Spain-Italy was a nail biter, and I am glad the best team won. I think luca toni's weak mustache was the deciding factor.

^haha...i was totally thinking that too!

i chose a final four of:

romania
switzerland
sweden
poland

i wasn't even close...damn

puddles - i'll give you some credit for some gutsy picks there.

i made mostly safe picks:

portugal
croatia
spain
holland

= 1 correct pick. and that one (spain) was just barely correct.

my picks were more clueless than gutsy...i'm not very familiar with european teams and chose my final four on account of people that i know from those countries. it's made the tournament more fun for me...and thankfully i didn't wager any money

of the remaining four, i think i'll root for turkey

wow, two euro2008 threads, and they're more popular than the baseball one!

i think the final is germany-russia, russia winning (they're this year's greece...turkey might be too, but they have too many key players out now...but i think i will root for them too).

That was gutsy, puddles!

I still can't believe Holland didn't get through. They were my team (what with England not being in due to being useless).

Personally, I'm backing Germany this year. I hope Turkey don't win - purely because of the Galatasaray fans' tendancy for violence. Russia would be good, but I can't help but feel that there would be protests for two reasons: 1. are they really in Europe? 2. They have all the gas for Europe so people might shout fix.

Spain are probably my number 2 team, but as an Everton fan, I don't want Torres to get the glory!

Chch - are you english?
i notice you use the group plural - "Spain are..."
americans would say "Spain is..."

the other clue is that you mention that you would support england if they were in. haha

i would have agreed that the england side is useless after their losses to russia and croatia, but now i'm thinking those teams are legit.

I'm hoping Turkey-Russia in the finals but the reality is it'll be Germany-Russia (spain always trips at the last hurdle).

I watched the UEFA cup a few weeks back and Zenit St Petersburg schooled Rangers. so Russia to win 2-1 in the last 5 minutes.

C.

ps. I was also backing Holland this year, so what do i know.

cameron you are right on, spain seems to always choke... and russia is on a role.

i would love love to see turkey to win this game today though,
they gotta stay in it, no early goals...the longer this goes scoreless the better it is, but im guessing it will be a typical germany game.
tight, sort of boring, not necessarily very pretty... 1-0 german victory

turkey is playing better and there it goes 1-0!!!

wow

3-2..... 3 goals in 10 minutes......

That Turkish goalie sucked, he singlehandedly lost it for the Turks.

the second Turkish goal was just perfect.

Turkey-Spain

poetic justice. lahm doesn't get the pk call early, but gets the 90th minute goal for added drama.

too bad i couldn't see it since the signal went out here.

evidently the signal went out worldwide (according to the espn commentators). severe weather in switzerland...

what a tournament for the turks! bravo! as an american with german blood i'm happy to see them in the final, but i have to say i was rooting for turkey to win this match. i've greatly enjoyed watching them play.

i'm really looking forward to seeing turkey in 2010.

this was the second major tournament turks played since 2002 world cup. both with great effort all the way to semi finals.
it is a very young team and i hope to see them in 2010.
if russia advances, it will be a whirlwind game against germany with very compatable wing playing. fast...

congratulations to Turkey. they were valiant and rewarding. too bad we didn't actually see what happened in the last 20 minutes.

the winner is the winner (congrats Germania), but the Turkey had the spirit of Football all the way.

I'm waiting for The Sun headline tomorrow 'Lightning Strike'... damn they went with 'False A-Lahm'

oh well. also looking forward to 2010 (might have tickets!)
C.

the second goal by each team was due to bad goalkeeping, IMO. the turkish goalkeeper was overly aggressive on klose's header, and lehman was underly aggressive on the turkish deflection goal, since i think he could have come to the ball and grabbed it.

the third and decisive german goal was a nice strike, since he didn't have much of an angle.

an exciting game again, just like the quarters games. hopefully tonight's game will be as good.

so far first 20 minutes is clearly dominated by russia.seems like spain has the problem of not enough forward players multiplying in their attacks. i don't know if this is a result of an energy management strategy or they are clearly defensive for attack focused russians? dangerous since russian team have some very robust forwarders.

that seems to be changing fast. as spain is coming at the russians. but this might exactly what the russians want so with their lightining speed they can brake into spanish goal . oh rain is coming... remember turkey switzerland game. lake like field conditions?..

first half is far from a thriller. definitely the russian team has spent a lot its firing apetite in holland game. spain is totally sluggish too. 0-0

this is where i agree with medit's "boredom factor". what happened to the russia we saw against the dutch? granted, the conditions are not good, but all this tentative midfield play is boring, boring, boring.

and xavi puts spain ahead 1-0!

finally a goal...a nice one by spain.

wow, spain's had several nice opportunities.

finally they capitalize! a niiiiiiiiiice one from guiza. 2-0.

great tap-in goal by spain...guess i was wrong about russia.

another beauty!

looks like germany-spain in the final. should be a good one.

whoa. 3-0, no sign of russia. clearly holland game sucked the life out of them. i haven't seen any of the goals due to internet problems i had.

spain played really intelligently and with incredible control.

really, quite beautiful play.

not only did they deserve to win - and by the margin they got - but it was a very nice, flowing game. really a joy to watch - no matter which side one was on.

Spain played the beautiful game in the Arsenal mode. Pass, pass, pass, pass, pass, pass, pass, pass, pass, pass, pass, maybe shoot!

Fabricas was quality

Spain as champions of Europe much like Wales in the rugby!!

you mean (Cesc) Fàbregas, future Barça player for next season...

and go Germany... do us a favor this sunday, please..

Ladi-Lad-Ladi-O
Deutschland vor! Schießt ein Tor!

with Cesc, Xavi, Puyol, Bojan, etc, Catalonia could play with any euro team any day, and we would kick more than one ass... so sad we are "democratically" forced to play with damn spaniards... fuckin' fascists

wow. i didn't realize how deep the divide was between katalunya and ispanya.

i meant catalonia and spain..

Orhan, of course it depends on which segment of the population of Catalonia you focus on... focus on mine and we're ready to balkanize the Iberian peninsula (and the basques and some galizians will follow) any day, any way (except with violence)

here's an insight about how soccer can be used for more than just sit and watch a football game while drinking a beer:
http://www.geocities.com/medit1976c2/camp2.htm

what's a shame is that you can't even enjoy a soccer game without dragging the same old hatreds into it. by your standard, if the spanish are fascists, then why the hell root for germany?...i mean, they produced hitler and national socialism, didn't they. can't countries change, must everything always remain the same?

i'm rooting for spain, it's their turn and their time to win one, don't care about no f'in moldy politics, sorry medit.

and i understand that this is an outsider's view, and i couldn't possibly understand, and blah, blah, blah.

i did just read the article you referenced, and what strikes me is that a lot of that division and oppression was caused by franco. had he died along with hitler, he would now just be a bad memory, but unfortunately, he lived too long. i still want to ask: how long is catalonia and spain going to digest the poison that he injected?

^ of course they can change... but Spain hasn't changed a bit if you study things a little bit more profoundly, Emilio... the comparation with Hitler is nonesense, fascism -what's left of it- has a lot of faces, even in democracy, Spain is Spain and Germany is Germany, Franco and Hitler were two different types of individuals in two different types of contexts.
There are still towns in Spain with Franco statues but there aren't german towns with nazi symbols no? two different stories, that would need two different analysis.
and I enjoy a good game always, but life is not only football, there are more important things you know.

Anyway, back to the Euro!

lol... now that was a hot game!

Barça's fans are more relaxed actually (even fireworks or sparklers are forbidden, except in some occasions), they're like gourmets, they sit there, almost say nothing during the game, and give their verdict at the end... playing Camp Nou is like a test for good football (except for the Barça-Madrids, then it's like Slayer played at volume 11)

Orhan, did you know that your goalkeeper Rustu (sp?) played with Barça? well, he came for one year I think, but just played a couple of games, he was the second goalkeeper after Valdés... Rustu was a strange character, with those black marks under the eyes...

Emilio, just forget it, the history of our conflicts -or 'poison' as you call it- goes back long before Franco or Primo de Rivera... it's a long story (that has never ended, and, believe me, never will) and I would need to much of that "blah, blah, blah" that you seem to dismiss to explain it... (it would be quite boring to talk about that here in Archinect anyway)

i'm not sayin they're the SAME, i'm not a simpleton. but the clinging on to hatreds feels the same as people that still hate germany for doing what they did many years ago.
i have done a bit of reading of spanish history and have visited the country also. i'm pretty sure the present government is not the SAME as what franco imposed on people, but i do understand that the divisions run deep (they ran very deep in ireland, too, but they found a way past them...and yes, i know that's also a different scenario, don't bother with the stock response)

i am, however, familiar with a similar imposition of ideology on soccer teams: i am a fan of the italian team juventus, and many of my italian relatives, particularly those with socialist or communist leanings, loved to needle me with the fact that i root for "agnelli's team" (when agnelli was alive), the capitalist oppressor himself. their solution was to root for inter, as if that team in not owned by capitalist fat cats, or any other team, for that matter. i choose to pass on that nonsense when it comes to sports: i root for a team because of the players. they play for the love of the sport, and although many of them are rich as well, they are not suppressing anyone. so, on sunday i will root for the players for the side that is called spain, and not give a hoot about franco and fascism and any other imposed ideology (and i know that you will not be able to do the same, but i can't help to feel a little sorry about that).

gee... you can feel sorry about anything you want Emilio, a little bit of condescendence never hurts, right? in fact, it's all about priorities: when it's time for the Spanish soccer team yours is soccer, but mine are culture, identity and politics... so, in the end, there's nothing to feel sorry about, to each his own.
Have fun this sunday!

i like you guys both. i am a barca and juve fan after galatasaray.
i am for germany for this one for they beat turkey and the team who beat turks might as well be the champions. plus this has started some kind of friendship thing going with germans and turks...
i am such a soccer geek. soccer geeks only please!!

no, no condescending there, not feeling sorry for you specifically, just the state of our species in general...i'm free to do that, i hope.

medit yeah, i know rustu was not happy for being a substitute to valdes. goal was too small of a place for two great keepers... he also couldn't adopt to barca. he is now burdened with injuries..