Guest geok Posted March 19, 2008 Share Posted March 19, 2008 In Euro 2008 there are no easy games. All will be difficult. I am not pessimistic about the tournament. Despite the ageing team in some parts, we have a renewed and lethal attacking force and some good additions on our defensive wings. I admit that we seem to be weaker in the middlefield but Otto knows this and will find solutions. We are surely capable of reaching the final 8 which will be a major success for our team. After reaching the last 8 the games will be easier for Greece as we will be the outsiders and we can then switch to our familiar, effective and successful recipe of 2004, which we have more chances of repeating successfully because of our upgraded ability of counter-attack in comparison to 4 years ago. Realistically, we need to win the first game and if this happens we are in the driving seat of going through. The schedule is favourable to us I think, but to make it so, we need 4 points from the first 2 games, surely. And I agree with Dude and Aek66 in everything they said. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest geok Posted March 19, 2008 Share Posted March 19, 2008 Opponent news from UEFA website: Russia will be without strikers Andrei Arshavin and Aleksandr Kerzhakov for their friendly away against fellow UEFA EURO 2008™ qualifiers Romania on 26 March. Time to adapt Guus Hiddink has opted to omit the pair for the trip to the Steaua Stadium in Bucharest as Arshavin is due to serve a two-match ban which will keep him out of Russia's first two Group D games – against Spain and holders Greece – in Austria and Switzerland this summer. Kerzhakov, who returned to his homeland to join FC Dinamo Moskva from Sevilla FC last month, has been given more time to re-adjust to life in Russia after his move. Izmailov opening In their absence, Hiddink has turned to Sporting Clube de Portugal midfielder Marat Izmailov – who won the last of his 31 caps in October 2006 and is seen as a possible replacement for the creative Arshavin for this summer's finals – although 1. FC Nürnberg forward Ivan Saenko is also left out. FC Moskva forward Roman Adamov and Roman Shirokov, who has impressed since dropping back into defence from his usual midfield role, are the only uncapped players in the squad having been called up for the first time for last month's training camp in Turkey. Russia squad Goalkeepers: Igor Akinfeev (PFC CSKA Moskva), Vladimir Gabulov (FC Amkar Perm), Vyacheslav Malafeev (FC Zenit St. Petersburg). Defenders: Aleksandr Anyukov (FC Zenit St. Petersburg), Aleksei Berezutski (PFC CSKA Moskva), Vasili Berezutski (PFC CSKA Moskva), Sergei Ignashevich (PFC CSKA Moskva), Denis Kolodin (FC Dinamo Moskva). Midfielders: Diniyar Bilyaletdinov (FC Lokomotiv Moskva), Dmitri Torbinskiy (FC Lokomotiv Moskva), Vladimir Bystrov (FC Spartak Moskva), Yuri Zhirkov (PFC CSKA Moskva), Konstantin Zyrianov (FC Zenit St. Petersburg), Roman Shirokov (FC Zenit St. Petersburg), Marat Izmailov (Sporting Clube de Portugal), Igor Semshov (FC Dinamo Moskva). Forwards: Roman Adamov (FC Moskva), Roman Pavlyuchenko (FC Spartak Moskva), Dmitri Sychev (FC Lokomotiv Moskva), Pavel Pogrebnyak (FC Zenit St. Petersburg). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest geok Posted March 19, 2008 Share Posted March 19, 2008 Our opponents also have an aging defense (see below, from UEFA.COM website): Petter Hansson has had to bide his time but the Stade Rennais FC man is now established at the heart of the Sweden team and is ready to take centre stage at UEFA EURO 2008™. Reliable defender Although Hansson was first capped by his country against Finland in 2001, aged 24, it was not until Andreas Jakobsson retired from the Sweden side three years later that the powerful centre-half began to be selected regularly. The Halmstads BK old boy earned a reputation as a reliable defender while playing in the Netherlands with SC Heerenveen between 2002 and 2007, yet has only recently enjoyed true international recognition. Automatic choice "My career path may not have been as straight as an arrow but I've gradually improved and my hard work is paying off," Hansson said. "I was quite surprised to be given my Sweden debut when I was, but it was something to build on." Hansson has since emerged as an automatic choice for coach Lars Lagerbäck, acquiring 31 caps and being voted Sweden's best defender in both 2006 and 2007. Rennes switch He nevertheless decided last summer that he needed a fresh challenge, opting to leave Heerenveen for French team Rennes where he has excelled over 26 Ligue 1 appearances this season. "It was time for a change," the 31-year-old said. "I spoke to [former Rennes defender] Erik Edman about the club and he was very positive, so I decided to sign." ‘Higher quality' Tenth in Ligue 1, the Brittany outfit have been infuriatingly inconsistent this term – indeed, the Swede's considerable presence in their back line has been one of few constants at Stade de la Route de Lorient. Hansson, though, is convinced he has made the right move, saying: "It has helped me a lot. The quality of the French league is high – higher than the Dutch league – and that means I have to raise my game." Mellberg partnership He will hope to maintain those standards when he lines up alongside Olof Mellberg in the Sweden rearguard this summer. The pair formed an impressive partnership in UEFA EURO 2008™ qualifying, and Hansson says he likes playing alongside the Aston Villa FC man: "Olof is easy to play with. We communicate well and complement each other well." ‘Tough group' Having been drawn in Group D with Spain, Russia and Greece, Sweden will require a solid platform if they are to progress to the quarter-finals. "We're in a tough group, even if it's probably not the strongest," Hansson said. "We have to try to beat Greece and Russia, although we know we are capable of beating Spain too because we've done it before. If we get out of the group, anything can happen." I look forward to watching them against Brazil in a few days. It is important to note that they have more or less written off the game against Spain as unwinnable and will give what they've got against us and the Russians. This is something to take into account in our preparation and strategy. Also it is good for us that we play the Spaniards at the end because they may not even need any points to qualify and we may be able to snatch something that we may not be able to gain otherwise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest geok Posted March 21, 2008 Share Posted March 21, 2008 great aspirations from Otto for EURO2008: http://www.sport-fm.gr/article.jsp?id=124246 as I mentioned in the forum, if Otto takes his role seriously for the coming EURO I would not worry about the first round games. Could anybody tell me what Cristiano Ronaldo said about the Greek team? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DUDE Posted March 22, 2008 Share Posted March 22, 2008 as far as c. ronaldo, the article says that otto told his players before the portugal match that otto himself had heard that ronaldo didn't know 1 player on the greece side. he told his players this 'show him what you're worth...' etc., and used it to motivate them. I wonder if he knew them in Euro 2004 when he was doing this? = :LOL: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mangas21 Posted March 23, 2008 Share Posted March 23, 2008 anybody who thinks greece going through is automatic better wake up and smell the coffee.....at their respective qualifiers: sweden beat spain 2-0 at home and crushed denmark 3-0 away; russia tied gruop winners croatia twice and beat england 2-1 at home; spain is spain.............. but everybody's perception that this is an easy group is seriously mistaken....combined with no element of surprise and teams now focusing on film on how to play us leads me to believe we have about a 35%-40% chance of passing through.... titles are great but you cant put them on your plate and eat them....sure we have gained respect from the footballing community, but otto better come up with some kind of tactical twist because the same game is not gonna cut it this time.... i'll be there, the guy with the blue and white face, and believe me i will be yelling my ba**s off...may even take a walk through the swedish and russian sections je je je je... but seriously, we need something a little different a different wrinkle in our game to throw off all the prep being done for us..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AEK-MTL Posted March 23, 2008 Share Posted March 23, 2008 Bad news for Sweden: http://www.euro2008.uefa.com/news/kind=1/n...y+swedens+edman And I agree with mangas21 to an extent. The group stages will most certainly NOT be a cakewalk. That said, Russia doesn't impress me and Sweden just isn't as strong as they used to be IMO. The first game will be key. Everything hinges on that. A draw wouldn't be disasterous but as has been said by others, we need a MINIMUM of 4 points from the first two games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadBoy13 Posted March 23, 2008 Share Posted March 23, 2008 i would like see Chouto in euro... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest geok Posted March 24, 2008 Share Posted March 24, 2008 He is on fire!!! I don't know if he plays well or what are the defenses he is up against but his record is excellent. There are no easy games in EURO, agree with everyone there. But again if Otto takes this seriously, I have no doubt that the team will be ready for the games and will do a good appearance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest geok Posted March 24, 2008 Share Posted March 24, 2008 News for our last friendly against armenia: link: http://news.ert.gr/c/3/380518.asp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mangas21 Posted March 24, 2008 Share Posted March 24, 2008 a question and commment for "da boyz"....... my view this 08 team is that its a little older, maybe a little wiser, and a bit more talented upfront......soccer IQ, the ability to ANTICIPATE and execute when, where and how to exploit opportunities is a very subtle thing to recognize in a team....I think we have that, as a group, i think the team is a smart team...but here is my question: what makes a midfielder so valuable as to effect greatly the chances that the forwards can exploit? I ask this because, as i have said in previous posts, alot of the goals greek internationals score in foreign leagues are set up on a silver platter by the players behind them.....many of you have said that our mids are our weakness, and this will undoubtedly hinder our most improved part of the 08 team (the strikers) to be effective...... so question 1: what can otto/midfielders do to change this? can they and what are the ramifications if they do? question 2: generally, what skills do mids need to have to be more supoortive of the forwards...do they need to simply play deeper in the offensive zone, which our guys can do or, do they need to be faster/more stamina/more skillful in dribbling,passing etc... i guess i am asking can our midflied transform itself given their skills, or do theie skills dictate how they will play? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plato-ny Posted March 24, 2008 Share Posted March 24, 2008 Analysts predict Czechs will defeat Italy in the Euro 2008 final, in a shootout, using a mathematical scheme Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mangas21 Posted March 25, 2008 Share Posted March 25, 2008 i m hopeful our mids can adjust their game a bit to exploit the "supposed" improvement of our forwards.....the more oppossing defenses respect our counter ability/or offense, the more room we have to maneuver and consequently, the less support the opposssing mids can give their offense........ knid of "the best defense is a good offense"......... i dont think our team is quite at that level, but i still maintain a slight twist in our approach to utilize the better striking ability is in order..... i wonder if previous stiking capability dictated the play of our mids, rather than the other way around.... will be very interesting to see how this plays out tommorrow.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mangas21 Posted March 26, 2008 Share Posted March 26, 2008 yes it is a bit curious that a field player was denied, but our goal keeping situation is precarious, and 2010 will be here before you know it....but........that also applies to the "aging" field players as well who need to be replaced...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest geok Posted March 26, 2008 Share Posted March 26, 2008 The other big game that we are concerned about is Sweden-Brazil. That is the one that I shall watch. As for goalkeepers, I think Ele should be given a chance after the EURO, with Nikopolidis retiring (although I think Niko will continue to play as long as he feels he plays well). It is time for Chalkias to step up his form and give us some hope for the future! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paxiotis7 Posted March 26, 2008 Share Posted March 26, 2008 Russia got thrashed 3-0 by romania today! Romania arent bad, but thats a poor result for russia. I think greece should take them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest geok Posted March 26, 2008 Share Posted March 26, 2008 Big games and big tests tonight as the EURO is approaching hot. I would like to hear your analyses about the Brazil-Sweden, Romania-Russia and Spain-Italy games for anyone who saw them. Overall good tests all around europe tonight with the Germans, Dutch, French, Spanish showing particularly strong, Romania looking promising and both Greece and Portugal looking good. It will be a great EURO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest geok Posted March 27, 2008 Share Posted March 27, 2008 quoting DUDE: Hi everyone. I didn't see the game. There was no where I could watch it, and since I had tickets to the Brazil vs Sweden game at the Emirates I went to that instead. I'm a little confused, I've heard so many different takes that I'm not sure how actually played. Apart from the 2 goals were we dominant, or on the back foot? Did we show anything that suggests we can win it again, or will we struggle to qualify from the group stages? Sweden were very good defensively tonight, but their finishing was woeful. They passed the ball well but were kind of negative. Overall I was very impressed with them and they only lost (1-0) because of a stupid individual goalkeeping error. They will be very hard to beat and Greece will have to be at her absolute best. None of their players really stood out, it was a team effort. But Rosenberg up front was pathetic. For Brazil Diego did some pretty amazing stuff. It was the first time that I realised what much of the hype is all about, and Pato had a good game and took his goal beautifully. Thanks very much for this DUDE! I have another friend who watched this game and has the same opinion more or less. Well done! This will be the key game for our NT in EURO2008. It appears as if Sweden are difficult to beat if they defend and we all know that they have more or less written the game against Spain off (see my previous posts on this topic)- they will try for a draw as it seems in the same tacktics as against Brazil. Their best bet is against Russia and Greece. Russia will have all their roster available in the final game against Sweden, so I expect the Vikings to get some real opposition there. The Russia that played Romania yesterday was a team with a weak defense but with missing a lot of key players too. I think the Russians have learned a lot from this game. The Spaniards look invincible but didn't they always look the same before failure in major tournaments? :LOL: We all know that a defeat in the first game will severely dent the lost side's chances of progressing and will give the winning side a key advantage. From this perspective both Sweden and Greece will be cautious in the opening match and the most probable result is a draw. Sweden will play with 5 players in the middlefield (our weak point because of lack of quantity (not quality) there) and this is something that Otto needs to think about a lot; I am not sure that the tested 4-3-3 of Otto is the best tactic for this game; what do you guys think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest geok Posted March 27, 2008 Share Posted March 27, 2008 For highlights of Brazil-Sweden game visit this webpage: http://www.fcfootballblog.com/2008/03/27/b...den-highlights/ you will see that they have a good goalkeeper but a poor attack :LOL: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mangas21 Posted March 27, 2008 Share Posted March 27, 2008 yeah aek66, as i alluded to before the game, the play of the midfield was the one thing i was curious about....now that we see the difference, why do you think they were more active? did otto give them free reign, did THEY see holes in the portugese defense and simply make instantaneous adjustments, were they on fresh legs, did they not respect the portugese counter? its amzazing the difference.....not even subtle difference....like three different guys... we have discussed this many times, how the transition game and consequently the mids are the key for this team.....curiou if you or any others have theory on why such a dramatic difference in their play against a still dangerou portugese side... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
levendi2000 Posted March 28, 2008 Share Posted March 28, 2008 My predictions were RUSSIA SPAIN GREECE SWEDEN But i watched all the performances in the international friendlies taking into consideration absent players and the opposition and i have completely changed my prediction Russia had an excellent qualifying campaign and arguably a wizard coach in gus hiddink. Hiddink worked wonders with Australia NT to get them to the quaters of the WC2006 only losing 1-0 in a contreversial penalty to the champions Italy. Prior to that Australia had not been in the WC for 30 years. But i watched Russia lose 3-0 and looked dreadful throughout the entire game vs Romania.. i think they are no threat. i was completely wrong about russia Spain on the other hand who although have excellent players have had the reputation of underperforming as a unit. However i believe this is about to change as they beat the World Champions 1-0 and played a great game. Massive threat Sweden on the other hand also played superb and only lost 1-0 bs brazil due to a late goal due to a keeper blunder.. Sweden are a very dangerous team and have a very strong defence with hard working midfield.. Also a real threat.. We all know how greece played.. new prediction SPAIN GREECE SWEDEN RUSSIA I think if Greece wins vs Sweden in the first game i think we will qualify.. this will be our most important game.. however i predict a draw Im sure we will win vs Russia however Spain are a huge hurdle and will most likely beat us.. SPAIN 9 GREECE 4 SWEDEN 4 (goal difference will decide who qualifies) RUSSIA 0 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dark_horse Posted March 28, 2008 Share Posted March 28, 2008 I was hoping for this: GREECE SWEDEN SPAIN RUSSIA :LOL: But than again, Spain is the real threat of the group so there a safe bet on advancing to the QF. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest geok Posted March 28, 2008 Share Posted March 28, 2008 ar8ro tou antwnh karpetopoulou sto sportfm: K Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest geok Posted March 28, 2008 Share Posted March 28, 2008 As I've told you before, if Otto takes this EURO seriously, I am not afraid of the first match; read the following article from sportfm: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Euro2004 Posted April 3, 2008 Share Posted April 3, 2008 Ljungberg is injured and faces a fitness-race for Euro 2008. http://goal.com/en/Articolo.aspx?ContenutoId=645059 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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