EURO 2004 update

[gogannaka]

Keep in touch with the latest that is goin on in the euro 2004.

Who do you think will win the championship?

[gogannaka]

Here's an update :

Portugal Vs. Greece   1-2
Goal scorers:Christiano Ronaldo(por) 90th min,Giorgos Karagounis(grc) 7th min,Angelos Basinas(grc)51st min penalty kick.
Referee:P Collina
Comment:Upset.Attendance was 52000.(gosh what an upset)


Spain Vs. Russia   1-0
Goal scorers:Juan Carlos Valeron(spa) 60th min.
Referee:U Meier
Comment:It was expected that spain would win.Russia had one red card and 5 yellows


Switzerland Vs. Croatia   0-0
Referee:L Battista
Comment:The match was pretty tough,switzerland being the better team.Even though they had one red card.



France Vs. England   2-1
Goal scorers:Zidane(fra) 90th min (penalty),Zidane 90th min,Frank Lampard(eng)38th min
Referee:M Merk
Comment:Dissapointing match for the England fans owing to the fact that they scored first and Beckham lost a penalty kick.Attendance was 64000.


Denmark Vs. Italy   0-0
Referee:M Gonzales
Comment:ni dai i have no comment.Amma dai Italy's jersy was Superb.



Sweden Vs. Bulgaria   5-0
Goal scorers:Fredrick Ljungberg 32nd min,Henrik Larsson 57th & 58th min,Zlatan Ibrahimovic (penalty) 78th min,Marcus Allback 90th min.
Referee:M Riley
Comment:No comment required.The score line says it all.attendance:52000


Kai i don try o!e be like say we no get footbal fans here o...................my sympathies to all england fans.....and to the french fans,dont think you'll win the tourney :lol:  :lol:

[Negus]

Hail England, France know that mother luck was on their side that day we'll meet in the semis then and only then will.....................

[gogannaka]

The tourney continues:


Tue june 15th:

Czech Republic Vs. Latvia   2-1
Goal scorers:Milan Baros(czh) 73rd min,Marek Heinz(czh) 85th min,Maris Verpakovskis(lat) 45th min.
Ref:G Vessiere
Comment:Fair game.No cards were issued.


Germany Vs. Nederlands   1-1
Goal scorers:Torsten Frings(ger) 30th min,Ruud Van Nistelrooy(hol) 81st min.
Ref:A Frisk
Comment:Holland almost lost.Van nistelrooy's goal is the goal of the tournament so far...  twas superb.


Wed june 16th

Greece Vs. Spain   1-1
Goal scorers:Angelos Charisteas(grc) 66th min,Fernando Morientes(spa) 28th min.
Ref:L. Michel.
Comment:? ? ?how could Spain draw with Greece?


Russia Vs. Portugal   0-2
Goal scorers:Nuno Maniche 7th min,Manuel Rui Costa 89th min
Ref:T Hauge
Comment:? ? ? ba kwamment[/b]

[dan kauye]

ahhh! wut y'all talking in here??? hmnnn admit  it n d truth shall set y'all free....in oda words euro cup aint going nowhere but d queen's land!

[gogannaka]

ahhh! wut y'all talking in here??? hmnnn admit  it n d truth shall set y'all free....in oda words euro cup aint going nowhere but d queen's land!

Is it still coming to the queensland? ? ?

[gogannaka]

The quarter finals


Portugal Vs. England     6-5
Portugal wins.
England depended too much on Rooney's goal scoring abilities and when he was substituted they had no one to make the finishes....Darius Vassell was too physical....another mistake they made was scholes substitution coz he added fire to the english team....eniways they are home now
Oh i 4got....the gr8 Beckham lost a penalty kick.That makes 2 penalties lost in the tourney....poor him :oops:



France Vs. Greece     0-1
Greece advances to the semi-final stage of the championship.......What a shame.Of all countries, Greece was the one to show the gr8 France the way out :oops:  ! !...The problem with france was that their players wanted to show the world their individual talent instead of them showing the world the team's combined talent......we'll that's what it earned them.........vive le France....lol


Sweden Vs. Netherlands    5-4
Netherlands advances to the semi-finals....it was a lame match,nothing much to say about it.....i even dozed off while watching the match so i dont have much to say....from the little i saw, i've seen some gr8 saves bythe dutch goallie.....and some gr8 shots by Ruben and Ljungberg.........If Holland play the way they played in this match then i bet they'll not achieve anything in the semi final stage....


[color=deepslateblue]I think the strongest teams in the tournament are czech rep. and portugal....but stats have shown that in every tournament that involves Germany and Netherlands,One of them always reaches the final stage.Now Germany is out, leaving Netherlands.But will they(Netherlands) succeed against the hosts Portugal or will the jinx be broken?  :roll:
Only time will tell.[/color]

[gogannaka]

Czech rep. Vs. Denmark     3-0
The match was tough.Real tough especially the second half.Nedved showed gr8 talent.The Danes also had good opportunities.The better side won
Milan baros scored two goals makin him the highest goal scorer in the tournament......

My bet is on the czechs.....

[kitkat]

Yup! Looks like the czechs have it.

[gogannaka]

The Semi-Finals

Portugal Vs. Netherlands      2-1

As France proved in 1998 that it was possible to win the World Cup without a recognised world-class striker, so Portugal are aiming to underline the same point.

But while Pauleta floundered up front, Figo and fellow winger Cristiano Ronaldo lit up their Euro 2004 semi-final encounter against Holland with dazzling displays.

Ronaldo put the host nation ahead after 25 minutes and proved once again he is now very much an international thoroughbred.

Figo, meanwhile, was the real class act. The last remaining 'galactico' at the tournament achieved what Beckham had notably failed to do - he hauled his side past the biggest test in their history.

For while Jorge Andrade's own goal gave Holland hope, Maniche had already struck an incredible 30-yard effort to put the home nation in control.


STATS
Portugal had 13 shots while Holland had 8.......Amazingly 10 of Portugal's shots were shots goal while only 2 of Holland's were at goal.
Possesion was 54 to 46 in favour of the Dutch..

source:espnsoccernet.com

[gogannaka]

Czech rep. Vs. Greece   0-1
Greece advances to the finals..........The goal was scored in the 14th minute of extra time..........
I'm so disappointed .....the czechs deserved the win.....Nedved's exit in the half time reduced the czechs moral..........

Why was the golden goal used iin the match ma sef?anya ba PDP aka yi ba kuwa?

[gogannaka]

Alas the finals have taken place and it is alla over now.New records have been set in the soccer world.A new era has begun in soccer.

Hard to beat and even more difficult to watch, Greece's victory at Euro 2004 may not have pleased the soccer purists.

Nevertheless, coach Otto Rehhagel's men maximized their limited talent to create one of soccer's biggest ever upsets.

The 1-0 victory over Portugal, secured on a Angelos Charisteas header, stands above Denmark's 1992 triumph and Czechoslovakia's 1976 win over West Germany.

Those teams were outsiders, but contained at least a smattering of international stars: the Laudrup brothers for Denmark and Antonin Panenka for Czechoslovakia. Greece's team, bereft of individual flair, molded seamlessly into a gritty, indestructible unit.

"I have no words to describe what I'm feeling right now," said captain Theodoros Zagorakis. "We just proved once more that the Greek soul has always been there, the greatest thing that God gave us."

Rehhagel described the victory in a wider context.

"It's amazing what football has managed to do in Greece," he said. "To unite the country, something politics wasn't able to do."

Starting Euro 2004 as an 100-1 outsider, not many gave Greece a prayer. But the early signs were encouraging, if not heeded as warnings by opponents to come.

The 2-1 opening group game win over Portugal gave Greece its first win in a major soccer tournament. It had returned home from the 1980 European Championships and the World Cup in 1994 without a win and only one goal scored.

A 1-1 draw with Spain followed, then, after a 2-1 slip-up to Russia, a 1-0 quarterfinal triumph over defending champion France. Werder Bremen's Charisteas again scored the winner.

Surely the fairytale would end in the semifinals against Czech Republic, the 10-goal tournament top scorers? Typically, the Greeks soaked up pressure, rarely foraged forward, but sent the Czechs home with an injury time goal from Traianos Dellas.

Dellas' goal was a carbon copy of Charisteas' strike in the final: a corner from the right, followed by a bullet header.

Greece's last three goals were from balls played into the penalty area, a reflection of a simple, direct approach.

Not pretty to watch, but very effective.

Defeated coach Luiz Felipe Scolari had only praise for Rehhagel's achievement.

"They have been playing like this since the beginning," Scolari said. "They have the right to do it and they are good at it. I congratulate them."

Greece's style invites others to attack, but ultimately leaves them frustrated.

"It is up to us to find a way through this defensive system," Scolari said. "It is up to us to find a way through this."

Not many teams could.

Greece kept three clean sheets from the quarterfinals onward, and veteran goalkeeper Antonios Nikopolidis went 358 minutes without being beaten.

The likes of Thierry Henry, David Trezeguet, Milan Baros, Jan Koller, Luis Figo and Pauleta all tried, but despite having 168 international goals between them, could not find a solution.

The strength of Greece's team, along with tenacity, spirit and teamwork, is undoubtedly its rock-solid rearguard. In finishing top of its Euro 2004 qualifying group, the Greeks did not allow a goal in the last six games.

Rehhagel had lost the first two qualifying games and Rehhagel stood one game away from being sacked. How happy the Greek soccer federation must be now that they didn't show him the door.

"The Greek team wrote soccer history," Rehhagel said. "I hope we'll be able to get into Athens on Monday, there will be incredible scenes."

When Rehhagel took over nearly three years ago, the Greek team was a shambles, its players indifferent, and results sliding ever downward. He had to beg for better facilities and sometimes his team did not even have a pitch to train on.

A bigger problem was team indiscipline.

"When I arrived the players were talented, but did not obey the rules," Rehhagel said. "Once they understood they needed to, they could then express themselves."

Rehhagel's message has clearly been understood and his team has now shaken soccer's establishment like never before.

"I have no words, you have no idea what is going on in the dressing room," said Zagorakis. "All the joy. We'll dedicate this to all the Greeks around the world."

Rehhagel has set some world records now:
-He is the oldest coach (64 )to win an int'l tournament.
-He is the first foreign coach to win the Euro tounament......


CHEERS TO THE UNDERDOGS[/b]

Source:Sports illustrated

[Aydee Fella]

:twisted: KWALLO TA FARA KARYA PERIOD.           THESE ASIANS DON JAZZ AM FINISh

[Shiekh]

its all over now(ta faru ta kare!)! :!:

salutations to gogan aiki!

[Anonymous]

gogannaka I totally agree with your words.