Euro2008 Quarterfinals…

Been interesting to see the Teams in the Quaterfinals. What’s more interesting is that Germany can never be counted out.

They were simply hardworking against the likes of Portugal. The Portugese were merely spectators I feel in the match.. only able to take longs shots at Lehmann. If you watched the game again, you would notice at least 6 German players would come back to defend their goal and always try to spring in the counter attack. With their body size marginally bigger than the Portugese players, the Germans look better at set pieces and just hustling their opponents away. Ronaldo had a very poor game… maybe the recent rumours of him wanting a move to Madrid caused him to lose concentration. Needless to say, the Germans were effective, composed and mature in this game. I expect Poldolski and Ballack to shine for the team in the semifinal stages.

Croatia… was rooting for them all this while. Luca Modric has been smashing. His passes were brilliant and many at times, he split the Turkish defense into bits. Unfortunately, his man of the match display wasn’t much use, as his team mates could not capitalize on it. This man is gonna shine in Spurs. If Spurs can keep Berbatov… I expect them to progress well in the EPL.

Andrei Arshavin… what can I say. I have been ignorant about the players in the Russian team. I did miss the match between Russia and Sweden but the reviews of this guys have been superb to say the least. Caught the highlights online and the Russian teams was just breathtaking to watch. Arshavin was the architect of most of their attacks. Sweden had no answer. So sad that Arshavin wasn’t available against Spain (he was banned after receiving red card in the previous rounds)! If Russia can attack Holland like they did against Sweden… should be real fun to watch.

Other players to keep an eye on:

1. Arda Turan (Turkey)
2. David Villa (Spain)
3. Wesley Sjneider (Holland)

Hmmmm … my prediction for the final… Germany vs Italy. With Italy just getting themselves in the quarter finals.. they may just have enough guile to get to the finals. Anyone disgaree??