the list. In any case I am of the opinion that an ideal France formation should contain Cabaye and M’Vila in the midfield; with Ribery and Benzema up top. The last two spots (one in midfield and one up top for those not paying attention) should go to people who are not Florent Malouda.
- Portugal actually clicking for the first time in what seems like a long time. The Portugese put in three very good performances despite the loss to Germany. I can see them lifting this trophy if they can raise the level a bit; they aren’t far off though.
- Messi’s name being mentioned every time Ronaldo touches the ball. Interesting in that haters gonna hate.
*Note: I fully expect after the slagging off I handed England and Florent Malouda, a France vs England final, which will turn out to be a highly entertaining affair with Malouda bagging a hat trick and an assist, in what ultimately turns out to be a 5-4 victory for the English on the back of a Joleon Lescott hat trick and two John Terry penalties.
