Official Football Thread

There are bad feelings between many Serbs and Croats, no doubt.  But I also know close friends from all three camps (Croats, Serbs, Bosnians).  Most people are trying to move on.  I know of many Croatians that visit Belgrade's night scene from time to time and there are also Serbs that visit Croatia's coast.  They're neighbours, so one can continue to hate and eat oneself from inside or deal with the past.  Most young people are judging individuals as individuals.  The old are a different and varied lot.

As far as Russia is concerned, it is true that Serbia and Russia are close allies.  But Croats have never had a close relationship with Russia, good or bad.  Yugoslavia was not part of the Warsaw pact because the Yugoslavian dictator (Tito who was a Croat, by the way) decided to try socialism in his own way.  Russia had no say in it.  Though if we were closer to them geographically, say like Ukraine, I'm sure the matter would have been different. 
 
You said:

"Yugoslavia was not part of the Warsaw pact because the Yugoslavian dictator (Tito who was a Croat, by the way) decided to try socialism in his own way.  Russia had no say in it."

That's comparable with "Perhaps people in Croatia will love the thought of Russia not qualifying" (in other words: Croatians decide that Russia has not say in it / cannot play next year).

All a bit tongue in cheek of course. We'll see how Croatia plays on wednesday. If they really don't give a damn, I tend to believe my own words (can't see another reason at the moment).
 
Well, I think that the Croatian team will try very hard against England for two reasons.  If they cannot defeat England now, they'll have even less chance when the stakes are higher, and the pressure is on.  Secondly, they'd like to be undefeated at Wembley this year.  Croatia has always done well in the qualifying, sometimes emerging undefeated.  But they tend to cave in when it matters the most and the pressure is there. 

As far as Russia losing to Israel, that WAS desired, not because they're Russia, but because that result would benefit Croatia.  In that regard, you're right on!
 
Genghis Khan said:
Well, I think that the Croatian team will try very hard against England for two reasons.  If they cannot defeat England now, they'll have even less chance when the stakes are higher, and the pressure is on.
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I'm not sure about that. When the stakes are higher, teams tend to be more motivated to win. Croatia doesn't have to provbe anything anymore. They did very well on the road to Euro08 and we all know what Croatia is capable of. I won't forget Suker's goal soon :)

Genghis Khan said:
Secondly, they'd like to be undefeated at Wembley this year.
Click to expand...

They played more often at Wembley this year (I think I don't understand it)?
 
I know that teams try harder when the stakes are higher.  But many Croatian fans feel they always drop the ball to teams they should not during big stake games.  Last World Cup they performed abismally against Japan and Australia, yet they gave a great game against Brazil.  The team claims they were all recovering from a flu.  :uhm:  I hate to be a cynic, but I'm skeptical.

I was also under the impression that they've not lost at Wembley this year, but maybe I misunderstood.  I do not have any stats, just an interview I read.
 
Actually, I misremembered.  The Croatian team wants an unbeated streak vs England.  Wembley has nothing to do with it.  I got it wrong because the word "Wembley" happened to be in the same sentence so for some strange reason I tied it to the rest of the thought.  :oops:
 
I understand it now :)
Let's hope they'll try further than only a draw. Not that I want England out but it'd make a spectacular match!
 
Genghis Khan said:
Actually, I misremembered.  The Croatian team wants an unbeated streak vs England.
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And it's a streak of 1 game so far - the 2-0 win over us in Zagreb was also England's only defeat to Croatia.
And in addition to the Croatian's not wanting to loose, England will want to keep their 100% record at the new Wembley for competitive matches - and remember, they have all been 3-0 thus far.

I'm still going for an England win on Wednesday. :D
 
I just hope some Norwegian channel will show England vs Croatia live (as they did with Russia-England for example). If Turkey are up 3-0 against Bosnia after 20 minutes, I might find it slightly more interesting to watch the match from Wembley than to see how much Norway beat Malta. (The last one is a bit risky, but seriously - if we don't beat Malta it's ten times worse than losing 1-2 to Bosnia at home. It would be a disgrace.)
 
Eddies Wingman said:
I just hope some Norwegian channel will show England vs Croatia live (as they did with Russia-England for example). If Turkey are up 3-0 against Bosnia after 20 minutes, I might find it slightly more interesting to watch the match from Wembley than to see how much Norway beat Malta. (The last one is a bit risky, but seriously - if we don't beat Malta it's ten times worse than losing 1-2 to Bosnia at home. It would be a disgrace.)
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Indeed a bit risky:

Malta-Turkey 2-2 (Sept. 8, 2007)
Malta-Hungary 2-1 (Oct. 11, 2006)

Let's zoom in at tomorrow's matches of importance.

Countries already qualified:
Organizers:
Switzerland
Austria

Qualified last saturday:
France
Italy
Croatia
Netherlands
Poland
Spain

Qualified earlier:
Germany
Greece
Romania
Czech Republic
-----------------------------

Nine countries still have a chance to qualify, especially group A is very open until the last minute:

Group A
Portugal
Finland
Serbia
Remaining fixtures:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UEFA_Euro_ ... g_fixtures

Group C
Turkey
Norway
Remaining fixtures:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UEFA_Euro_ ... g_fixtures

Group E
England
Russia
Remaining fixtures:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UEFA_Euro_ ... g_fixtures

Group F
Sweden
Northern Ireland
Remaining fixtures:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UEFA_Euro_ ... g_fixtures
 
The European Football Championship of 2008 (the 3rd biggest sport event, after the Olympic Games (1) and the FIFA World Cup (2))

The 2008 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 2008, will take place in Austria and Switzerland, from 7 to 29 June 2008. It is the second in a series of three successful joint bids in the competition's history, alongside the UEFA Euro 2000, hosted by Belgium and the Netherlands and the 2012 competition in Poland and Ukraine.

A total of 16 teams will participate in the tournament. Austria and Switzerland will automatically qualify as hosts; Austria and Poland will be making their first appearance in the tournament. The remaining 14 teams will be determined through qualifying matches (see previous and following posts ;) ) which started in August 2006.


Previous winners:

Greece (2004)
France (2000)
Germany (1996)
Denmark (1992)
Netherlands (1988)
France (1984)
West Germany (1980)
Czechoslovakia (1976)
West Germany (1972)
Italy (1968)
Spain (1964)
USSR (1960)

edit:
Albie said:
And it's a streak of 1 game so far - the 2-0 win over us in Zagreb was also England's only defeat to Croatia.
And in addition to the Croatian's not wanting to loose, England will want to keep their 100% record at the new Wembley for competitive matches - and remember, they have all been 3-0 thus far.

I'm still going for an England win on Wednesday. :D
Click to expand...

I know what you mean by saying "for competition matches", but I can't resist to say the following, if you don't mind.

A friendly match vs Germany is not competitive, aye? 
In the Netherlands we have always seen matches vs Germany as VERY competitive ones with at least as much motivation as in any other competition.  :P

edit 2:
YES!! On BBC 1 -->
7:30 pm   Match of the Day Live
Gary Lineker presents live coverage of the final game of the Euro 2008 qualifying campaign as England host Croatia at Wembley, knowing that a draw will be enough to reach next summer's tournament.

Cool!! It's also on a Dutch channel, but I prefer to feel as much tension as the English themselves!
 
Albie said:
Euro 2008. Europe's equivalent of the Copa América.
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cool, I remember Greece won it when it hosted (2004) and nobody was happy, except maybe Greece of course hahaha. I see Germany (also west germany) has won it the most.... In the Copa America the top three players are Brazil, Argentina and Mexico. Who are the Big Three in Europe? I'd like to guess England, Netherlands, and a toss up between Italy and Germany. Close?
 
Depends who you ask.

With all respect, the last semi-final England reached was 11 years ago, so I wouldn't put them in the Big Three.
(I warn you, the following you won't see on the BBC): English football is famous for their attractive competition, where many foreigners play. The competition doesn't resemble their national team in any way, nor vice versa. That's an understatement. Two totally different worlds. In this way, one could even say that, the term English football is the most paradoxal term in the history of football. Sorry to say, Albie (& national acrobat, if I'm not mistaken) but this is really what I think of it. You can pay me back if England comes far next year!  :)

I'd go for:
Italy, France & Germany

All three countries had big victories in the past but they also did very well in more recent times.

The Netherlands could be seen as 4th (they came far in some tournaments over the last 10 years) but I am not the most neutral guy since I am Dutch myself. 

As a matter of fact, I can be nationalistic when it comes to sports and I'm very proud of quite some football players that my little country has produced, with "only" 16 million inhabitants, currently on a 61st(!) place on the list of countries ordered according to population. Compare that number to other football-nations, who dare to say they have been succesful!  :innocent:


However, I'm a bit worried about the amount of goals our squad has produced in the qualifications.
A very low amount. And one rule always stays the same in football: In the end, it's the score that counts, and not my babbling. ;)
 
Onhell said:
cool, I remember Greece won it when it hosted (2004) and nobody was happy, except maybe Greece of course hahaha. I see Germany (also west germany) has won it the most.... In the Copa America the top three players are Brazil, Argentina and Mexico. Who are the Big Three in Europe? I'd like to guess England, Netherlands, and a toss up between Italy and Germany. Close?
Click to expand...

Well ... I would say, perhaps, Italy, Germany and then who? England, Netherlands and Spain are the countries that strike me first. France should also be mentioned, as should perhaps Portugal. EDIT: Forostar, I see your point in placing France among top three - they had some impressive years recently and should be mentioned before the other three I listed there.

And a little correction: Greece did not host the European Championship in 2004, it was played in Portugal. Greece actually beat the hosts twice (!), first in the group stage and then again in the final.
 
Thanks for the Correction EW!

@Forostar, My dad is my source for soccer and he's the one who's told me that the Netherlands, Italy, Germany, are perennial powerhouses and a lesser extent England, Spain and Portugal... He's been following football all his life so I trust him. I just know how to play it and enjoy the Olympics, World Cup, CONCACAF, Copa Oro and America lol.
 
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