Euro 2012 Group B: News & Analysis

No way. Only the "smaller" countries do that from what i've seen.

 

Hope so! CR plays best when he has to prove himself.

 

I would imagine.

 

Honestly, I don't expect the players to read this, so I don't give a *** about what others might think. I'm just stating what I think it is true.

 

Have you seen the Portuguese defence? it's no better than that of the Dutch team, and Holland can atleast boast of having a solide midfield. Both teams have quality in attack but even in that aspect, Holland is a bit more equiped.

 

100% false. Coentrao, Pepe, and Bruno Alves alone are probably better than their entire back 4.

 

He has a point in there. The main reason why we did not finish in first during the qualifying stage was our defense. We just have to think about what happened in the last game against Turkey.

Regarding the attack, Holland has a better striker and midfield, but even considering Robben I am positive that we are stronger in the wings.

 

It can't be a coincidence that the NL has consistently outperformed Portugal for some time now. I think it's fair to say the Dutch squad has more strength and depth. Portugal has one standout player, the Dutch have several.

That said everybody knows the Dutch are allergic to windup antics. I'm going to assume that Portugal will use that tried and tested strategy yet again.

 

lol.. this post is as close to 100% false as you can get. To me this sounds like you spend more time reading goal than watching football. At the very least, your knowledge is limited to the teams you support which doesn't include Portugal, Chelsea, Real Madrid, or any team in the Portuguese League.

The Dutch team has not consistently outperformed Portugal in recent tournaments.. and certainly not by any margin that warrants this statement. Apart from the last WC (where both Por and NL lost to Spain by 1-0), in 2008 Portugal went out in QF to Germany 3-2 and NL went out to Russia at the same stage 3-1. In 2006 Portugal beat NL in the last 16 and eventually went out 1-0 to France in the semi's. In 2004 Portugal also beat NL in the knockout stages and got to the final. And I don't think it's worth going further back since I doubt there are any players for those teams that are part of the current teams.. at least not for Portugal.

Just because you don't know, or like, the Portuguese players doesn't mean they aren't world class or at least key components on top teams around Europe.
Ronaldo - needs no introduction
Nani - Plays for Man Utd and while his form for them may have dropped this season, he's still a key part of their team and certainly a world class player.
Moutinho - One of the most underrated players in Europe at the moment. You only need to watch the drubbing of Spain by Portugal to see what this man is capable of. Also a key player in the Porto side that crushed the EL last year.
Pepe - Arguable one of the best center backs in Spain right now, and possibly the world.
Coentrao - One of the best left backs in the world, anyone would be an idiot to say otherwise.

Those are just the players that I consider to be world class. Who is world class on the Dutch team? Let's see.. um
Sneider (sp?) - this man I like and I think he is world class
Robben - blows hot and cold, nothing special here. Maybe comparable to Nani in world class status. He's a bit of a prat, certainly a bigger whiner and diver than anyone on the Portugal team, and could just as easily be the downfall of the NL.
I almost forgot RVP - this guy, in my opinion, is by far your most dangerous player and I do shit my pants when he's on the ball.

I don't really know who else will be starting on the Dutch team.. then again, I'm not the one making gross generalizations.

I'm willing to agree that NL have more depth.

As far as winding up goes.. oh boy. Why don't we ask the Spanish about this? The Dutch in recent years are notorious for this tactic including in games against the Portuguese. Name me one game where the Portuguese have gone out of their way, unprovoked, to wind up the opposition. This idea that the Portuguese are the biggest whiners and divers and whatever other derogatory adjective, is a purely fabricated myth by the English press in 2004. You didn't hear any of that before then and you're a sheep if you unequivocally believe that.

We might very well end up last in this group with 0 points and you would still be wrong. In my humble opinion, there are no favorites in this group. Don't be surprised to see Portugal and Denmark go through.

 

You're falling victim to flamming. This is one of the reasons why I rarely post in this forum anymore.

When it comes to antics there are 3 moments caused by the dutch team in the past years that would shut their mouths when it comes to malice. But the consequences of such are too predictable and it would derail the relative harmony of this thread.

I wish Mods could be more pro-active here.

 

I don't think I'm flaming. I replied to a very typical comment that I see on most football forums where the perpetrator is basically repeating what seems to be the status quo. If it comes across as inflammatory or harsh it's only because the original comment is so utterly false.

I understand that most football aficionados are only really interested in their own teams and as such might not be fully aware of what other teams have to offer, but as such, they should be able to acknowledge that, instead of spouting out what seems to be popular just because they read it on goal or some other equally laughable media outlet.

I don't know enough about the Dutch or the German teams to comment on them so I don't. I will give my opinion on the Portuguese team and listen to what the followers of the other teams have to say about theirs. In the end I hope they are all good games and the best team (Portugal ) wins.

I'm not saying you shouldn't comment on other teams, but don't pretend to be an expert when you're not.

 

Oh dear I've touched a nerve there. You're not taking qualifying performance into account. The NL have a (significantly) better win-loss record in competitive games over the past four years, it's a fact.

I'm not even blaming the Portuguese for cheating. If it works, then well done to them. I in fact blame the Dutch for not being able to deal with it. And it has worked for Portugal vs the NL for a long time, well before 2004 I might add, but maybe you're not old enough to remember.

 

Forgot to back up anything you said.. again. If you swear that something is a fact, that doesn't make it a fact.

Can you please put the win loss record of the NL and Portuguese teams in the last 4 years so that you can prove that the NL record is SIGNIFICANTLY better?

Also, saying that NL is better than Portugal because they perform better against worse opposition is like saying A is better than B because A beat C 5-0 but B only beat C 2-1.. even if the last 2 times A played B, B won both times. Think about that for a second. Just because NL may have performed better in a couple of qualifiers doesn't mean that have had more success than Portugal when it's mattered. In fact, you'll find the truth is quite the opposite.

You still maintain that Portugal cheats without providing any proof that they are worse than England, Germany, France, Italy, or your beloved NL.

And you haven't touched any nerves, nor am I offended by anything someone on the internet might say. But this is a football forum and I thought I'd call you out on your vary wrong assertions, and at least provide some facts to the debate. Nothing personal

 

How does Portugal Cheat?

 

The only reason any one cares about his group is to wath the best player in Europe CRISTIANO Ronaldo and Portugal

No one cares about sweiny Gomez pool ski or robbed de jong can Bom whatever their names are


U mad bro?

 

In other news if anybody is watching the 1st half of Poland - Greece... Wow. That is some poor soccer. Embarrassing at times. Ref included in that.

 

You're one to talk about cheating, you guys were god damn awful in the WC final!!! And on that famous game vs Portugal the Netherlands dived and made as many fouls as Portugal did.

 

Was en entertaining game though, lots of drama ha ha.

 

Injured Nani might not play: http://tinyurl.com/czf6cc3
Damnit. WC2010 redux. Big, big hit on our chances.

 

Our luck!

 

Everybody cheats. We all know there's a vast cultural difference between how the Northern Europeans cheat and how the Southern Europeans cheat. For the Southern Europeans, physical play is evil. For the Northern Europeans, diving and asking the ref to card the opponent is evil. What you think of either probably depends on what part of the world you grew up in.

Again I'm hardly the one to play the holier than thou card. After over two decades of watching Portugal though, it's safe to say that Portugal have turned winding up the opponent into an art form, targeting those players who are most likely to be wound up. While I'm not exactly a big fan of that, I fault players who allow themselves to be wound up even more.

 

Yeh I'm going to change my mind on this, the Portuguese are saints in mother theresa's class, what was I thinking.

 

The win-loss record is better over a period of five years, two qualifying campaigns and two international tournaments. You're not going to seriously argue that Portugal faced tougher opposition over that period on average. The record doesn't hint at the NL being a sure thing to beat Portugal. What it does prove is that the NL is more consistent in grinding out results, ESPECIALLY against minnows. Make of that what you will.

 

Of course we are not saints, no-one said we are, it's just amusing to see you going on about Portugal being cheats when the Netherlands are no flowers themselves, and especially after that WC final vs Spain. Talk about diving and playing dirty.

 

Actually here in Portugal it's much more usual to see players play violently than to see them diving or asking the ref for cards. And the later are much more frowned upon than the former.

I know this because I live here.