euro 2012 - the teams...
I do realise I'm really late with this but zimena did such a wonderful post in her LJ about her opinion on the teams in this year's European Championship that inspired me to do my own!
I'm pretty much struggling to find a favourite in this tournament, which is mostly due to the fact that all of my "usual" favourites have one or two (or more) things that irk me.
Several Spanish players have started (or continued) to annoy me (and also I think it might be time for some other country to grab the title, just for the sake of change). Also, they seem to value passing a lot more than scoring goals, which makes watching their matches a little frustrating. Not to mention the fact that the coach seems to prefer playing with no strikers (or with Fernando Torres, which is often the same as playing with no striker) than with Fernando Llorente. As an Athletic supporter, I wouldn't mind if he didn't play at all because that means there's a smaller chance of him getting injured and missing the important Europa League qualifiers at the beginning of the season, but still, it does suck because I think he deserves to play.
Germany's team often seems uninspired to me, the players don't move about enough, some just stand there for large parts of the game and the player who has the ball is a fool for making an effort because nobody is actually inclined to help him or run away from his opponent to receive a pass and bring the game forward. And this is exactly the kind of slow, boring football that I hate. Besides, I don't like Jogi Löw. Even if Tim Wiese ends up not playing a single match (which is very likely), I still haven't forgiven him for being utterly spineless and Löw for his gigantic double standards.
As for the Czech Republic: Let's be honest, they don't really stand a chance to win this. They have a promising young team, but they still have a long road to travel, and even though I still like Milan Baroš, I don't think he's good enough anymore to make a difference. So even though I really like them, I don't think it would make a lot of sense to declare them my favourites of this tournament because it's unlikely they'll get far.
I can't mention Ireland amongst my "usual" favourites because I've never really supported them but they were my favourite underdog because of their fans. :D Actually, if any team should advance to the quarterfinals just because of the awesomeness of their fans, it should be Ireland.
I also came to really like Denmark because of the way they played. Their performance against the Netherlands was very clever, and I think they would have deserved to reach the quarterfinals for that alone. :D Also, they play the kind of football I like, they make 100% of an effort, and they know how to defend and how to get to the opponent's goal quickly, without wasting time. And Daniel Agger is God. XD
With some of the others, I'm not really that bothered. I don't like Ibrahimović and Arshavin, but they're not enough to make me dislike Sweden and Russia, I simply don't know enough about them to really care. I don't like Croatia's coach, and I'm not really fond of the way they play, but I wouldn't say I dislike them as a team. I'm not fond of Poland either but I don't dislike them. And I'm really indifferent about Ukraine, though I was impressed with Shevchenko.
England have Steven Gerrard, who I'm a huge fan of, but unfortunately they also have twats like Ashley Cole, John Terry and Wayne Rooney (to just mention three) so I can't really support them. I just want the Liverpool players to do well, and everything else doesn't matter to me.
Greece play a kind of football that I find very frustrating and boring to watch, so I can't support them, even though they don't have any players I dislike.
I'm not very fond of France for reasons that have nothing to do with football, but obviously they influence my opinion of the French NT. And one thing that does have to do with football is their qualification for the last World Cup, specifically the way they cheated Ireland. Ugh.
And whereas I was really impressed with the Netherlands during the Euro 2008, I was really disappointed with them this time. Van Persie and Huntelaar scored so many goals in the Premier League and the Bundesliga but failed to make an impact in the NT, and it always annoys me when players are underperforming in their NTs. Robben continues to be a failure, and even though I'm grateful for what he's done for Bayern, I'm still angry at him for (more or less) losing us the Champions League final, and it seems he hasn't learned a thing from that match because he still keeps doing the same move over and over again (and by now everyone in Europe has learned how to defend it). And I don't like van Bommel.
Portugal have never been among my favourites. I have a lot of admiration for the country, but football-wise they don't impress me at all. Too few players I like (off the top of my head I can't think of anyone right now), too many players I dislike (CRonaldo, Pepe, Nani, Postiga, Coentrão - to just mention a few!). And I don't like the way they play. They're more like a group of players than a team, and I've always preferred players who do honest, hard work to those who make a spectacle.
Italy. My least favourite team in the Euros for several reasons. I've never liked Italian football much, and even though they're not parking the bus anymore, there are still so many things that annoy me. I know that not all tifosi are brainless morons, usually it's a small (but very loud) minority of idiots that gives the reasonable majority a bad image, but one can't ignore the fact that the Italian fans are a problem that so far hasn't been dealt with, and they're not helping the image of Italian football. Also, I know that the match-fixing scandal has nothing to do with the Euro (even though it bothers me that there is still one player left on the Italian squad that is involved in investigations and hasn't been cleared yet), but the way it was handled in 2006 and is being handled again now influences my opinion of Italian football. Also, they have Balotelli, Cassano and De Rossi, and it's impossible for me to not dislike any team these three play for.
Discussion welcome, as always! Keep in mind that the above is my personal, subjective opinion and is not meant to offend or insult anyone. (I always thought that goes without saying, but apparently it doesn't, so I'm saying it.)
I'm pretty much struggling to find a favourite in this tournament, which is mostly due to the fact that all of my "usual" favourites have one or two (or more) things that irk me.
Several Spanish players have started (or continued) to annoy me (and also I think it might be time for some other country to grab the title, just for the sake of change). Also, they seem to value passing a lot more than scoring goals, which makes watching their matches a little frustrating. Not to mention the fact that the coach seems to prefer playing with no strikers (or with Fernando Torres, which is often the same as playing with no striker) than with Fernando Llorente. As an Athletic supporter, I wouldn't mind if he didn't play at all because that means there's a smaller chance of him getting injured and missing the important Europa League qualifiers at the beginning of the season, but still, it does suck because I think he deserves to play.
Germany's team often seems uninspired to me, the players don't move about enough, some just stand there for large parts of the game and the player who has the ball is a fool for making an effort because nobody is actually inclined to help him or run away from his opponent to receive a pass and bring the game forward. And this is exactly the kind of slow, boring football that I hate. Besides, I don't like Jogi Löw. Even if Tim Wiese ends up not playing a single match (which is very likely), I still haven't forgiven him for being utterly spineless and Löw for his gigantic double standards.
As for the Czech Republic: Let's be honest, they don't really stand a chance to win this. They have a promising young team, but they still have a long road to travel, and even though I still like Milan Baroš, I don't think he's good enough anymore to make a difference. So even though I really like them, I don't think it would make a lot of sense to declare them my favourites of this tournament because it's unlikely they'll get far.
I can't mention Ireland amongst my "usual" favourites because I've never really supported them but they were my favourite underdog because of their fans. :D Actually, if any team should advance to the quarterfinals just because of the awesomeness of their fans, it should be Ireland.
I also came to really like Denmark because of the way they played. Their performance against the Netherlands was very clever, and I think they would have deserved to reach the quarterfinals for that alone. :D Also, they play the kind of football I like, they make 100% of an effort, and they know how to defend and how to get to the opponent's goal quickly, without wasting time. And Daniel Agger is God. XD
With some of the others, I'm not really that bothered. I don't like Ibrahimović and Arshavin, but they're not enough to make me dislike Sweden and Russia, I simply don't know enough about them to really care. I don't like Croatia's coach, and I'm not really fond of the way they play, but I wouldn't say I dislike them as a team. I'm not fond of Poland either but I don't dislike them. And I'm really indifferent about Ukraine, though I was impressed with Shevchenko.
England have Steven Gerrard, who I'm a huge fan of, but unfortunately they also have twats like Ashley Cole, John Terry and Wayne Rooney (to just mention three) so I can't really support them. I just want the Liverpool players to do well, and everything else doesn't matter to me.
Greece play a kind of football that I find very frustrating and boring to watch, so I can't support them, even though they don't have any players I dislike.
I'm not very fond of France for reasons that have nothing to do with football, but obviously they influence my opinion of the French NT. And one thing that does have to do with football is their qualification for the last World Cup, specifically the way they cheated Ireland. Ugh.
And whereas I was really impressed with the Netherlands during the Euro 2008, I was really disappointed with them this time. Van Persie and Huntelaar scored so many goals in the Premier League and the Bundesliga but failed to make an impact in the NT, and it always annoys me when players are underperforming in their NTs. Robben continues to be a failure, and even though I'm grateful for what he's done for Bayern, I'm still angry at him for (more or less) losing us the Champions League final, and it seems he hasn't learned a thing from that match because he still keeps doing the same move over and over again (and by now everyone in Europe has learned how to defend it). And I don't like van Bommel.
Portugal have never been among my favourites. I have a lot of admiration for the country, but football-wise they don't impress me at all. Too few players I like (off the top of my head I can't think of anyone right now), too many players I dislike (CRonaldo, Pepe, Nani, Postiga, Coentrão - to just mention a few!). And I don't like the way they play. They're more like a group of players than a team, and I've always preferred players who do honest, hard work to those who make a spectacle.
Italy. My least favourite team in the Euros for several reasons. I've never liked Italian football much, and even though they're not parking the bus anymore, there are still so many things that annoy me. I know that not all tifosi are brainless morons, usually it's a small (but very loud) minority of idiots that gives the reasonable majority a bad image, but one can't ignore the fact that the Italian fans are a problem that so far hasn't been dealt with, and they're not helping the image of Italian football. Also, I know that the match-fixing scandal has nothing to do with the Euro (even though it bothers me that there is still one player left on the Italian squad that is involved in investigations and hasn't been cleared yet), but the way it was handled in 2006 and is being handled again now influences my opinion of Italian football. Also, they have Balotelli, Cassano and De Rossi, and it's impossible for me to not dislike any team these three play for.
Discussion welcome, as always! Keep in mind that the above is my personal, subjective opinion and is not meant to offend or insult anyone. (I always thought that goes without saying, but apparently it doesn't, so I'm saying it.)