The Spanish seem to have the Russians' number. With David Silva's goal it is now 3-0 at 80+ minutes. Should be a good final between two skilled sides. Can't wait til Sunday.
Not the most exciting game i've ever seen, but nonetheless, WELL PLAYED SPAIN!!! They came out and did what they needed to. It should be a good final. I hope they wipe the floor with the Germans!!!
I want Spain to win. I'd love to see them finally take home some meaningful hardware. That said, I'm not crazy about the matchup against Germany. They had a tough time against the bigger and stronger Italy. Germany, IMO, is Italy with skill.
...and with a willingness to play offense instead of pack the backfield and send one guy forward. Lehman's been kind of teh suck lately too, for whatever that's worth. I only saw the first half of the game today but it looked like Senna was again the man shutting down the midfield, Ballack & Co. better be ready. I hope Spain wins.
I only got to see the second half of the Spain/Russia game, very glad they won. Germany better watch out.. and I hope D.Villa is OK. Btw my favorite player, Torres, has been substituted in pretty much every single match of this Euro Cup. What's the idea behind that? Why is he always subbed? He's clearly much better than that guy they've been replacing him with recently. Can someone enlighten me?
Torres as good as he was for Liverpool this year has been absolutely horrible to his standards in the entire tourney. He gets looks doesn't finish, i think he's having some fitness problems so he cant even go the full 90, and is just not getting as involved as he should. Yeah that guy replacing him Dani Guiza has two goals in this tourney compared to Torres who has only one.
Mehmet Aurelio completely shut down Ballack in the Turkey match, so I'm hoping Senna can do the same in the final. He's arguably the unsung hero of the Spanish team - he covers every inch of the pitch, destroys every attack through the central midfield, never misplaces a pass, and yet he doesn't get the plaudits that Xavi, Iniesta and Cesc get.
Another Brazilian will shut down Ballack Sergio Ramos will shut down Schwainsteiger and give Lahm lessons how to defend Silva will operate more at the right wing to exploit Lahm's defensive liability Germany will hardly press at the midfield and of course the playmaker trio (Fabregas, Xavi and Iniesta) will have a field day spraying those beautiful soft passes The only chance for Germany to score will be on set Pieces... and you know who's standing between the posts....St. Iker himself
I like Torres alot too but the guy subbed in has 2 goals already in the tourney playing shorter minutes. Why couldn't it have been this crappy version of Russia that showed up to play Holland Anyone else love Andy Gray's commentary as much as I do. Dude is histerical! I hope he is doing the final and not Tommy Smith.
Guiza has 2 goals but he's not better than Torres. Every striker goes through a bit of a slump and Torres just hit his at the wrong time. Guiza doesn't play well within the context of the team. He's a finisher, but he is a horrible passer. You can see Spain giving him the ball with the idea that he keeps his back to the goal and distribute. Unfortunately, he tries to turn every time and either takes a bad long distance shot or loses the ball. He's gotten 2 cherry picker goals.
Torres does not have fitness problems as far as I know, and I have watched a ton of Liverpool matches this season. Luis Aragones for whatever reason refuses to play him the entire 90. I guess he fits Rafa Benitez's system better. For Germany I think the key guy will be Frings. Their whole offense opened up in the second half against Turkey when Frings entered, he had been injured. Senna will check Ballack so Germany will need someone else to key the attack and Frings is that guy. Another potential matchup that could help decide things is who makes the bigger mistake or offensive impact between Lahm for Germany or Ramos for Spain. Of course Spain really could use David Villa their best finisher this tourney, but they should have enough with Guiza/Torres should Villa be a no go. And will Aragones start Fabregas or bring him off the bench again? And Germany needs to take advantage of their size on set pieces. One last thing that concerns me as someone rooting for Spain this tournament is that Klosse will pick this game to make an impact. I think Puyol might have his hands full with Podolski and Klosse could break through, but I will be happy to be wrong. I just want an entertaining final with the most deserving side winning.
In the finals you never know anythign could happen. But if we talk about who should win.... I believe its SPAIN easily, Germany hasnt been playing well enough to be the champs, they almost lost to TURKEY Team B it was a pathetic game by Germany. I expect a total control of the game by Spain. Also Spain has taken out GREECE (Euro Champs) and Italy (World Cup Champs) So they deserve it more.
Well you're a Jedi, couldn't you just will Spain to a victory with your "force"? I hope this will be the game where Torres finally decides to show up and Aragones will keep him for the full 90(+) min. My predictions: an exciting 3-3 into the penalties. Spain winning the penalties 5-3. Torres the man of the match. Golden Boot.. or whatever you guys call it.
Uh oh.. looks like Ballack might be supporting his team from the bench in the final tomorrow. Tough luck. Oh well, Spain still lost more. Villa > Ballack, in this Euro.
Ballack will play, I think this was just a smokescreen. I am five minutes from the stadium and ready to go there. EVERYONE ROOT FOR GERMANY NOW! Proof that you can be with a hot chick if you are a football player...even if you're ugly.
