Euro 2008: And Now There Are Four
Published June 23, 2008
So the question is, which version of the German team will show up to play Turkey? On paper they shouldn't have a problem with the horribly depleted Turkish side, but they should have been able to beat Croatia and handle Austria with ease. Yet, it's almost impossible to believe that the squad that handled Portugal so easily will have any problems with Turkey, and that Germany won't be one of the two teams playing in Vienna on the 29th of June. However, if there's one squad that is playing the underdog role beautifully, and who you can't help cheering for, it's Turkey.
If I'm being honest though, I haven't seen anything that the Turkish side has done that make it look like they will be able to get past a German side with so much potential. In fact none of the remaining teams look to have the all round team that the Germans have. While Russia will most likely get past Spain in their semi-final, Germany has to be the favourite to win the 2008 European Championship.
However, if there is one thing that Euro 2008 has proven, it's that no result is assured until the referee blows the whistle for the final time and anything still can happen between now and the end of the match on Sunday June 29th.
Richard Marcus is a long-haired Canadian iconoclast who writes reviews and opines on the world as he sees it at Leap In The Dark and Epic India Magazine.
- Euro 2008: And Now There Are Four
- Published: June 23, 2008
- Type: Opinion
- Section: Sports
- Filed Under: Sports: Football (English)
- Part of a feature: Euro 2008
- Writer: Richard Marcus
- Richard Marcus's BC Writer page
- Richard Marcus's personal site
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this has been the most exciting euro so far. awesome games.
nice summary Richard. It's a Germany-Russia final for me. My flatmate actually placed a £10 bet on that at the start of the competition - he's about to win over £400 ($800)!
Not so sure about that Germany-Russia final Ally. If anything, this tournament has been about momentum, and the two teams that have shown they can play from behind and perform late in matches are Turkey and Russia. Not exactly a glamor final, but what the hell...
Ha, it takes a brave man to suggest Turkey will beat Germany! I think the Germans have a certain momentum of their own, and they're certainly a team we can never write off - not even deep into injury-time!
It would be amusing if the final of the European Championships was contested between two nations with, what, 95% of their land located in Asia!?
sorry, what I meant was TURKEY are a team you can never write off (especially in injury-time)
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Hi Richard, which quarter final game are you referring to in which "Spain was leading 2-0?"
In 1982, there wasn't a "quarter-final" but a second phase. Italy was grouped in a separate group which did not include Spain. They never played one another during the entire tournament. The Azzurri beat Brazil 3-2 in the second phase (including Argentina) and went on to beat a very strong Polish team in the semis. Spain finished last in their group losing to Germany and tying England.
The last time the two sides played in a major tournament was in 1994 when Italy prevailed 2-1.