THE TWISTS AND TURNS OF THE 2012 “BEAUTIFUL GAME” SEASON: POLAND – UKRAINE 2012 (SERIES 8: PART 2)

EUFA EURO 2012

THE KNOCK OUT

Earlier in Part 1 of this series, we discussed the group stage of the EURO 2012. It is high time we discussed the knockout rounds, kicking off with the quarter finals and later having a touchdown on the finals.

To this end, the quarter finals signified one thing, the tournament was fast getting rounded off with much more excitement imminent all the way to the final.

QUARTER FINAL 1 (Czech Republic VS Portugal)

With the quarter finals kicking off on Thursday, 21 June, there was more excitement in the waiting. The first quarter finals had both Group A and B rejuvenated sides; Czech Republic and Portugal muscling out their continued presence in the tourney for an extended stay and qualification for the semis.

But what separated both sides was the lone goal by Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo, extending the stay of Portugal and sending Czech Republic packing out of Poland-Ukraine 2012.

QUARTER FINAL 2 (Germany VS Greece)

The second day of quarter finals had high flyers Germany breezing through Greece by 4 goals to 2. This huge victory being the fifteenth straight competitive victory by the Germans further added credence to making the Germans a force to reckon with which however lasted the whistle to round off this match.

QUARTER FINAL 3 (Spain VS France)

With two goals from Xabi Alonso in his 100th International cap, the third quarter finals had world number 1, Spain sailing through over France to her third straight competitive semi finals, with the third straight competition triumph in sight.

QUARTER FINAL 4 (England VS Italy)

The poor run of England at winning penalty shoot-outs continued in the match against Italy which after 90 minutes and the added 30 minutes of extra time, had the deadlock not broken.

England which had both Ashley’s (Young and Cole) losing their penalties ended up losing the match 4 – 2 to Italy in the penalty shoot out which ended their good performance in the tourney and since new boss, Roy Hodgson took over the helm of affairs of the three lions as coach.

SEMI FINALS

With Portugal, Germany, Spain and Italy scaling the quarter finals, the competitions only got the battle for the trophy more interesting with all four teams highly placed in the world of International football.

SEMI FINAL 1 (Portugal VS Spain)

The first semi Finals was the match between neighbours, Spain and Portugal. The match, a tight fixture, had Portugal crashing out of the tournament through the penalty shoot out having had both Portugal and Spain sharing the spoils with the match being goalless.

With the decider penalty by Francesc Fabregasn which earned Spain a ticket to the final, Spain were edging closer to making history in three folds.

SEMI FINAL 2 (Germany VS Italy)

The squaring up of Italy and Germany to muscle their way to the finals was a fascinating fixture, attracting the best of excitement. With the stable and intimidating form of Germany, winning 15 competitive matches prior to the Italy game as against that of Italy with an inconsistent form, the Germans were widely given an upper hand to make it to the finals. An example in this regard are some words I found very interesting on Saturday Punch (Nigeria), June 30, 2012.

These words with the title; How Germany broke my heart are as thus… 

“…Before the Euro 2012 semi-final match between Germany and Italy, I had tipped the Germans to win. My prediction was based on the quality of the game that I expected them to play. 

Among all the teams that competed in Euro 2012, the Germans touched my heart the most. They proved that they had prepared very well before coming to the championship. In their match against Greece, I thought they would panic after the latter equalized. But it was as if nothing had happened and they went on to win the match convincingly. But against Mario Balotelli and Italy, the centre could not hold for them. They broke my heart, but the fun continues with the finalists…” 

Reading the above got me thrilled because it had me reminiscing my expectations from the Germans but guess it was not meant to be as Mario Balotelli’s first half brace saw Italy through to the finals. However, Mesut Özil’s penalty in the dying minutes of the match could not save the Germans from biding goodbye to the finals.

THE TROPHY SHOWDOWN

As the tournament progressed conceivably, the second twist in my opinion was the absence of the group of death members (Group B) in the final. But with their absence not taking away the awaited excitement of the final, the two finalists ushered in a déjà vu pairing of Group C on match day 1 of the Group C matches which had Italy and Spain settling for a draw.

But like in any competition, the finals is nothing compared to earlier matches and in its own way produces the best of performance from either or both sides far above the level played in the preceding stages of the competition. This however was the turnaround in the favour of Spain whom thumped Italy by four dazing goals that got the Italians unable to save the situation. 

The 2012 finals was a remarkable one with the new records set by the Spaniards among which are;

1.         Spain is the first team to win consecutively in two editions, the European   Championship.

2.         Spain is the first team to have a treble of triumphs, becoming the first European team to win international tournaments in a roll; i.e. the Euro 2008, FIFA World Cup 2010 and now the UEFA Euro 2012.

3.         Undefeated in the UEFA Euro Champiosnhip for 29 games, a run according to      ESPNsoccernet.com , stretches back to June 2004

In addition, Casillas and Spain striker Fernando Torres also made their own histories. Torres became the first man to score in two European Championship finals, and Casillas played in his record 100th victory in international soccer. A flashback to the former is the 2008 final against Germany which had the lone goal by Fernando Torres being enough to grant the Spaniards their third European title.

With the triumph of Spain, the Spaniards are getting their dominance of international football continued at another level that would not be easy to cut shut as their international performance is a replica of club performance with regards to Barcelona and Real Madrid.

Below are the Spanish players celebrating their EURO 2012 victory

 Image Source: Google Image

REFERENCES

“Final Match Report” ESPNsoccernet 1 July 2012. 2 July 2012

m.espn.go.com/soccer/gamecast?gameId=346764&lang=EN

“FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking” fifa.com 6 June 2012. 6 June 2012 <http://www.fifa.com/worldranking/rankingtable/index.html>

“Final tournament – Group stage” uefa.com 22 July 2012

<www.uefa.com/uefaeuro/season=/2012/standings/round=15172/group=700967/index.html>

Spain wins again, beating Italy 4-0 at Euro 2012” philstar.com 2 July 2012. 4 July 2012 < http://www.philstar.com/sportsarticle.aspx?publicationsubcategoryid=200&articleid=823274>

“UEFA Euro 2012” Wikipedia.com 29 June 2012 <en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/UEFA_Euro_2012>

                                                                                                                                   

“How Germany broke my heart” The Punch 30 June 2012: 59

 

THE TWISTS AND TURNS OF THE 2012 “BEAUTIFUL GAME” SEASON: POLAND – UKRAINE 2012 (SERIES 8: PART 1)

UEFA EURO 2012

THE ATTRACTION

The just concluded UEFA-EURO 2012 co-hosted by Poland and Ukraine prior to kick off was well anticipated as it promised to produce a touch of excitement not just for Europe but the world of football as it had in anticipation; twists, turns and the setting of new records. 

With the convergence of most of the best of the best players from the best inter-club tournament in the world; the UEFA Champions League, there was nothing but the best to be expected from the Euro 2012. Among these high class players were, 29 Bundesliga league goal scorer; Klass Jan Huntelaar. Also 26 goal score scorer in the Bundesliga too, Mario Gomez. 

Others include 2008 FIFA World footballer of the year and 2009, 2010 and 2011 runner up added to La Liga goal banger with 46 goals, Cristiano Ronaldo; English Premier League golden booth winner with 30 goals, Robin Van Persie; 27 premier league goal scorer, Wayne Rooney, Spanish and FC Barcelona midfield generals comprising Veteran midfielder, Xavier Hernàndez; game reader Andrés Iniesta and ex gunner skipper Francesc Fàbregas. In addition, the dailies headliner Mario Balotelli; Andrea Pirlo; Veteran goalkeepers Gianluigi Buffon and Iker Casillas, in addition to so many other numerous players  got the tourney one with so much spice to be the sweetest ever witnessed which indeed had Poland - Ukraine 2012 living up to expectations with the materialization of so many great moments in a sublime fashion.

Added to the aforesaid, 13 of the tournament 16 finalist being in the first 20 placement of the released 6 June, 2012 FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking astonishingly made the tournament perhaps the biggest clash of the titans as far as International football tourney is concerned.

That said, Spain were placed number 1 on the ranking; Germany, 3; Netherlands, 4; England, 6; Croatia, 8; Denmark, 9; Portugal, 10; Italy, 12; Russia, 13; France, 14; Greece, 15; Sweden, 17; and lastly Republic of Ireland in 18^th place.

However, the placement of the other 3 teams which did not make the first twenty cut are Czech Republic, Ukraine and Poland in 27th, 52nd and 62nd place respectively. With regards to this, a consideration of the placement of these teams in the June 2012 FIFA- Coca Cola Ranking could get one mathematically arriving at a conclusion as to which teams will progress to the quarter finals but the saying “football is not mathematics is the hitch to one arriving at such with such ease,” making the occurrence of the twists and turns of the Poland-Ukraine 2012 very imminent. 

At this juncture, please fasten your seat belts as I take you through the twists and turns and as such, the pivotal point of reminisce that graced the UEFA Euro 2012.

THE GROUP STAGE

GROUP A

The June 8 tournament kickoff by co-host Poland against Greece at the Warsaw National Stadium, Poland lit the stakes high for nothing but a scintillating tourney all the way. The goal apiece by Poland and Greece was a good start by the co-hosts. 

Then the next game which had Russia whitewashing Czech Republic paved the way for the Russians to be widely tipped as Group A forerunners but the beauty of football which has a way of converting uncertainties to certainties loomed as the Group phase reached its closing stages, dealing a heavy blow on the Russians.

On the aforementioned, with the conclusion  of Group A matches, there was a twist in the table as it had once upon a time whitewashed Czech Republic finishing top of the group courtesy the Czech’s recording a 2 – 1 and 1 – 0 victories against Greece and Poland respectively.

But sadly, having drubbed Czech Republic, the subsequent goal apiece draw with Poland and Game 3 loss to Greece sent Russian packing out of Poland.

Below is a table of the summary of performances at the end of all matches played in Group A on Saturday, 16 June 2012.  

Group A Table

Table Data Source: uefa.com

GROUP B

The widely dubbed group of death which had all 4 teams being notable power houses in world football courtesy the June FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking as mentioned earlier was a point of attraction with all teams having a good run in recent times as evident in their placement in the international football community. 

Let us start with Germany. The Germans whom prior to the tournament had a breathtaking 11 straight wins record in competitive matches were in strong contention for qualification from the group.

The second team in discuss will be Portugal. The Portuguese national team, known for their depth in talent for example; Cristiano Ronaldo and Nani, not forgetting 2012 UEFA Champions League winner, Chelsea’s Raul Meireles are just three of many that abounds in the Portuguese National football team.  

On the other hand, 2010 world cup silver medalist Netherlands, the favorites of many with a lethal weapon of a kind strike-force comprising Klass Jan Huntelaar and Robin Van Persie had lots of football followers expecting the orange boys to riddle the goal posts of their opponents with lots of goals but …

Denmark of the Scandinavian Peninsula which were the widely considered underdogs of Group B provided the Group B shocker courtesy their lone goal victory over the Netherlands which kicked off the a disappointing outing for Holland thereby making football again manifesting the twists and turns that make her so endearing. 

Though Denmark failed to scale through the group, courtesy their succeeding 2 – 3 and 1 – 2 losses to Portugal and Germany respectively, the Scandinavian Peninsula nation exiting from the tournament pretty early though disappointing must have held their heads up high.

On the other hand, the Dutch losing successive matches 1 – 2 to Germany and Portugal kicked them out of Ukraine.

However, rejuvenated Portugal whom lost her opening match by a lone goal in the hands of Germany qualified for the quarter finals behind Group leaders, Germany, courtesy their hard fought 3 – 2 win over Denmark and 2 – 1 win against Netherlands.

Thrillingly of all the Group table toppers, Germany was the only country to garner the maximum points (9), which no doubt sent a stern warning to all other countries that subsequent stages would have the Germans blazing sky high which however transiently lived up to expectation.

Group B Table

 Table Data Source: uefa.com

GROUP C

Though neither Italy nor Spain were able to break the deadlock in the Group C opening match, but, as generally expected, Spain saw off the Group with a table topping finish getting 7 points. This was followed by Italy that had 5 point thereby advancing to the quarter-finals. 

On the flip side, Croatia and the Republic of Ireland were left crashing out of the tournament But sadly, Croatia which kicked off the tournament with a 3 – 1 win over eventual group whooping boys, Republic of Ireland finished the group with 4 points having had a one all draw and one nil loss to Italy and Spain respectively.

Republic of Ireland that were for the first time in 24 years, making their long awaited appearance in UEFA Euro championship extinct had the most disappointing outing in Poland – Ukraine 2012. In this regard, though just like the Netherlands whom had no point after 3 games, Republic of Ireland had a devastating negative goals difference of 8.

Group C Table

Table Data Source: uefa.com

GROUP D

With the presence of England; France; co-host Ukraine and Sweden in Group D, making precision on the two teams to scale through to the quarter finals would have been perhaps a daunting task. This is due to the fact that all teams in the group are highly placed in the world of football with the exception of 52 placed Ukraine. But, what I perceive as host advantage was expected to play its part in considering Ukraine as the group underdogs.

With the Group D matches underway, France and England both shared the spoils with a goal apiece. But the shocker was the Ukraine VS Sweden match in which, courtesy a trailing thriller brace by veteran striker Adriy Shevchenco, Ukraine turned around what seemed to be an imminent loss to a stadium roaring victory to the delight of the Ukraine spectators.

This definitely must have lifted the spirit of Ukrainians of a possible climb over to the quarter finals but sadly this was not to be as they lost succeeding matches to France and England by 2 goals to nil and 1 goal to nil respectively. Annoyingly, though to the Ukrainians and fans of the co-host country being victims of bad refereeing which was marked by the controversy over a Marko Devic’s leveler being disallowed when the ball crossed the goal line, then within seconds brought back to play by John Terry.

The disregard of the co-host jubilation (gooooaaaaallllll) call by the referee brought about a daze to the bewilderment of the players and the thousand in the stadium added to the millions of television viewers.

But really, such happenings had over the years had a team at one time or the other being at the receiving end of such favors and of course, hindrance to getting the required result or scoreline.

In this regard, the English though lucky this time to wrongly get the ref’s favour were against Germany in the round of 16 phase of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa at the receiving end of what I call referee’s hammer. To this end, Frank Lampard had a goal that ought to have had England tied to Germany at 2 goals apiece but was not to be, instead, getting ruled out which one way or the other contributed to Germany trashing England by 4 goals to 1. Sequel to their exit, the English got calling intensely, the goal line technology, though gone and behind them now, the favour they got this time in the match against Ukraine with the co-host nation at the receiving end of the ref’s hammer surely would have had them counting themselves lucky for the goal line technology not implemented for the tourney.

Group D Table

Table Data Source: uefa.com

With all matches completed and the group leaders and runners up anticipating the quarter finals, the 3^rd and 4^th placed were sent parking from Poland – Ukraine which got it high time for the boys to be separated from the men. 

To be continued…