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Big Brother vs Big Bother
No playing favourites at Euro 2012
Grow up, de Rossi tells Balotelli
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pick of the day
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Fabio: Rooney can’t understand English
IOA slams Hesh-Bopanna
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Big Brother vs Big Bother
Gdansk, June 21
Greece conceded only five goals in 10 qualifiers, though they also let in three goals in three Group A games, advancing as runners-up behind the Czech Republic. "We got a small taste of what we can expect when we faced the Danes," said Germany holding midfielder Sami Khedira of their 2-1 victory on Sunday. "Greece are a very compact team, tactically very strong, well organised and aggressive. They are also fast on the breaks and if you see that they had three or four chances in the tournament so far and scored three goals you can tell they are masters of efficiency. So patience will be necessary from our side. We have to move because if we remain static it will be very difficult against them. We have to wear them out, tire them out and keep moving." Germany have yet to find the form that took them to third place in the World Cup two years ago but they have shown they have matured into a team who may lack spark but can be equally effective when it comes to winning games. "We are calmer now, more clever and we keep our composure for longer," said Khedira when asked to compare this team with that of two years ago. "We are more concentrated over 90 minutes," he said. The Germans, who will have defender Jerome Boateng back after missing the last game through suspension, will meet either England or Italy in the last four should they advance against the seemingly weaker Greeks.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, a fervent supporter of the team, will be hoping there are none as she attends the game but her presence could trigger the ire of Greek fans, angered by Berlin's backing of an austerity plan for the debt-ridden nation. Both teams have played down the political connotations of the game and Greece will be looking to cause an upset only on the pitch, even without suspended captain Giorgos Karagounis. Greece coach Fernando Santos has yet to reveal who will replace the inspirational midfielder but it is likely to be Grigoris Makos, a more defensive player, who will try to break up German attacks early. "There is an atmosphere of self-sacrifice in this team," said midfielder Katsouranis. — Reuters
Germany have found the right balance going forward and in defence, so they are not likely to tinker with their 4-2-3-1 formation. Gomez plays the lone striker, with Podolski, Muller and Ozil behind and two holding mid-fielders. Greece have relied heavily on their stubborn defence, and they will have to be upto the mark here as well. Gekas will have Samaras and Salpingidis for support. Fotakis will play a floating role, with two defensive mid-fielders. What to look out for Germany have won their last 14 competitive international fixtures, a national record. The Mannschaft have never lost to Greece. Their record in eight previous head-to-head meetings is W5, D3. The Germans are competing in their fifth European championship quarterfinal and have gone on to reach the final on each previous occasion. Holger Badstuber (pictured right) is a yellow card away from suspension. Greece have scored just once in each of their last eight games, winning just twice during that sequence. The Hellenic outfit have scored in 21 of the 24 matches under Fernando Santos - the exceptions all ended as goalless draws. Greece's only quarterfinal appearance at a major tournament was the 1-0 triumph over France at Euro 2004, a competition they went on to win. Kyriakos Papadopoulos, Dimitris Salpingidis and Vasilis Torosidis will incur a ban with their next bookings.
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No playing favourites at Euro 2012
Paris, June 21 With the quarterfinal line-up now known, the football fan might feel entitled to ask a nagging question: "Will the best team win?" If this season in general has been anything to go by the answer is likely to be: "Probably not." International football can be a crabbier affair than its domestic equivalent -- witness the difference in pace between the frenetic English Premier League, even with its foreign stars, and an England team which can verge on the pedestrian. Yet a parallel is emerging between the international games as witnessed by the European championships and the Champions League, widely seen as the pinnacle of what the game has to offer at any level. For many observers, Barcelona rank in terms of pure talent as the outstanding club team in Europe, with Bayern Munich not too far behind. But it was Chelsea who denied both to land last season's Champions League against all the odds. Barca may have had 80 percent possession and 42 attempts on goal to 11 for their rivals over two games, yet it was the Londoners who advanced to the final. There, Bayern cruised home in statistical terms — but lost on penalties. At Euro 2012, there are several indications the "best" team doesn't always win. England topped Group D after beating Ukraine, yet the hosts enjoyed 62.5 percent of second-half possession, as well as a "goal" that wasn't given, despite crossing the line. France, on the other hand, boasted a 23-game unbeaten run before losing to a Sweden side who showed flashes of brilliance with a lethal Zlatan Ibrahimovic. But it was England who cruised into the final eight to face Italy instead of Spain. Britain's Daily Telegraph newspaper was confused on Wednesday, asking: "England top of the pile, Spain dodged and Rooney scoring the winner. Who makes this stuff up?" Group A was another case in point. On the evidence of the first matches, Russia looked streets ahead of their rivals after swatting the Czech Republic 4-1, only to crash out to a Greek side who, as in their 2004 glory year, most pundits had discounted after they lost to... the Czechs. The Netherlands came in as one of the sides with the most impressive qualifying records and the pedigree of former champions. It came as a surprise, then, that the 1988 winners lost all three of their matches, lumping their non-achievement this time round with that of the Republic of Ireland. Football is not an exact science but quantitative analysis should act as some kind of guide. After all, have Germany and Brazil, as the "best" teams in history, not tended to re-establish the natural order of things by winning more often than anybody else? British scientist John Maddox chose a landmark year to carry out a study for Nature magazine. In 1966, the year England beat West Germany to win their only World Cup, Maddox wrote an article "We wuz robbed" (We were robbed) and established the chances of a draw at just 0.27 — or statistically 27 in 100 matches. He then mused on what that meant for the remaining matches. "In other words, if two teams are equally matched, the chance that the result will be an active injustice to one of them will be 0.73." One might object that the term "equally matched" is subjective and only relative — but few fans would stop to reason as much if their team has just lost a close game. He went further establishing that “a team which is less skilled than its opponent can nevertheless expect a one in three chance of winning the deciding match — AFP
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Grow up, de Rossi tells Balotelli
London, June 21 Balotelli was taken off and replaced by Antonio Di Natale against Spain and Croatia, as he tried to walk one chance into the goal and was removed almost immediately. However, he came on to score Italy's second against Ireland in a 2-0 win. In the Spain game, "He's young. Sometimes, he commits mistakes off the pitch. But it's his responsibility. He has to play a great game. He has all the quality to do that. He simply has to accept the manager's decision," de Rossi added. — ANI |
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We are full of confidence: Walcott
London, June 21 "It now doesn't matter who you play against in this competition - they will all be difficult. Playing Spain, the world and European champions, would have been difficult, but we'll take anyone now because we believe we can beat anybody," The Sun quoted Walcott as saying. "I'm not going to say we can win this tournament but we've got a great chance, like other teams. But if we play to the best of our ability, who knows? We defend well, which is important, and always know we can score," he added. "We haven't seen too much of Italy and maybe the best of them is still to come. They have world-class stars in their team and players who can come off the bench and make a difference as well, but we don't need to worry about them now," he said. The Arsenal star said it was important for them to top their group, and admitted that the Italy team would be a hard nut to crack. He said: "But it was great to win the group. Our target was to take things game by game and it's working so far. Everyone is doing their job right. Sweden were difficult to break, we found them tough at times and the French were hard too. It was important to win the group. The Italians will be tough but we've got some great players." — ANI
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Fabio: Rooney can’t understand English
London, June 21 The Italian, who himself never had a thorough grasp of the English language during his four years as England manager, hit back at Rooney after the Manchester United talisman on Sunday claimed that having an English manager made understanding team talks and tactics easier and "nothing got lost in translation" Rooney's comments left Capello exasperated Capello but the Italian accepted he found it tough to explain his tactics to the players. "Look, when I spoke they did understand me. But every now and then, when I tried to explain tactics, things didn't work out," The Daily Mirror quoted Capello as saying. "You know what? Maybe it's because Rooney doesn't speak English. He doesn't understand English," he added. Rooney and any of his aides refused to comment on Capello's outburst. — ANI
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New Delhi, June 21 "I don't want to name the players but no player should be allowed to have a sort of veto power in team selection," V K Malhotra, IOA acting President, said in a clear reference to Bhupathi and Bopanna. Bhupathi and Bopanna had written to the AITA that they would not play in the Olympics if they were not paired together. The AITA, who had earlier picked Leander Paes and Bhupathi for the Olympics, had to reverse its decision and decide to send two teams, with the former teaming up with lower-ranked Vishnu Vardhan. Malhotra also criticised AITA for buckling under pressure from players, saying that today's decision to send two men's doubles teams for the Olympics can set bad precedent for other federations. "AITA should not have entertained their (Bhupathi and Bopanna's) threats," said Malhotra. "Today's decision has the potential to set precedents for other federations. It's the function of federations to pick player. The IOA also does not interfere in this. And the players cannot dictate terms on the federations. I hope today's decision does not set a precedent which if happens will be certainly bad for Indian sports," he said. He also felt that Paes pairing up with Vardhan and Bhupathi and Bopanna teaming up can cost India dear in medal prospect. "Of course, it will have impact on India's medal hopes," he said. Paes’s father, Olympian Vece Paes, also criticised the AITA’s decision to change the pairing. "Leander has always compromised while playing for the country. I think now he is tired of doing that. I don't think Leander will agree with AITA's decision," the senior Paes said. "Leander will be disappointed with this decision. It is very unfair with him. He is a highly principled as well as an emotional man; so it is difficult to say which way he will go.” — PTI
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Asked whether he was happy to have avoided a potential match-up with world and European champions Spain in the semi-finals if they beat Greece, Khedira refused to speculate. "Our focus is only on Greece because you know surprises happen in football."
Team formations
Phelps leaves options open for
London