Here's looking to Sunday final. Also the injury to Villa is a pulled muscle on his femoral bicep of his right leg. That means Cesc more than likely will take his place. Aupa Espanha y Viva Er Beti Manque Lopera!! La Furia Roja!!! Er Pichi
Torres is not having a tournament i expected him to have. Guiza looks more dangerous from what i've seen of them in the Russia match. Apparently, the creativity of Fabreagas may be our biggest threat. Cesc is the one who is really good at making through passes. and our defense looked vulnerable so far to stop these sort of passing. Metze and Merte are both slow are turning, while Torres/Guiza are both very explosive strikers imo. They certainly have their weaknesses in RB. Sergio Ramos is terrible in defending. Absolutely pathetic as a defender. Ballack's and Klose's aerial ability should give Puyol and Marchena some hard time. I hope we can stick with a 4-5-1 formation this match. Again, we cant afford to lose the midfield battle this time. Fabregas is very likely to start since Villa's injury. They may play a 5 men midfield too. I hope Hitz and RFrings will be the two DMs, and we'll have Schweini ad Podolski supporting the attacks on both flanks. Ballack is a borned runner-up somehow. N he is cursed. Fabregas, on the other hand, is a match-winner n certainly a legend material
I thought Ramos was rocksolid in our last 2 games, that Russian leftback who had fieldday's on the left side previously was completely taken out of the game. And Guiza doesn't have the speed to be explosive.
2 countries, one full of racist bigots, that other full of football field racist wannabes. Help me this is what I c.
Dude. Europe has its race issues, and I'm the first to point that out, especially when it comes to Spain. But lumping all of a country together? Um... kinda... sorta... stupid.
I was very critical of Ramos in the earlier games, but he improved against Italy and against Russia hardly put a foot wrong. Great tackles and interceptions, the only times he scared me was when he tried to dribble out of defence. I hope the goals will flow freely in the final. Germany have been great going forward but have yet to come up against a Casillas. Spain on the other hand had plenty of shots on goal against Russia and a lesser keeper like Lehmann (He's not as sure as he used to be) may not be able to withstand the pressure. Don't think Spain's defence will keep Klose out though so it will be interesting. Odds are Germany will take it due to their experience and physical superiority (1 extra day's rest should make a difference). But all credit to this young Spanish team that seems to be finally coming of age, they have certainly disproved a lot of negative predictions and should now be relaxed and able to enjoy a great final.
I think Spain/Germany will be a good game. While I would have liked to see Turkey do well and I was also hoping to see Arshavin have a big game today, Russia v. Germany might not have been nearly as good a matchup as this final will be. I have never seen Torres really step up and live up to the hype internationally. And Spain are perennial underachievers at these big stages, so it's nice to see them back in the Euro final. Germany have not been having a stellar tournament, and I think Spain are the stronger side going in.
This will be a good, open final I hope spain don't come out like maniacs pressing and harrying like turkey did.
I thought that Luis Aragones did a great job today with the team. You could see that he was constantly telling the players to slow down the tempo and take their time to build up the attacks and not do those quick counters that got Holland in trouble the other day against Russia. I think that you will see a well played game and if Spain's defense can play like they did the past two games they will defeat the Germans for the title. To followup on one of the previous comments Sergio Ramos has been great the last two matches unlike the first two games where he looked lost and was constantly one to two steps behind the attackers! Aupa Espanha y Viva Er Beti Manque Lopera!! La Furia Roja!!! Er Pichi
In a way, I was kinda bummed Aragones took out Torres b/c I felt that Torres was beginning to get a rhythm going. But I'm glad that he showed confidence in Guiza, who took full advantage of the opportunity and scored a nice goal. Here's hoping that Torres can shake off the bad play and get into a rhythm. And here's hoping that Guiza uses his performance as a confidence booster.
even though guiza has been finishing better, torres is more dangerous in spain's system and combines better with the midfield
Sergio Ramos... night and day. Started awful but lately has all of a sudden turned into a rock. He is still a kid, BTW. Padre Aragones has put him in his place and SR has responded. The pressure has to be on the Germans. The Germans have to win to feel successful. The Spanish are just glad to be here. I have never in 26 years seen a Spanish MNT that's composed, confident, mentally sound, and not making the ridiculously stupid mistake. This is not the usual Spanish MNT. They are already winners.
I actually meant when Germany are on the ball that they wouldn't press and harry like turkey and croatia did to germany. Like maniacs
Felicidades from Germany! The Spanish team has played an amazing tournament so far, and one can only be impressed with how comfortably you beat a great Russian side (twice). I thought you might do well in this competition, and yet it is surprising how well you're actually playing. Kudos to you! I was rooting for Spain until now, a habit I will of course abandon during the final. But if there's one team I could live with winning the cup instead of Germany, it's definitely Spain. Bearing in mind how bad we played against Turkey, it's fair to say that you are clear favourites to win the title. Let's all enjoy the occasion and hopefully an entertaining game between two great sides. Cheers!
This statement is kinda contradictory innit? Anyhoo congrats Spain. It's been a long wait but it's over now - now just gotta finish the job.
IMO spain should take full advantage of the wings, Lahm and Fredrich are not that good. Turkey through Kazim Kazim and Alintop owned Lahm continusly on the left flank. Metzelder and Mertesacker are a solid pair, but are not that tough as 6 goals shock there net unlike spains 3 (discluding the penalties Italy scored). Not to mention Spain has not lost the last 27 matches they playeed, whilst Germany last lost to Croatia in the Euros. Statisics are to Spains side. Oh and Cassilas is MUCH better than Lehman. The only threat to Spain Shwestiger free kicks, and Germans aerial ability, and their cheats: .i.e. Ballack pushing Paulo Ferriara, and Lahm kicking the turkish right back, on the counter before scoring, plus they did not stop the play when the player was on the floor injured. Podolski and Klose are not that much of a big deal if they are well marked. Prediction: Spain 2 (Guiza/ Xavi) Germany 1 (Podolski). Spains are the Champions then.
I can almost imagine you frothing at the mouth with the anti-german bias. Lahm didn't even touch kazim kazim. And how is anyone supposed to stop when nobody SAW him hunch over and fall onto the ground? Literally 2 seconds after he fell over the ball was in the net and he was nowhere near the goal or the hitzlsperger pass anyway.
Keys to beating Germany: - Exploit the German defense with speed: Torres needs to be isolated with their defenders. They are tall but not that fast. Torres can exploit their defense with his speed. Also, exploit Lahm's side. He is not a great defender and likes to attack leaving the defense open. - Control the midfield, deny Germany the ball: I think this will be a given. I expect Spain to control posession. - Contain the German counter attack: It has been their bread and butter throughout this tournment. Specially through the wings. - No clean headers: This is a tough one. The height difference is enormous. They will probably get a few headers. Spanish defenders need to at least challenge them and throw them off balance (Klose, Ballack, etc ...). Casillas should not be making Rustu/Ricardo type mistakes either. Good luck. I am cheering for Spain.
Beautiful post. It's always nice to see well-balanced, thoughtful and respectful posts coming from opponents. Neither team is perfect, but they are both quality sides! And that's also the type of situation where a team should not stop playing. The injured player was out of the play, behind the ball w/ no chance to become active in the play even if he were to spring right up w/o an injury.