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It was supposed to be a classic. Two of the top teams in Europe, Italy and Spain, with some of the best footballers in the world on display. But what we saw was a dire game featuring two teams more focused on avoiding defeat than trying to win. Other than the Romania against France game, this was the worst match of the tournament.
With such a big game being broadcast around the world, you would hope that the teams would come out and play attractive football. Italy, especially, was absolutely abysmal in the way that they treated the game putting so many players behind the ball that it was no wonder Spain had difficulty trying to score. For so much of the match, the Spanish attackers had to try and weave their way past eight players in the back.
Instead what we saw, over and over again, was Spain going down the wings and floating balls into the box only for Italy to head the ball away due to their height advantage.
Living here in the United States, it’s always a battle to try to win over fans of traditional sports and make them soccer fans. But in a game like we saw tonight, the criticisms those non-believers cry out became true: Soccer is low scoring and boring (this one almost put me to sleep at times). Soccer players feign injuries (the Italians were particularly guilty of this). Penalties are a dumb way to end games (I agree). And so on and so forth.
Games like these don’t make it easy for soccer fans in the United States. Sure, not every match can be a classic but I thought Italy’s negative tactics were embarrassing. They defended superbly, yes. But they were far too cautious and sat back hoping to hold on for a 0-0 draw or grab a late winner.
The better team on the night won but only barely. Spain, the consummate underachievers, lacked the creativity and clinical finishing in front of goal to put this match away. Against a different opposition they may have had a chance to shine better but I expected more from the Spaniards. Unless they can improve in a few days time, I feel Russia has an excellent chance of making it to the final.

Spain And Italy&#039;s Bore Draw Gives Soccer A Bad Name - World Soccer Talk

Spain And Italy's Bore Draw Gives Soccer A Bad Name

<div><figure class="image"></figure></div>Experiencing Euro 2008 from the comfort of your home, office or local pub is so <a href="http:\/\/epltalk.com/euro-2008-how-seeing-a-football-match-on-tv-can-be-better-than-seeing-it-in-person/2358">different than seeing the game live</a> in person. But what goes on inside a stadium in the buildup to a Euro 2008 game?
For the first round of Euro 2008 matches that began at 2.45pm ET, most — if not all — of the stadiums televised the noon ET game on the giant screen TVs to encourage fans to get to the stadium early and to reduce traffic congestion in the buildup to the match.
When I watched the game between France and Romania on the giant TV screens before Holland played Italy in Berne, there were two problems. One, it was very difficult to watch a game on a giant screen TV no matter where your seat was in the stadium. Two, the stadium organizers had a DJ playing music throughout the game so it definitely took away the atmosphere of the match. But luckily we didn’t miss much as the French played an absolutely boring game against the very physical Romanians.
I was really impressed with the pre-match events organized by the Swiss. Sure, there was the predictable dancers running across the pitch carrying banners to pump up the crowd. But there was also a host who spoke to the crowd in English and explained what would happen in the build-up to the match. He then introduced two men. One spoke in Dutch to the Oranje army. The other man was Italian and spoke in his native tongue to his fellow countrymen.
Both the Dutch and Italian men tried to pump up their fans. The English-speaking host then explained how he wanted the Dutch and Italian fans to work together to ensure that the match was celebrated in the spirit of the game.
He then got the fans involved in a novel crowd participation game. A very large canvas sheet in the shape of a soccer ball was given to the Dutch fans at one end of the stadium. The host then encouraged the fans to pass the soccer ball canvas over their heads to the opposite side of the stadium where the Italian fans stood. The object of the game was to see if they could get it to the other end within 60 seconds.
While it was fun to watch the fans fumble the ball, it was definitely a good exercise to get the crowd working together as a team.
As the time sped forward toward kick off, the DJ continued to spin his records. The Italian and Dutch fans tried to sing above the din of the music but to no avail. The blasting music was detrimental to the atmosphere in the ground. By the time the game was almost ready to kick off, the fans were singing but not as loudly as they could have been. I really feel the music was to blame for this.
The site for all of these pre-match activities was Berne’s Wankdorf Stadium. Despite it’s laughable name, the ground is one of the best smaller stadiums I’ve ever visited. Recently rebuilt in 2005, the ground looks boxy from the outside, but inside it’s quite compact while still allowing enough leg room in the 32,000 all-seater. What surprised me was how well designed the concourse was than ran beneath the upper deck. The restrooms, for example, were as modern as what you’d expect to find in most larger hotels. And the way the concourse was designed allowed for easy flow of football supporters in and out of that corner of the ground.
Other than the annoying DJ, I give the Euro 2008 stadium experience at Berne’s Wankdorf Stadium a massive thumbs up.

The Euro 2008 Stadium Experience: Berne - World Soccer Talk

The Euro 2008 Stadium Experience: Berne

<div><figure class="image"></figure></div>The French participated in Euro 2008, but only in name. Their performance was a still, lifeless damp squib. The blame lies with one man, Raymond Domenech.France missed their renowned number 10, but, more pressing was the lack of any number 10 in Domenech’s formation. The French used a depressed 4-4-2, with two holding midfielders and two forward wingers. Because Makelele and Toulalan offer virtually nothing going forward, they had a wide gap in the middle of their attack, allowing the opposition to clamp down on the wingers with impunity. The strikers never settled in up front, and barring a few brilliant nutmegs, their service was cut off completely.Domenech had alternatives. He could have switched to a 4-2-3-1 formation, replacing a striker with a playmaker in the middle to direct traffic. Both Franck Ribery and Samir Nasri are ideally suited to that role. Liverpool play a similar way with Steven Gerrard playing behind Fernando Torres. He played this part of the time against Holland, and despite the scoreline, it was the one match where the French looked like they were going to score a goal.Even if the French manager wanted two strikers, he could have subbed either Makelele or Toulalan for a midfielder that offered anything going forward. Patrick Vieira had he been healthy (and five years younger) could have provided that dynamism. Unpicked Arsenal man Matthieu Flamini would also have pushed forward without sacrificing defensive integrity.The formation doomed France’s attack from its inception, and, more damningly, it did not keep the opposing team from scoring, which was its intention. This was largely thanks to Domenech’s relentless tinkering with the back four. In the first match, he chose the tried and tested quartet (Abidal, Thuram, Gallas, Sagnol). Against the Dutch, Domenech reversed course and started Evra instead of Abidal. In the final match, he went batty, dropping Thuram and Sagnol in favor of Abidal (at center half) and Clerc on the right. We all saw how well that worked.The nadir of the French failure was Domenech’s shameful performance during the Italy match. After Abidal was sent off, France were down 1-0. They needed to score two goals to win, yet Domenech takes off an attacking player, Nasri, to bring on a “defender” Boumsong. If you want another defender, take off a holding player, but why, when you need to score two goals, is your primary action to shore up the defense? Where is the heart? Where is the ambition? If not in a must win situation in a major international tournament, then when?Most international managers could only dream of the talent at Domenech’s disposal. How many managers have Henry, Benzema, and Anelka to call on? How many managers have Ribery and Nasri in attacking midfield positions? How many managers have so much depth at every position that Arsenal stalwarts Gael Clichy and Mathieu Flamini would not even make the squad? That team had the talent to win the tournament and did nothing. Their performance was gutless and inexcusable.The French Football Federation announced that they will wait until July to determine Domenech’s fate. But, why wait until July? The question is not whether Domenech should be fired. It is what redeeming quality he has that makes him worth keeping.<div><figure class="image"><img loading="lazy" src="https:\/\/ds-images.bolavip.com/news/image?src=https:\/\/images.worldsoccertalk.com/webp/WST_20080619_WST_2417_domenechpanini.webp&amp;width=231&amp;height=300" width="231" height="300" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-1545"></figure></div>Look at that stache!

Raymond Domenech Should Be Fired - World Soccer Talk

Raymond Domenech Should Be Fired

<div><figure class="image"></figure></div>I’ve finally had a chance to catch up on watching some of the Euro 2008 matches I missed. The jet lag hit me later in the week, so I found myself watching many of the games this week at weird hours on DVR.The one thing about football is that it can be so subjective. Earlier in the week, I found myself watching the 1-0 Croatia win against Austria game on the giant screen TV at the FanZone in Zurich. To me, Croatia looked like a very hard working team in the first half who were playing some wonderful football. Especially impressive was Ivica Olic, the Croat striker who plays for Hamburg, who was a workhouse throughout the game putting in an incredible performance. If ever there was a player who would do well in the Premier League, Olic is it.In their game against Austria, Croatia changed their tactics in the second half, which allowed Austria to press forward more. And it was the Austrians who impressed me, putting to bed all the fears about them being the worst team in the tournament.So I was surprised when I returned to the States and was hearing and reading the comments about Croatia looking weak in their first match. Against Germany, the Croats showed their true strength in their 2-1 win and it’s now Germany — many people’s favorites to win Euro 2008 — who risk getting knocked out of the tournament depending what happens in their final match against Austria.The other thing I found surprising when I returned to the States was the perception among many that this has been a boring tournament thus far. Sure, it’s easier to enjoy the atmosphere and games when you’re experiencing them in Switzerland, but still, the tournament to me has been one of the most exciting football events in quite some time, even more so than World Cup 2006. The France against Romania nil-nil match was horrible, but aside from that, I’ve enjoyed all of the other matches.Speaking of Romania, their 1-1 draw against Italy on Friday was a brilliant match to watch. So much goalmouth action with balls hitting the post or goalkeepers pulling off incredible saves. Buffon’s penalty save, too, was amazing to watch. Romania could have easily won the match in the first half, while Italy showed in this game their masterful technical touches — beautiful flicks, excellent ball control, deft passes and wonderful creativity — something which is desperately lacking in the Premier League and on the England national team.Italy, though, has to feel cheated by the goal that was ruled offside. On replay, it’s clear that the goal should have counted. But when I watched it in real-time, it looked to me to be offside, so I empathize why the referee and assistant referee thought the whistle should have been blown for offside.I’ve been writing about how impressed I’ve been about Holland since Monday and they completely blew me away again on Friday with their 4-1 win against France. In fairness, the French are to blame for this scoreline as they had plenty of chances to score. Just as in the match against Italy, the Dutch took full advantage of the chances they had with their clinical finishing.While Holland and Croatia continue to impress, Portugal can be added to that list. In their first game against Turkey, I thought the Portugese looked very entertaining with Pepe, especially, being a revelation. Portugal also looked breathtaking in the 3-1 win over Czech Republic. So far this tournament, the Czechs have done very little to impress me.For all of the bad press Austria got from the pundits and their own fans before the tournament started, I’ve been more impressed by the Austrians than Switzerland. Austria deserved to get the 1-1 draw against Poland earlier this week, and the penalty decision by Howard Webb, I believe, was a correct one.Speaking of Switzerland, the national team was dealt a cruel blow when Alex Frei was injured in their 0-1 loss to Czech Republic. But in the Swiss 2-1 loss to Turkey, it was Turkey’s Arda Turan who was the relevation. The Galatasaray winger scored two beautiful goals. The first, a beautifully taken header, and the second was an amazing shot in the last minute of the game, which will be one of the goals of the tournament.The one group I haven’t had a chance to watch so far this tournament is Group D because I was traveling throughout the day on Tuesday and missed Spain‘s demolition of Russia and the entertaining game between Sweden and Greece. I’m looking forward to seeing those matches on Saturday.

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Spain And Italy's Bore Draw Gives Soccer A Bad Name

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The Euro 2008 Stadium Experience: Berne

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Raymond Domenech Should Be Fired

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