Chapter 165 Euro 2008 (Part 2)
Chapter 165 Euro 2008 (Part 2)
Where there are people, there are rivers and lakes. Since Italy and the Netherlands have come together, how can France be missing? Also as a representative of artistic football, France has always been compared with the Netherlands. The Internet is full of grievances and hatred. If they are not put together, Platini will probably feel sorry for himself.
The series of processes of harvesting grapes, destemming, breaking skins, alcoholic fermentation, separating artesian wine, squeezing juice, lactic acid fermentation, and blending are the steps of wine making.
People love French wine, and they are also keen to discuss Bordeaux wine, not only because it symbolizes the romance of France, but more importantly, it has a unique historical and cultural heritage. All this is due to the French winemakers, and the French team is like the winemakers on the field, performing "how wine is made" for the fans from time to time.
This summer's French team has a particularly obvious advantage. Due to the fixed main lineup and the tacit cooperation between the players, the team is more integrated and the possibility of wonderful and deadly group cooperation is greater.
With a well-tested defense line, coupled with the top defensive midfielders in Europe such as Vieira, Makelele, and Flamini, the French team's defensive ability is among the best in Europe. In the positional battle, because of the tacit cooperation between the French team and the outstanding technical abilities of the frontcourt attackers Henry and Ribery, they will consider controlling the rhythm at their own feet and tearing apart the opponent's defense through the change of fast and slow rhythm.
In France's star-studded starting line-up, no established star will be the center of attention. On the contrary, the performance of the three young men Ribery, Nasri and Benzema will directly determine what kind of fine wine the French team will brew for everyone.
In the previous qualifiers, the French team finally advanced to the finals as the second place in the group. Domenech became the first French coach to lead his team through two major qualifiers in a row. Jacquet is great? But he only led the French team to a World Cup.
The former World Cup and European Cup champions, the French team, after suffering for n years, were placed in the most difficult and complicated Group B in the entire European Cup qualifiers. In addition to France, this group also has World Cup champions Italy, as well as Scotland and Ukraine, which are both strong and strong, can be said that if only the grouping is concerned, France's luck is really bad.
However, in the process of the group competition, France was surprisingly lucky. First, when the atmosphere of the team was the most chaotic and the personnel were most uneven after the coaching change in Italy, France took advantage of the chaos at home to snatch precious three points from their old opponents. In the six rounds of qualifiers, the French team had 5 wins and 1 loss, ranking first in the group. In the 8th round, France shook hands with Italy in an away game. The prospect of qualifying with 19 points in 8 games is already bright.
Surprisingly, in the ninth round of qualifiers, France lost 0:1 to Scotland at home. In this way, in the remaining three rounds, although France still holds the initiative in its own hands, if it is careless, Scotland and Italy will still join hands. Therefore, French midfielder Franck Ribery launched a tactic to drive away wolves and encouraged Scotland: "I believe Scotland can beat Italy, and the qualifying team will be us and Scotland."
Franck Ribery's idea is very good. However, what is more unexpected than France's two home and away defeats to Scotland is that Scotland lost 0:2 at home against Georgia, which had no hope of qualifying. A bunch of ground dogs, so France only needs to take one point from Ukraine in the final round to secure advancement.
A draw can lead to qualifying. This is very common in Chinese football, and the memory is too deep, because the Chinese team has never won the expected draw. Similarly, this time the European Cup In the group stage, England fell into such a favorable situation, but Italy cleared the obstacles for France in advance. In the penultimate round of the qualifiers, Italy defeated Scotland 2:1 in an away game, which meant that Italy and France were two rounds ahead of schedule. Hand in hand to qualify for the 2008 European Cup.
In addition to the smooth promotion, the young generation of France represented by Nasri, Benzema, Ben Arfa and other players all had very eye-catching performances in the qualifiers, and they will also be the hope of France in the European Cup.
The rise of the new generation also means that the old power award has withdrawn from the stage of history. In the 23-man squad for the European Cup announced by French national team coach Domenech, the striker David Trezeguet who played for Juventus is not there. Selected.
Although Trezeguet's performance at Juventus this season is very arrogant, it is strange that Domenech finally gave up the old striker.
For Trezeguet's loss, the French coach gave an indirect explanation: "This is the result of collective selection. There are already many forwards on the list, and you have to make a choice."
What was unexpected was the selection of Gomis. The youngster who is not yet 23 years old replaced Trezeguet. This is also the first time he was selected for the French national team. With 14 goals in 30 times, he is the second local scorer after Benzema and Cisse.
What is the future of the French team in the European Cup?
Despite being a traditional powerhouse in European football, on the stage of the European Cup, especially in the group of death, everything is still unknown.
Compared with the brutality of Group C, Group D is much more harmonious. The defending champion Greece, the Vikings Sweden, Spain, the red matador who has returned to the world stage, and Russia, where a large number of talented players have emerged.
The defending champion's path to qualifying can be said to be smooth sailing, with only one defeat in the twelve qualifiers. Rehhagel's magic is still playing a great role. Over the years, stories in "Greek Mythology" and Every hero is deeply rooted in the young hearts of children from all over the world in various languages, even though they are sometimes covered with the cloak of "Saint Seiya".
In the summer of 2004, the Greek team won the championship trophy in the European Cup, creating a myth in the new century. You must know that the Greek team has never won any game in an international competition before.
In this European Cup qualifier, the Greek team created another miracle. Under the leadership of the meritorious coach Rehhagel, they won 10 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss in 12 matches, and their 31 points in the qualifiers were the highest in Europe.
In the 2004 European Cup, Greece was in the same group as Russia, Spain, and Portugal. In this European Cup, the only change in the opponents in the group stage is that Sweden replaced Portugal.
Four years ago, the Greek team advanced to the second place in the group, while Spain and Russia were both eliminated. This time, neither Aragones nor Hiddink wanted to repeat the failure of four years ago, and today's "Mythical Legion" It is no longer the "mysterious team". Whether the Greek team can replicate the myth depends on how many panaceas Rehagel still has.
The Greek team is also aiming to defend their title in this European Cup. Greece went to Austria and Switzerland. The halo of the winner of the last European Cup was on top of Greece, but the strength of the team was not top-notch. If they wanted to win the championship, Rehhagel's schedule was The key factor.
This time he recruited many young players, to a greater extent to tap the potential of the team, and it was too late for coaches from various countries to study the new faces thoroughly, so that Rehhagel had more freedom in the formation of troops.
The other team in Group D is the pirate Sweden from the Nordic countries. The beginning of Sweden is from the era of pirates. More than 1,000 years ago, the ancestors of the Swedes, the Vikings, traveled all over Europe, bordering the Red Sea in the south, North America in the west, and Baghdad in the east. They wore horrible helmets and held steel knives, robbing and plundering people everywhere.
In the 2008 European Championship qualifiers, the level of the Swedish team's feet almost reached the "robbery level" of their predecessors, and they used four consecutive victories at the beginning to lay the foundation for advancing to the finals.
In order to be able to play well in the European Cup in Switzerland and Austria, Inter Milan striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic chose to undergo surgery early to save enough fighting spirit and physical fitness for the European Cup. Another "pirate leader" Larsson on the front line After receiving the invitation from the Prime Minister of Sweden and the signatures of 140,000 fans, he also changed his decision to leave.
Their performance will directly determine how far the Swedish team can go in Switzerland and Austria. In this European Cup qualifier, although Sweden finally ranked second in the group after Spain, but from the process point of view, the Vikings have the most stable trend in this group. The four consecutive victories at the beginning laid a solid foundation for them to qualify solid foundation.
However, judging from the process of the qualifiers, the two absolute cores of Ibrahimovic and Ljungberg did not play a corresponding role. Ibrahimovic did not score a goal in the entire qualifiers, and was even excluded from the national team for a time. The performance at Inter Milan is simply worlds apart.
And Ljungberg only scored the only goal against a big team like Liechtenstein. The former Arsenal's sharp knife has blunted with age and injuries.
In the European Cup finals, Ibrahimovic, Ljungberg and Melberg's central axis performance will directly affect the performance of the Swedish team. For coach Lagerbeck, if the Swedish team wants to make a difference in the European Cup , You must exert your own team strength, and then rely on a few core players to compete with your opponents.
From the current point of view, Sweden's offensive strength in the midfield is acceptable, but the hidden danger lies in the defense of the backcourt. The core of the defense, Melberg, has gradually declined in recent years, and Sweden's defense has not emerged new strength.
In the 2006 World Cup, they were easily defeated by the German team. If the problem of defense cannot be solved this time, Sweden may stop at the top eight.
The strongest team in Group D is undoubtedly Spain, which was kicked out of the German World Cup by Degan. Bullfighting is the quintessence of Spain. Excellent bullfighters are heroes respected by the whole country. As bullfighters on the green field, Spanish football is also passionate and advocating offense. It is hard to say whether the public opinion affects football or football affects the public opinion.
This is a star-studded Spanish national team. The Mesozoic players headed by Puyol and Xavi play the leading roles. A large number of young people have emerged in the league. Whether it is experience, competitive status, or desire for honor, they will go to Switzerland and Germany. The Austrian Spanish team has all the necessary factors to win the championship. In the recent warm-up matches, the Spanish team also showed a good competitive state. The 2006 World Cup champion Italy and the runner-up France were beheaded by the matadors. Get off the horse.
Although the results of the Spanish national team in major competitions have always been unsatisfactory for more than 40 years, the Spanish team will always be the favorite to win the previous major competitions. In the 2008 European Cup, Spain ranked second only behind Germany in the winning odds list. In the eyes of many celebrities, bullfighters from the Iberian Peninsula are also the most promising to win the gold cup.
In the qualifiers, while Spain qualified one round ahead of schedule, it also created the myth of being undefeated in 2007. The German World Cup qualifiers were tyrannized by Belgium, which appeared earlier, and missed the World Cup stage. This time, the Spaniards do not want to repeat it.
After missing the World Cup in Germany, Aragones conducted a thorough rethinking of the team's tactical system. After successively abandoning iconic figures such as Raul and Morientes, the Spanish national team suddenly accelerated. The Matador Legion has accumulated a number of small players with excellent skills, speed and team awareness in the frontcourt. From the initial defense of 442 to the current handyness of 4231, the success of Aragones' tactical innovation is indispensable.
Drastic reforms, this time the old coach seems to be serious about it. In the 23-man roster of the Spanish team announced by Aragones a few days ago, Raul's name is not included.
Raul scored 23 goals for Real Madrid this season, the highest in five years, and he is one of the contributors to the team's consecutive La Liga championship, but Aragones was unmoved.
Sergio Garcia, Cazorla, Palop, De La Reid and Fernando Navarro, five of the 23-man roster have not played even a minute for the national team.
Only 8 of the 23 people participated in the 2004 European Cup, 13 people had experience in the 2006 World Cup qualifiers, and only 6 people were born before 1980. People are gratified that the old coach has implemented the policy of updating the national team. , I have to admire the courage Aragones showed before the war.
Aragones also said confidently: "We must believe that this list can make Spain win."
Aragones is very confident, but the Spanish fans are very hurt because their prince Raul can only stay at home and watch TV this summer. For Spanish football, Raul is a name that can never be ignored. Regrettably, the departure of the Golden Boy has become a booster for Spain.
From a tactical point of view, Raul, who is gradually losing his speed, is indeed not the first choice for the striker. In the game with Aragones, Raul was also completely defeated. The Lord of the Rings formed a gang during the World Cup qualifiers in Germany, which completely angered Aragones. After being kicked out of the World Cup by Belgium, he completely kicked Raul out of the national team.
Raul's departure has caused Spain to lose many fans, but it is undeniable that the disappearance of Lord of the Rings has given birth to a large number of young players who have grown rapidly.
David Silva, who can hit both sides and hit the ball, has become one of the most trusted players in Aragones. Iniesta's world wave against England made Xiaobai secure his starting position. Although Torres and Villa are not fledglings, the departure of Raul made them shoulder more responsibilities, which also accelerated the maturity of the two new generation shooters. In this sense, Raul has made a remarkable contribution to the Matador.
Spain has the strongest strength in Group D, but Russia is the most unpredictable. Vodka is the national drink of Russia. It has a long history and was produced in the 14th century. It means "water of life" in Russian. It takes slow work to drink good wine, and the true taste can only be tasted after light sips. But Russians drink vodka, like a Shandong man drinking Laobaigan. The Russians believe that this drinking method can be called a courageous drink.
In recent years, teams from the Russian Premier League have performed well in the European arena. CSKA Moscow has played against Inter Milan and Arsenal in the Champions League. Zenit St. Petersburg is led by Advocaat Won the UEFA Cup this season, defeated the Glasgow Rangers in the final, and defeated Bayern Munich in the semi-final. To a certain extent, the Zenit team represents the current strength of Russian football, and the reason why the Russian team has the opportunity to create miracles, The bigger reason comes from their first foreign coach, the amazing Guus Hiddink.
Guus Hiddink once led the Netherlands and South Korea to the semi-finals of the World Cup, led the Australian team to the World Cup finals, and almost blocked the champion Italy. The magical Dutch old man seems to always have an endless stream of tricks. For the Russians, Hiddink is their "Water of Life".
It is also thanks to the help of Croatia to be able to enter the final stage of the European Cup this time. Otherwise, there will be no former Soviet republics in this European Cup. The 90 minutes of the game against Andorra condensed the roller coaster track of the entire qualifier Russia, from great joy to great sorrow, and then the dream finally came true.
After Sychov scored a goal in the final round of qualifiers, the Russians were no longer interested in bullying the "regional team" Andorra, and everyone was asking about the situation at Wembley.
The news of Croatia switching sides stimulated everyone's nerve endings, but almost everyone thought "that's it" after Crouch equalized the score. Who knew that Petric's magical kick would turn the world upside down again. Hiddink, who had been tense for a year, finally made it to the halftime whistle, and was finally able to enjoy the happiness of being thrown into the air by the players.
The Russian qualifiers got off to a bad start. They even drew with Croatia and Israel at home, double-killed Estonia and Macedonia in a row, and then drew with Croatia. The two teams did not score a goal in 180 minutes. The friendship is indeed extraordinary. Then he went west to London and was dismembered by England with three goals, and the qualifying situation was once in jeopardy. The local media also questioned Hiddink's half-heartedness and was ready to go to Stamford Bridge to take over the Chelsea coach at any time.
Hiddink has been in charge of Russia for more than a year, and the Russian language is still only at the level of words, but he knows Pushkin's fairy tale "The Story of the Fisherman and the Goldfish". Said that he would make three wishes to the goldfish: 1. Victory over England; 2. Defeat Israel; 3. Defeat Andorra.
The ups and downs of the last three rounds of the qualifiers can be regarded as a classic case in the history of football. The favorites in the three rounds changed sides three times. This people's movement can survive for a hundred years, and its suspense and twists and turns are incomparable to other movements.
Pavlyuchenko scored twice, making all Russians feel happy, and no one blames Hiddink. For the first time in 49 years, a Russian beat the originator of modern football.
However, happiness comes too fast, and people often don't know how to cherish it. The Israelites flooded the Dragon King Temple, making Russians including Abu bitter.
However, when the Russians themselves almost gave up hope, the Eastern European brothers Croatia extended a helping hand in due course. If possible, the Russian Football Association would be happy to install the busts of Petrich and Bilic in the Football Museum.
Since the disintegration of the former Soviet Union, from the 1994 World Cup to the 2006 World Cup, Russia has never made it to the first round of the finals. This time, they will hope Hiddink can continue to play his magic.
The European Cup is about to start, and 16 teams will once again fight for the European football leader. In the last European Cup, the Greek team was "black" to the end, which caused countless emotions and regrets. Now four years later, the European giants have made a comeback, and another Some "dark horses" like the Greek team are also ready to go, and there is bound to be a tyrannical dispute and a good show of "dark horse" assaults.
In this European Cup, apart from England and Portugal, the rest of the rich teams are not absent. Among them, the German team, the Italian team, the French team, and the Dutch team are all regarded as the favorite teams to win the championship. Quite a few support tickets arrived.
The most promising is the German team, not only has the strength, but also the signing luck is also good, basically there is not much difficulty in qualifying for the group stage, after entering the knockout round, they will also face the Portuguese team or the Swiss team, for the powerful German team Said that they will never put Portugal or Switzerland in their eyes, and it is their firm goal to go all the way to the final.
Now this German team not only maintains the advantage of being physically strong and occupying air supremacy, but also has good skills such as Neuville and Kuaima Odongko, which will make their tactics more abundant and their attack power further improved .
The defense line of the German team can be said to be the combination with the most experience in major competitions. It is basically the lineup of the World Cup in Germany two years ago.
Italy, France and the Netherlands also have the strength to hit the championship. However, they were drawn into a single group, making the path to the final all the more brutal.
The Italian team is a slow-heating team, and qualifying from the group is their biggest threshold. If they can qualify in the group, the steady Italian team will definitely go further.
The French team has become younger after the blood change. If the young people can withstand the pressure and perform at a good level, they may also succeed in this European Cup.
As for the Dutch team, if the defense can do better, it is not unpopular for Basten to bring the team to the final.
As for Belgium, the last favorite to win the championship, it is actually full of variables, because Degan was banned for three games by UEFA for fighting with Pepe in the previous qualifiers. Team group qualifying.
But the current situation in Belgium, without the leader of Digan, it is really unknown how much fighting power other players can exert.
In addition, like the last European Cup, there will definitely be a "dark horse" like the Greek team in this European Cup. This time, it is more difficult for the host to become a "dark horse" that will be black to the end. After all, everyone has a new understanding of the host. And beware, the "dark horse" this time is estimated to be produced in teams such as Russia, Romania and Croatia.
The first is the "Double-headed Eagle" Russian team, regardless of history or reputation, there is no reason to be optimistic. But under Hiddink's supervision, the Russian team already has a team consisting of Arshavin, Kyryanov, Anyukov, and goalkeeper Malafiev from the UEFA Cup champion team Zenit St. Petersburg. A perfect central axis. They don't have a superstar among them, but they are very practical and powerful.
In Group D where the Russian team is located, only the Spanish team is stronger. The strength of the Greek team and the Swedish team is similar to them. Therefore, it is not difficult for the Russian team to qualify for the group stage. After entering the knockout round, the commoner Russian team can definitely put the pressure on the rich opponents, and they can give it a go.
Many people think that it is difficult for the Romanian team to qualify from the group because they are in the same group as Italy, France and the Netherlands. But don't forget that when the Italian team, the French team and the Dutch team fought, they must have given the Romanian team a chance.
As long as they play with the mentality of the underdog in the group stage, there will definitely be unexpected gains. If they qualify for the group stage, their morale and confidence will be very high. It is not impossible to "go black to the end".
The Croatian team is also grouped very well. Except for the German team, the Austrian team and the Polish team are not strong. Moreover, the Croatian team also has a strong striker like Petric, a quasi-star core like Modric, and Some players who are not well-known but have played a big role, so people have reason to believe that this team will suddenly explode without everyone paying attention.
The curtain is about to open, and sixteen powerful and powerful soldiers waited for the whistle to start fighting. After Digan also took care of the Italian side, he flew directly to Geneva, Switzerland. There is a concentration with the team, but before that, he has another job, which is to delineate the 23-man squad for the national team for this competition with the head coach Antiiennis.