The official Euro 2004 thread (all non GDT goes here)

Well, we're only three days away from the kick off in Portugal. In order not to clutter up the boards with too much soccer talk, I have decided after getting advise from my fellow soccer-loving cronies that the best way to deal with this is to have one general Euro 2004 thread (the one you're looking at right now) and than we'll have another one for the matches on any given day. If enough interest we will also incorporate a little game of predictions in our daily threads.
I'll also make these two Euro 2004 threads stickies, but I'll unstick the soccer transfers thread for the time being and it'll be glued back on again after the championships.


For Roster info, schedules and news, check out the official website: http://www.euro2004.com/index.html


So please from now on post all your Euro 2004 thoughts here: roster talk, predictions, rantings, whining, official bashing, soccer-ball bashing (you know/for kids), tactics talk (Ledley King starting against France??? LOL) etc.
After a heavy debate we have decided that it's even allowed to talk about the dutch team here so have no fear and join the discussion! :p:



Please keep it clean and enjoy!


(this is where I would normally say GO BELGIUM!!!!, but we all know that that would be look a bit silly so I'll refrain myself from doing that)

Who you rooting for anyway Belg? You better root for your above neighboors..

5 More days till the big day..

Who you rooting for anyway Belg? You better root for your above neighboors..

5 More days till the big day..

Probaly England, they will suck as always but I've always liked them. Not because of the style of football or the players (Gary Neville!! Nicky Butt!!! Soll Campbell!!! Ashley Cole!!!!! - OK I'll stop now) but since I'm a little bit of an Anglophile (except for the food and taste)...


For the footballing sake of it I'll always be supporting the Spanish side and maybe even the Dutchies (even though I haven't seen too much great football lately bu Oranje). In fact I also like the other big teams like France and Portugal even Italy...

I'd rather have Ledley King against France than Jamie Carragher. mostly though I hope for a good game and tournament from Campbell.

What about the 'breakout thread'? If we have not to use it anymore maybe you (BF) could merge it with this one?

What about the 'breakout thread'? If we have not to use it anymore maybe you (BF) could merge it with this one?

I would but unfortunately that would spoil the sequence of posts wich makes it that much harder to follow.

What you could do is quote a post from there and just continue (copy/paste) the discussion here? That way we make a smooth transition from thread to thread

I'd rather have Ledley King against France than Jamie Carragher. mostly though I hope for a good game and tournament from Campbell.

As you know I'm not Carra's biggest fan in the world (hehe) but I think he's steadier than King and less likely to make a dumbhead error. On the other hand, he is a lot less pacey and agile than Ledley wich is probably why Sven will give King the nod.

But generally speaking, neither of them is an international (or even national) level centre back, it just shows how shallow the defensive corps of Sven is without Rio.

I have a few questions for every soccer fan that plans to watch Euro 2004..

1) Do you plan to watch every game or just the games of your respective country?
2) If answering yes above, do you root for the underdog or the one that plays the most attractive style?
3) Where do you plan to watch most of the games?

Me go first..

1) As many as possible. I won't stay home for Bulgary vs Denmark, but I'll watch it.
2) Generally the underdog, but if there barely is one, I'll root for the one that plays an attractive and entertaining brand of football.
3) In the city; big screen, plenty of beer, lots of orange..

I must admit id have gone with carragher as he has played in the the higher standard of football. But King does have pace on his side,we can only hope he has a blinder or the french have a nightmare.

Saying that its a shame Woodgate is injured,he is a great defender quick good on the ball,he is definitely an england regular when campbell goes! Come on England you can do it with a little bit of luck!

I have a few questions for every soccer fan that plans to watch Euro 2004..

1) Do you plan to watch every game or just the games of your respective country?
2) If answering yes above, do you root for the underdog or the one that plays the most attractive style?
3) Where do you plan to watch most of the games?

Me go first..

1) As many as possible. I won't stay home for Bulgary vs Denmark, but I'll watch it.
2) Generally the underdog, but if there barely is one, I'll root for the one that plays an attractive and entertaining brand of football.
3) In the city; big screen, plenty of beer, lots of orange..
I will watch all games, a couple may have to be tape delay. I will get behind whatever fantasy players i select in the ESPN pool. I especially just want to see top flight footy, that is why i watch to see the best players play and hopefully play well. I have no favorite national side other than Canada, although i have on occassion cheered for Ireland and Scotland. I hate Italian soccer and hope they grind out 3 0-0 ties to finish in third place. Great talent and painful to watch. Unbelievably arrogant to boot.
I will watch the games by myself in my basement- Just the way i like it- no distractions.

I have a few questions for every soccer fan that plans to watch Euro 2004..

1) Do you plan to watch every game or just the games of your respective country?
2) If answering yes above, do you root for the underdog or the one that plays the most attractive style?
3) Where do you plan to watch most of the games?


1) That's a trick question right? But even if Belgium would participate I'd still watch as many games as possible. I'll have to fit it into my studying schedule but I'll probably see all the 6PM matches and most of the 20.45 Matches

2) Depends, sometimes I go for style, sometimes I root for the underdog, really hard to tell...

3) At home. That includes games with Belgians in it, I don't like the loud, immature and mostly (football-)uneducated atmosphere at cafés or big screens. Most of those people don't know anything about football and just come there to scream and drink beer, that's incredibly annoying for me.
I also don't like drinking alcohol while watching important matches BTW, I want to be able to focus...

Yay! Soon it begins. Unfortunatly for us swedes this will either mean that we'll get badly beaten by just about everybody or win/tie a few games by playing ultra-defensive robotic football. Rumour is that one of the assisting coaches of sweden wants to use a central defender as a defensive midfielder, and our current defensive defender (Tobias Linderoth) as the offensive central midfielder. This means that together with Mikael Nilsson on the right midfield, sweden sill have 7 defense-only players and 3 players with some offensive talent in Ibrahimovich, Larsson & Ljungberg. Oh joy.

I have a few questions for every soccer fan that plans to watch Euro 2004..

1) Do you plan to watch every game or just the games of your respective country?
2) If answering yes above, do you root for the underdog or the one that plays the most attractive style?
3) Where do you plan to watch most of the games?
1) As many as possible, but unfortunately I might not even be able to watch all games of Switzerland live. I'll just take as much as I can get :)
2) What you said, with a few exceptions: Spain is my 2nd favorite after Switzerland, and among the others I have some preassembled sympathies and antipathies. But in general, the criterias are the underdog factor and the attractiveness of the style.
3) Depends. Some at home, some with friends at one's place, and some on a big screen.

Two of arguably the world's top three refs will see action on the opening day: Colina in Por-Gre, and Meier in Esp-Rus. The third one I'd rank in the top 3, Frisk, will do the reffing in Ger-NL on Tuesday.

As you know I'm not Carra's biggest fan in the world (hehe) but I think he's steadier than King and less likely to make a dumbhead error. On the other hand, he is a lot less pacey and agile than Ledley wich is probably why Sven will give King the nod.

But generally speaking, neither of them is an international (or even national) level centre back, it just shows how shallow the defensive corps of Sven is without Rio.

King had a lot of potential, but he hasn't realised it yet, hopefully this tournament can be abreakthrough for him. The thing about depth is you have to remember that King and Carragher are 5th and 6th choice centre halves because we're missing Woodgate and Terry as well.

I have a few questions for every soccer fan that plans to watch Euro 2004..

1) Do you plan to watch every game or just the games of your respective country?
2) If answering yes above, do you root for the underdog or the one that plays the most attractive style?
3) Where do you plan to watch most of the games?


1. Wel, every game would be a bit too much. Experience from apst tournaments show I tend to look the majority of the games though. Basically, I will watch Dutch games, games which seem interesting and games which are quite good when I don't have anything better to do. So let's say I will see plenty of footbal the next few weeks.
2. Depends on the country. Not really one answer for it, it just depends on my sympathies for a certain country etc. I don't really see a South Korea among the teams either, unless it would be Latvia. And quite obviously I will be rooting for them vs the Czechs and Germans :)
3. At home most likely.

The third one I'd rank in the top 3, Frisk, will do the reffing in Ger-NL on Tuesday.

Can't complain about that one :)

Well all i can say is that sweden are in big trouble if thet are using Tobias Linderoth as an attacking midfielder, to be honest it would be bad enough playing him as a defensive midfielder.He is one of evertons worst buys for a long time. I think he is a poor player to be honest an certainly not international standard.

King had a lot of potential, but he hasn't realised it yet, hopefully this tournament can be abreakthrough for him. The thing about depth is you have to remember that King and Carragher are 5th and 6th choice centre halves because we're missing Woodgate and Terry as well.

Yeah true I forgot about Woody, he's a solid one too. That makes for 3.5 solid centre backs (4 if you count Sol Campbell as solid wich he is most of the time I know)

Wes Brown could also force his way back into the picture IMO, even though he suffers the same 'mental error' disease as the likes of Campbell and King.

...Unbelievably arrogant to boot.

:confused:
:help:

He plays for Bröndby IF next season..
:huh: if next season what?

..they paid €1M. He's still young (23).
so Feyenord sold him for just 1M?
It looks like a very poor deal by them reading this thread!

:huh: if next season what?

BRONDY IF = the name of the team. Besides where's my post !?


so Feyenord sold him for just 1M?
It looks like a very poor deal by them reading this thread!

He was transferfree next season and he didn't get much playing time. He still has to prove everything, you know.

BRONDY IF = the name of the team.
oopsss... :o


Besides where's my post !?

Your post is still there at the 'breakout thread', but Belgian Fan has suggested to post here everything that was euro04 related quoting in this thread eventual due answers of other previous threads.

oopsss... :o


You betcha !


Your post is still there at the 'breakout thread', but Belgian Fan has suggested to post here everything that was euro04 related quoting in this thread eventual due answers of other previous threads.

I see, yes sometimes it's hard to keep track, my bad.

You betcha !
ehm..sorry..what does it mean?? :innocent:

ehm..sorry..what does it mean?? :innocent:

You're damn right that you are ashamed of not knowing the full name of Bröndby. ;)

I have a few questions for every soccer fan that plans to watch Euro 2004..

1) Do you plan to watch every game or just the games of your respective country?
2) If answering yes above, do you root for the underdog or the one that plays the most attractive style?
3) Where do you plan to watch most of the games?

1, I wont watch a single game. I`m boycotting!
2, Go Latvia
3, No where. I`ll play football myself instead...

You're damn right that you are ashamed of not knowing the full name of Bröndby. ;)
ok, ok, thus i was guessing right... ;)

1, I wont watch a single game. I`m boycotting!
2, Go Latvia
3, No where. I`ll play football myself instead...

Link (http://www.1pharmacy.net/image/prozac.jpg)

You're damn right that you are ashamed of not knowing the full name of Bröndby. ;)

There are absolutely no reasons for knowing the name of a club like Brøndby. If it wasn`t for the pro Danish propaganda we get served by the media here all year long I wouldn`t know either!

Flatlandspakkiser...kyss meg i ræva!

1) Do you plan to watch every game or just the games of your respective country?
EVERY SINGLE GAME.
I hope my girlfriend will survive :blush:

2) If answering yes above, do you root for the underdog or the one that plays the most attractive style?
I'll be rooting for
1 French
2 Czech Republic
3 Holland
4 Portugal.
In the other games, I'll be rooting for the team that plays the most attractive game (except when Germany, England and Italy play... I'll support their opponents)

3) Where do you plan to watch most of the games?
In friend's sofas

I have a few questions for every soccer fan that plans to watch Euro 2004..

1) Do you plan to watch every game or just the games of your respective country?
2) If answering yes above, do you root for the underdog or the one that plays the most attractive style?
3) Where do you plan to watch most of the games?



1/ As many as possible.
2/ A mix of both.
3/ At home.

watch as many as poss

All underdogs. who doesnt love an upset. Also dont like watching germany(the old enemy and france(cause there too good! :banghead: ).

Home or down the pub!

I have a few questions for every soccer fan that plans to watch Euro 2004..

1) Do you plan to watch every game or just the games of your respective country?


i will try to watch as much as possible, but i don't know if it'll be broadcasted on german TV. someone knows?


2) If answering yes above, do you root for the underdog or the one that plays the most attractive style?


i will root for the team i like more and if it'll be france vs netherlands or so later in the tournament, i'll root for the heaven to fall down. :joker:


3) Where do you plan to watch most of the games?


i will watch every single game at home unless it'll be on pay-TV. then i'll have to watch it at a bar.

i will try to watch as much as possible, but i don't know if it'll be broadcasted on german TV. someone knows?
Do you get the Swiss channels? SF2 will show them all, in case German TV does not.

Do you get the Swiss channels? SF2 will show them all, in case German TV does not.

uhm...i don't know. i don't get the swiss channels, but maybe my girlfriend via satellite. but i guess she would kill me, if would just visit her to watch soccer. :D

Ruud van Nistelrooy frontrunner to start against Germany.

http://teletekst.nos.nl/gif/820-01.html

I have a few questions for every soccer fan that plans to watch Euro 2004..

1) Do you plan to watch every game or just the games of your respective country?
2) If answering yes above, do you root for the underdog or the one that plays the most attractive style?
3) Where do you plan to watch most of the games?


1.) At least all the German games and maybe some more, but really don't know.
2.) It depends.
3.) Good question, next question! :lol: No I really got no idea so far. A bar, a Biergarten or in the city on a big screen. :dunno:

1) Do you plan to watch every game or just the games of your respective country?
2) If answering yes above, do you root for the underdog or the one that plays the most attractive style?
3) Where do you plan to watch most of the games?

1) Either most of them or as many as I possibly can. We'll see.
2) I only root for the underdog if they're playing attractive football and/or I happen to like them.
3) At home.

The official TomACE question of the day for ya'll. :D

Who do you think will win this years Euro?

Me thinks that it's Italy will take it home. I'll even bet €2 on it.

I have a few questions for every soccer fan that plans to watch Euro 2004..

1) Do you plan to watch every game or just the games of your respective country?
2) If answering yes above, do you root for the underdog or the one that plays the most attractive style?
3) Where do you plan to watch most of the games?

1) As many as possible, I will at least tape all games.
2) I don't know yet, there are some team I jsut can't root for.
3) There will be a big screen in the city center and if the wheather is fine me and my friends will be watching there and if the wheater sucks I will meet with my friends and watch it with them at someone's place

The official TomACE question of the day for ya'll. :D

Who do you think will win this years Euro?

Me thinks that it's Italy will take it home. I'll even bet €2 on it.

I have an Italy - France final. No surprises this year..

The game has to be decided by penalties, France, despite having the worse goaltentender, wins.

The official TomACE question of the day for ya'll. :D

Who do you think will win this years Euro?

Me thinks that it's Italy will take it home. I'll even bet €2 on it.

Because everyone will say France or Italy I'll go with Spain, even though I know deep down inside that they'll choke once more (plus there defense is not on the level of the rest of the team and even worse they lack depth there as well).

1) Do you plan to watch every game or just the games of your respective country?
I'll be watching every game (except the games colliding with the NHL Entry Draft, I'll still have the tv on though:))

2) If answering yes above, do you root for the underdog or the one that plays the most attractive style?
Depends on which teams play. I honestly don't like Italy and Portugal so in those cases I will be rooting for the underdog. Teams I find especially entertaining to watch are England, Holland and France.. and of course Sweden for obvious reasons.

3) Where do you plan to watch most of the games?
Most at home but a few at the pub I would imagine.

Because everyone will say France or Italy I'll go with Spain, even though I know deep down inside that they'll choke once more (plus there defense is not on the level of the rest of the team and even worse they lack depth there as well).
Span winning the tournament would be awesome. But I have the same doubts as you have.

The official TomACE question of the day for ya'll. :D

Who do you think will win this years Euro?

Me thinks that it's Italy will take it home. I'll even bet €2 on it.

Italy will win it this time, with Totti finally showing the world what kind of player he is.

1) Do you plan to watch every game or just the games of your respective country?
2) If answering yes above, do you root for the underdog or the one that plays the most attractive style?
3) Where do you plan to watch most of the games?

1) I'm planning to watch every single match.

2) When Holland is playing I have only one favourite, but usually I tend to root for the underdogs.

3) At home, like always.


Ruud van Nistelrooy frontrunner to start against Germany. http://teletekst.nos.nl/gif/820-01.html

Could you translate the main facts of the link to English, please? Or were there anything interesting except the news about van Nistelrooy?

Could you translate the main facts of the link to English, please? Or were there anything interesting except the news about van Nistelrooy?

National Coach Dick Advocaat stated the faith he's having in striker Ruud van Nistelrooy for the national team.

"Anything can happen", Dick explained. "But Ruud is currently my first choice. I think that, for the Dutch, he's currently our best striker. So the odds are great he will start against the Germans".

The top scorer of Manchester United always had the hope that he and Patrick Kluivert would have succeeded at one point or another, but he admitted that they never lived up to expectations. "Because of that, we've decided to play with 2 wings and only one striker. It's a great feeling if it's me being the striker" said Ruud van Nistelrooy.

The official TomACE question of the day for ya'll. :D

Who do you think will win this years Euro?

Me thinks that it's Italy will take it home. I'll even bet €2 on it.

ok, i'll go with...sweden, although i may be the only one here. :)

Well all i can say is that sweden are in big trouble if thet are using Tobias Linderoth as an attacking midfielder, to be honest it would be bad enough playing him as a defensive midfielder.He is one of evertons worst buys for a long time. I think he is a poor player to be honest an certainly not international standard.

Linderoth will start as the defesive midfielder. He is always very solid for Sweden, very good positional sense and runs his bottom off every match to always stay in the right position. Not a spectalcular player, but very useful, at least for Sweden.

1) I will watch every game but this will probably include a few tape delays.

2) Obviously I am all France but will root for Italy if things go bad for Les Bleus.
I like to watch any other teams play as I can have a close look to some precise players, prospects or guys highly rated generally playing in championships I don't have access.

3) At home but with friends.

Linderoth will start as the defesive midfielder. He is always very solid for Sweden, very good positional sense and runs his bottom off every match to always stay in the right position. Not a spectalcular player, but very useful, at least for Sweden.

Thomas Lyth, the swedish "spy" was the one who proposed to use of double left footed cross-country Linderoth as an offensive midfielder, moving Jakobsson to the defensive midfield. This was because as Lyth said "Linderoth has at least as good passing game as Anders Svensson" (which of course is bollocks) in the article. Whether if Linderoth ends up as an offensive or defensive midfielder remains to be seen. One thing I'm sure of is that Linderoth is a sub-standard football player. He is the cowardly swedish way of playing soccer personified. Go ahead LarsTommy. Dazzle us with your brilliant "5 central defenders" strategy once again. Why not throw in Turbo Svensson and Alexandersson too?

1) I'd be hard-pressed to watch any canadian game, hehe. However, I am rooting for the French. I will watch quite a bit of game, I don't know how much, it will depend on my work schedule, I guess.

2) It will depend. There's team that I like more than others for random reasons...

3) At home. There's not much place in my small town to go watch this. There's not a lot of soccer fans over here. And I am only a casual fan myself !

I have a few questions for every soccer fan that plans to watch Euro 2004..

1) Do you plan to watch every game or just the games of your respective country?
2) If answering yes above, do you root for the underdog or the one that plays the most attractive style?
3) Where do you plan to watch most of the games?
..

1) I will sure try to watch all the games, but I will probably end up missing a few.

2) I am cheering England first, but after that I will cheer for whoever in each game. But there are certain countries I will never cheer for but always against ;)

3) At home :)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/euro_2004/croatia/3795353.stm

Strizzi, you should be keeping your fingers crossed on this. If Pletikosa can't play, the coach has already stated that Tomislave Butina will replace him in goal. Since he's the (reserve) Keeper of Bruges, I know a thing or two about him and he really isn't any good. You may remember his ridiculous error against Dortmund in the CL qualifying for instance, but that's not all, he's just not a keeper that wins matches for his team. My advice to the Swiss: shoot the ball, preferably low shots to the corners that bounce not too much before the keeper!

But he is pretty good stopping penalties, I'll give him that

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/euro_2004/croatia/3795353.stm

Strizzi, you should be keeping your fingers crossed on this. If Pletikosa can't play, the coach has already stated that Tomislave Butina will replace him in goal. Since he's the (reserve) Keeper of Bruges, I know a thing or two about him and he really isn't any good. You may remember his ridiculous error against Dortmund in the CL qualifying for instance, but that's not all, he's just not a keeper that wins matches for his team. My advice to the Swiss: shoot the ball, preferably low shots to the corners that bounce not too much before the keeper!

But he is pretty good stopping penalties, I'll give him that
Thanks for the info. Unfortunately, I can't forward your advices to the team, but hopefully they know about these weaknesses ;)

I really don't know what to predict for this game. Too many question marks all over. A propos predictions: Who's taking care of our "guess the score" game now?

So what do you think will be the dutch line up:

take it its something like

van der sar
reizieger
baume
stam
van bronckhorst
cocu
van bommell
davids
van der vaart
sneijder
van nistelrooy

if it will be 4-3-3 or does makaay get a game!

Yeah true I forgot about Woody, he's a solid one too. That makes for 3.5 solid centre backs (4 if you count Sol Campbell as solid wich he is most of the time I know)

Wes Brown could also force his way back into the picture IMO, even though he suffers the same 'mental error' disease as the likes of Campbell and King.

GB beat me to it :) Did you see King on his debut against Portugal? He was remarkably composed for a young guy playing out of position against a pretty good team and even scored. I was expecting a bag of nerves like Matthew Upson. Also Henry (who the media are unreasonably terrified of) has yet to score against King whereas he has embarrassed Carragher several times.

Southgate was injured too so King and Carragher would not even be in our 3rd string team so I think the "defensive depth" remark wasnt very accurate. We have to go with our 2nd and 7th choices. Not many teams would look good.

Campbell - Ferdinand
Woodgate - Terry
Southgate - Brown
Carragher - King

As we have discussed, the Dutch have this reputation for supposed "infighting" at major tournaments. The media is responsible for this reputation, and this article proves it with it's quote-less claim of Makaay's supposed anger.

I would say the media is responsible for perpetuating the reputation or stereotype.

It happens to all countries.. its very annoying I agree.

1) Only England games then all the knock out stages. If Im lucky I might grab a few group games like Portugal vs Greece.

2) Underdog every time.

3) I'll be watching in Spain on holiday.

Yeah sorry bouma,my bad spelling. Van Bommell is a loss.So who will replace him as seedorf is injured as well isnt he!

So what do you think will be the dutch line up:

take it its something like

van der sar
reizieger
baume
stam
van bronckhorst
cocu
van bommell
davids
van der vaart
sneijder
van nistelrooy

if it will be 4-3-3 or does makaay get a game!

As it looks now, chances of them starting between brackets..

GK: Edwin van der Sar (100%)

LB: Boudewijn Zenden (60%)
CD: Philipp Cocu (80%)
CD: Jaap Stam (100%)
RB: John Heitinga (50%)

LM: Wesley Sneijder (90%)
CM: Rafael van der Vaart (100%)
RM: Edgar Davids (100%)

LF: Arjen Robben (70%)
RF: Marc Overmarc (85%)

ST: Ruud van Nistelrooy (95%)

Edit: Seedorf is recovering extremly well, much fatser then the staff anticipated. He's now actually 50/50 for the game against the Germans.

Zenden at left back seems a rather odd choice, He has played well for middlesboro out on the left. But id have thought Van bronckhorst who plays left back for barcelona will surely get in before him. How good is Arjen Robben? I know he cost £13m but is he better than damian duff, Who alot of people in england think is the best leftsided midfielder in the premiership. I personally still think Ryan Giggs is better than Duff,due to the fact he has scored more consistently than duff!

So what do you think will be the dutch line up:

take it its something like

van der sar
reizieger
baume
stam
van bronckhorst
cocu
van bommell
davids
van der vaart
sneijder
van nistelrooy

if it will be 4-3-3 or does makaay get a game!

I think this will be the lineup

--------------------------Van der Sar-----------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reiziger-----------Stam----------------Cocu------van Bronckhorst/Zenden
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------Sneijder--------------Davids-----------------Van der Vaart--------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Van der Meyde-----------Ruud/Makaay--------------------------Overmars

Zenden at left back seems a rather odd choice, He has played well for middlesboro out on the left. But id have thought Van bronckhorst who plays left back for barcelona will surely get in before him. How good is Arjen Robben? I know he cost £13m but is he better than damian duff, Who alot of people in england think is the best leftsided midfielder in the premiership. I personally still think Ryan Giggs is better than Duff,due to the fact he has scored more consistently than duff!

How good is Robben? Well that's extremely hard to say, so I suggest to just watch him. Aside from being injury prone, he doesn't has many glaring weaknesses. He's extremely fast, great technique, terrific shot and just supurb at creating chances out of nothing. Always offensively aware.. Can be argued the Dutch brightest young talent above Rafael van der Vaart and Wesley Sneijder. He has the potential to be among the top wingers in the entire world..

Yeah true I forgot about Woody, he's a solid one too. That makes for 3.5 solid centre backs (4 if you count Sol Campbell as solid wich he is most of the time I know)

I'm expecting an excellent tournament from campbell, like France '98, but better. I think playing with Rio inhibts his instinct to go forward (he was originally a striker in the Spurs youth system).

Wes Brown could also force his way back into the picture IMO, even though he suffers the same 'mental error' disease as the likes of Campbell and King.

Brown is very fast, which hopefully he'll use to cover up any of his mistakes. I'd like to see him play right back for England and finally rid the team of the Nevilles.

GB beat me to it :) Did you see King on his debut against Portugal? He was remarkably composed for a young guy playing out of position against a pretty good team and even scored. I was expecting a bag of nerves like Matthew Upson. Also Henry (who the media are unreasonably terrified of) has yet to score against King whereas he has embarrassed Carragher several times.

Southgate was injured too so King and Carragher would not even be in our 3rd string team so I think the "defensive depth" remark wasnt very accurate. We have to go with our 2nd and 7th choices. Not many teams would look good.

Campbell - Ferdinand
Woodgate - Terry
Southgate - Brown
Carragher - King

Well I don't consider anyone outside of the top four International class centre backs. Southgate was always too slow for me to like him. Furthermore, while I think Woody is an extremely talented player, he hasn't proven anything yet on international level so I would say he's a bit of a question mark too.




I'm expecting an excellent tournament from campbell, like France '98, but better. I think playing with Rio inhibts his instinct to go forward (he was originally a striker in the Spurs youth system).

Yeah I remember with the very first CM game (CM93 or 94) he was a 16 year old forward, hehe.

I don't know what to expect from him. He is very strong and not too slow, but I think he's a bit overrated in England. He's sometimes out of position, will sometimes go for the tackle and therefor get out of position when it's not necessary, thus making a wrong decision...

I'm not going as far though as what a dutch columnist was saying the other day: "that Campbell is a really awful player, if you need a reason as to why Arsenal can't win anything internationally just look at Campbell" :)




Brown is very fast, which hopefully he'll use to cover up any of his mistakes. I'd like to see him play right back for England and finally rid the team of the Nevilles.

Yes I think he'd be ideally suited for the right back with England. He can be a very good and strong defender if he wants too. And an England team without a Neville in it will always make me happy :D But as long as Sir Alex doesn't do that at Man Utd, Sven is not going to be doing it for England...

Im not going to start the Neville debate,but for me Gary Neville is a solid right back,he is crossing is underated and he is stong in the tackle.positionally very good. I think he is englands strongest right back, personally I think at 2006 world cup if we qualify I

doh! pressed return accidentally :blush:

what i was going to say is that by 2006 Glenn Johnson will be englands right back. He is great going forward,very fast,powerful,the only problem is his lack of experience so he is prone to the odd mistake, but two years playing with the players in the chelsea squad. Facing Robben and Duff in training can only help him and the experience of the champions league should stand him in good stead.Just a little concerned with Chelsea buying Ferreira and what mourinhio is going to do with Johnson.

Pushed Melchiot out of chelsea which is not an easy thing.As I think Melchiot is a very steady defender as well. The only reason he didnt make the team this year I make out is lack of experience and was injured for a while.

Apparently, Figo is not happy with the inclusion of the originally Brazilian Deco in the Portuguese national team:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/euro_2004/portugal/3795885.stm

ORANJE BOVEN! ORANJE BOVEN! OLE! OLE! OLE!

Apparently, Figo is not happy with the inclusion of the originally Brazilian Deco in the Portuguese national team:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/euro_2004/portugal/3795885.stm

:shakehead

why is it not possible to be intelligent AND a great soccer player? i wonder if this will cause trouble in the portugese team.

btw: this thread would be more fun without the oranjes. :D :D

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Looking to spend some money ?
Dimitar Berbatov, you never know.

I don't think it'll cause a problem.

Usually, the Portuguese's greatest asset is it's chemistry and team comradery. They fight together and will lose together.
:) :bow: Portugal will choke and we will all hail the new King of chokers- Buttafigo. I would not be surprised if he lands his ass on the bench after a poor performance against Greece. We don't have long to wait. Tomorrow is the day.

:) :bow: Portugal will choke and we will all hail the new King of chokers- Buttafigo. I would not be surprised if he lands his ass on the bench after a poor performance against Greece. We don't have long to wait. Tomorrow is the day.

I think Figo and Portugal will come out flying tomorrow. Rehagel is a smart devil, but the joy, feelings and fantastic offensive play of the Portuges players will be unleashed tomorrow. They`ve waited in several years for that day, and I have a feeling the people of Portugal wont be dissapointed.

4-0 Portugal

(Of course I wont watch it, I`m boycotting...ouch)

Was this necessary or appropriate?
I must have misinterpreted your comment. I thought you were being sarcastic in regards to their fighting together and thus losing together. Apparently not. Figo decides to let loose on Deco on the eve of the tourney and Perreira has to defend his selection in every interview. This has a chance of an implosion of mega proportions. I will be here tomorrow though so you can let me have it if i'm wrong. I really think Figo has a chance of finishing this tourney as a sub and Deco taking his place, wouldn't that be a slap. Perhaps that is why Figo is so outspoken against Deco's selection. Rangers why are you boycotting?

Anyone else playing ESPN's fantasy game?

The Dutch are such a wildcard Van. I cannot decide who will make it out of the group between them and Germany. There style of play and player selecton are not a given either. There could be alot of turnover if game 1 goes poorly. I find Cocu to be perhaps my favorite of the Dutchmen. Early in his career he was in attack and then he landed at left back. Now he's a centerback. Quite the versatility!

If there's one Dutchman I could pick for England it would probably be Cocu.

The Dutch are such a wildcard Van. I cannot decide who will make it out of the group between them and Germany. There style of play and player selecton are not a given either. There could be alot of turnover if game 1 goes poorly. I find Cocu to be perhaps my favorite of the Dutchmen. Early in his career he was in attack and then he landed at left back. Now he's a centerback. Quite the versatility!

Yup, Cocu provides quite the value to our squad. He's our Captain as well so he has to be. He can play back, he can be Stam's partner down the middle, he can be a defensive minded midfielder, he can be an offensive minded midfielder, he can play from the wing and provide crosses, or cut in and provide scoring chances himself. I wouldn't be suprised if Advocaat announces that Cocu starts in net this thuesday. He will likely spend most of his time playing defense or maybe midfield, depending how Rafael's stint at wing fares him. Along with Stam and van der Sar, he is pretty much the only one that can rely on a starting spot 100%.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/euro_2004/england/3799489.stm :shakehead


David Beckham raised the stakes ahead of England's first Euro 2004 game by declaring: "We are better than France."

England captain Beckham admitted France possessed more world stars, but insisted Sven-Goran Eriksson's side were the superior team.

He said: "I feel we have got the better team, but that will only be proved in the game. If everyone performs we have got a great chance.

"I'm English and I believe our team is better. That's just the way I see it."




France have the best players in the world, but if it all comes together at the right time I think our team is capable of beating anyone. If we can find improvement and bring it into the competition, we can beat anyone."

Ok, i can understand the second bit, on their day England can indeed beat anyone, and they should have a chance against the French...
But England being the better 'team' than France?? Where has Mr. Beckham been the last 7 years, on Mars?

What is Beckham going to say such a short time before the match....

"France is better than us." ???

I don't think so.

In order to win, you must believe you are better than your opponent.

No, but he should have kept his comments to the second snippet: if it all comes together I think our team is capable of beating anyone.

That way he wouldn't have looked like an idiot while still genuinely believing in his team's chances.

What is Beckham going to say such a short time before the match....

"France is better than us." ???

I don't think so.

Why not? It would put more pressure on the opponent while it puts you in the most favorable position, the underdog. Hell, talking superior over your opponent tends to lead that very same opponent to think cocky and eventually underrestimating their opponents.

Damn, this seems like another thread with messed up pages. There was another onehere on this forum some time ago, when you click page 7 it loads page six.. strange

*edit*
Ah, it comes out OK this time, seems like it was only a temporary problem

Damn, this seems like another thread with messed up pages. There was another onehere on this forum some time ago, when you click page 7 it loads page six.. strange

*edit*
Ah, it comes out OK this time, seems like it was only a temporary problem

Can't you delete your meaningless posts like this one?

I want my 7 seconds back.. :(

That's worse than anything supposedly going on in the Dutch camp.

There isn't anything going on in the Dutch camp.. Unless you count birthdays and day-to-day injuries as a big whoop. I know the outside fans expect the Dutch to drink alcohol during practises, to visit hookers, to b*tchslap their wife's and to fight with their teammates, but I have to dissapoint you this time, nuthin' is going on, nothing at all..

Being Swedish I'm of course a bit biased towards Sweden, but I think either Spain or France will win this tournament, but we'll see, there are many good teams out there. May the best team win! :win:

May the best team win! :win:

which will be sweden of course :D

Ok, i can understand the second bit, on their day England can indeed beat anyone, and they should have a chance against the French...
But England being the better 'team' than France?? Where has Mr. Beckham been the last 7 years, on Mars?

Beckham's not known for his brains :) But I think he's talking about team spirit.. playing as a team. A team that does that will very often be better than an All Star team.

There isn't anything going on in the Dutch camp.. Unless you count birthdays and day-to-day injuries as a big whoop. I know the outside fans expect the Dutch to drink alcohol during practises, to visit hookers, to b*tchslap their wife's and to fight with their teammates, but I have to dissapoint you this time, nuthin' is going on, nothing at all..

Seedorf's demands? And Van Nistelrooy versus Kluivert?

It's all peace and harmony Im sure you're right. :)

Seedorf's demands? And Van Nistelrooy versus Kluivert?

It's all peace and harmony Im sure you're right. :)

You have to keep the Dutch mentality in mind.

If you put three dutchmen in a room they're bound to have words within half an hour. They generally are very outspoken and most of them have very strong personal opinions, have a lot of self confidence (bordering arrogance for some). If you put these elements together there are bound to be some words flying around, but that really isn't a big deal for Dutch people, they're used to that. And frankly it doesn't affect their performance in negative way, while it could be argued that it does have a motivational effect on some players.

So that's why all other countries are always saying that the Dutch don't have a good team spirit and don't get along at all, while the Dutch posters here genuinely believe that there's nothing going on at all.



p.s. this isn't supposed to cast a negative image of dutch mentality or characters, just posting my observations and experience

Beckham's not known for his brains :) But I think he's talking about team spirit.. playing as a team. A team that does that will very often be better than an All Star team.

Real Madrid is a proof of the All Star Team theory.
But the french players get on very well together and they have a huge collective desire of erasing the souvenir of the last world cup. France is a very united squad, one of the most united at the Euro if not the most I have to say.

Seedorf's demands? And Van Nistelrooy versus Kluivert?

It's all peace and harmony Im sure you're right. :)

Are you going to start again ?

Seedorf has told Dick that he prefers to play central midfield but Dick told him he will play on either the right or the left. I really don't understand the problem, Seedorf is entitled to his opinion.

We could act like turtle doves like do in England, where nobody has to say something interesting. Hell, we could go to school wearing an uniform, but that's not how it works here.

You should read some more of those sh***y English tabloids, I'm sure you'll find some more scoops.

I have 3 words for Portugal:


BWAA HA HA

i just read some news, although i don't know if it's new for you all.

marc overmars will retire from holland's national team after this tournament and wants to play next season in german bundesliga.

olof mellberg seems to be out for sweden's first game on monday. same injury as the last weeks too.

germany wants to play with just one attacker against holland, it seems. interesting, but won't help at all.

bulgarian martin petrov should be missing against sweden because of an injury.

the 1-0 of karagounis against portugal was the 350th goal in EC-history.

jesper groenkjaer won't play against italy. he will attend to the funeral of his mother. not sure if he will return after this match.

edit: some more news

BTW, what does hup Holland hup mean? Go Holland go?

BTW, what does hup Holland hup mean? Go Holland go?

yes. same as hopp schwiiz what the swiss guys are shouting every game. :)

Greece's play is just as contributing to this match than Portugal's inability to convert on their attacks.

I didn't mean to belittle Greece, they've already shown they are dangerous before this game. But c'mon, Portugal, if you can't get it done in front of your own people, when *can* you do it?

I heard from the tv that Edwin van der Sar has picked some kind of injury and might miss the match against Germany, but for some reason that's all they told :mad:.

Does anybody know more about it? I'm really keeping my fingers crossed for him to play because the back-up goalies don't really impress me.

I gotta agree with that. I shook my head when I read Figo's comments about Deco.

That's worse than anything supposedly going on in the Dutch camp.

No offence to any Dutch supporters here, but they will lose to Germany 3-1 on the 15th. Germany is a powerhouse that cannot be stopped. I admire your faith in Holland, but as history tells us time and time again, the Dutch just don't show up for the big games. :cry:

I heard from the tv that Edwin van der Sar has picked some kind of injury and might miss the match against Germany, but for some reason that's all they told :mad:.

Does anybody know more about it? I'm really keeping my fingers crossed for him to play because the back-up goalies don't really impress me.

I haven't heard a thing about it, so I would say you can safely assume that even if there is an injury, it is nothing major that would have him miss a game.

No offence to any Dutch supporters here, but they will lose to Germany 3-1 on the 15th. Germany is a powerhouse that cannot be stopped. I admire your faith in Holland, but as history tells us time and time again, the Dutch just don't show up for the big games.

Somehow I have to wonder if there are supposed to be sarcasm tags around this post or not :dunno:

No offence to any Dutch supporters here, but they will lose to Germany 3-1 on the 15th. Germany is a powerhouse that cannot be stopped. I admire your faith in Holland, but as history tells us time and time again, the Dutch just don't show up for the big games. :cry:

Aren't you a football expert.. At this moment, Germany and powerhouse can not be mentioned in the same sentence. Germany doesn't have the talent to score 3 past the best defender in the world and Edwin van der Sar. They have a solid chance at getting the 3 points, but you are making an ass out off yourself..

Aren't you a football expert.. At this moment, Germany and powerhouse can not be mentioned in the same sentence. Germany doesn't have the talent to score 3 past the best defender in the world and Edwin van der Sar. They have a solid chance at getting the 3 points, but you are making an ass out off yourself..

You may have a difference of opinion, but why resort to childish antics such as name calling? Besides, why not wait until tuesday? I would bet money on Germany to win. They always do.

Germany was not even a decent team in the world cup in 2002 and they still managed to make the final. Powerhouse they are not but they can score goals and be as cynical as ever. Considering their roster, Holland should cruise but I doubt they will. This deadly group is going to be bitter for a big nation and I don't think it will be the Czech Republic.

To dutch fans, can one of you explain me how can Edwin van der Sar still be regarded by some as a good goalie? How is he regarded in Holland? :dunno:

Sportsnet just referred to Desailly as De"sally". Its hard to believe but this is from a network that prides itself on its soccer coverage. It does a decent job i may add.

Germany was not even a decent team in the world cup in 2002 and they still managed to make the final. Powerhouse they are not but they can score goals and be as cynical as ever. Considering their roster, Holland should cruise but I doubt they will. This deadly group is going to be bitter for a big nation and I don't think it will be the Czech Republic.

To dutch fans, can one of you explain me how can Edwin van der Sar still be regarded by some as a good goalie? How is he regarded in Holland? :dunno:

I call on M=D! Let the madness begin...

Did you watch EURO 2000?

If not, let me state for the record...

Germany 1-1 Romania
Germany 0-1 England
Germany 0-3 Portugal

Out in the first round, finishing dead last in Group A.

Sure, Germany got to the 2002 World Cup Final, but when your group consists of Ireland, Cameroon and Saudi Arabia...your playoff matches consist of Paraguay, USA and South Korea, I would expect a few European teams to make the Final from that. The first true test the Germans got in 2002 was Brazil, and they lost.

well Van.....we will see June 15, won't we? I predict a German thrashing of the Dutch.

Plus Germany was not using their best player in those preliminary matches that you pointed out. That is how cunning the German squad is....take them lightly and you are f***ed!

To dutch fans, can one of you explain me how can Edwin van der Sar still be regarded by some as a good goalie? How is he regarded in Holland? :dunno:

Why shouldn't he? If you were to judge him on his mistake of a few weeks ago, the real first mistake I can ever recall him doing, then what does that make Barthez, who's had hundreds of 'm?

You may have a difference of opinion, but why resort to childish antics such as name calling? Besides, why not wait until tuesday? I would bet money on Germany to win. They always do.

Well, you're entitled to your opinion. If you expect a German thrashing of the Dutch, then I can only say, okay.

However, the fact you say Germany always win from The Netherlands is just plain ignorant and reveals I should take your comments with a grain of salt. The last time Germany won was 8 years ago !

To dutch fans, can one of you explain me how can Edwin van der Sar still be regarded by some as a good goalie? How is he regarded in Holland? :dunno:

I don't have a problem with him, apart from his outside the field attitude, why shouldn't we consider him a good goalie ?

Why shouldn't he? If you were to judge him on his mistake of a few weeks ago, the real first mistake I can ever recall him doing, then what does that make Barthez, who's had hundreds of 'm?

I am not here to compare him to Barthez. I don't give a monkey about Barthez.

To come back to the subject, I remember that Van Der Sar threw away a Scudetto for Juventus when he awfully spilled the ball in a crucial game against Roma who subsquently won the title.

I am not trying to troll but I genuinely can't remember games that he won for his team by himself by playing 'on his head' in the net. I monitor Fulham pretty closely and absolutely no one in England would even mention VDS as one of the best goalie in the premiership.

So I am a bit surprised to read that he is a very good strengh of the dutch defense.
Maybe he is, but I need a bit of convincing.

I monitor Fulham pretty closely and absolutely no one in England would even mention VDS as one of the best goalie in the premiership.


Well, if they think he's not one of the best then it doesn't mean you can't be good. There are 20 teams. Expect him to see with Arsenal next season.

btw about Van Der Sar's injury, his finger is broken.

I finally found some information about van der Sar's injury. Here's the link. (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/euro_2004/holland/3797597.stm)

Apparently he has hurt a finger in his right arm, and it really is possible that he won't be playing on Tuesday.

well Van.....we will see June 15, won't we? I predict a German thrashing of the Dutch.

Plus Germany was not using their best player in those preliminary matches that you pointed out. That is how cunning the German squad is....take them lightly and you are f***ed!

I think you need to recheck the era of football we are in. While they had a nice surprise run in 2002 and should never be completely counted out, Germany hasn't been the powerhouse team of the eighties and early nineties since Jürgen Klinsmann retired.

While football is unpredictable (see Portugal), there are currently few rational reasons to expect the Germans to beat Holland, much less thrash them.

As for the relatively recent history, Germany has defeated Holland exactly once since the two parts were united and is 1-1-3 vs Oranje since 1992...

Holland's roster on paper only falls short to France, and even that can be debated.

Only to France? No. IMO also to Italy.

well Van.....we will see June 15, won't we? I predict a German thrashing of the Dutch

Wouldn't mind it of course, but I rather see a something like 1-1 or 2-2 draw between the two. Germany is a shadow of it's former self.:(

BTW you would make a good German with your ranting. :lol:

Why shouldn't he? If you were to judge him on his mistake of a few weeks ago, the real first mistake I can ever recall him doing, then what does that make Barthez, who's had hundreds of 'm?
Maybe you need Barthez on Holland to save you a couple of penalties, don't you think?

Maybe you need Barthez on Holland to save you a couple of penalties, don't you think?

Oh yeah.. Barthez the great penalty stopper. I always give credit where it's due, and while Barthez had him nicely, Beckham aimed it horrible.. He pretty much did everything wrong you can possibly do when taking a penalty..

So why can't Van Der Sar even stop the easy one (and BTW, I don't think it was an easy one tonight)?

So why can't Van Der Sar even stop the easy one (and BTW, I don't think it was an easy one tonight)?

Because Edwin is not good as saving penalties.. It's all a gamble anyway, it has more to do with luck than skill.

Because Edwin is not good as saving penalties.. It's all a gamble anyway, it has more to do with luck than skill.
Actually no.
For instance, a guy I don't like too much in the french league is Mickael Landreau (Nantes). Well, Landreau saves about half his penalties.
He's not big, he's just good at it.
It IS a skill.

Does anyone know how is Marcus Allback doing with Aston villa? and with the Swedish team? If he is still capable of doing what he used to do? and what you think of him

Does anyone know how is Marcus Allback doing with Aston villa? and with the Swedish team? If he is still capable of doing what he used to do? and what you think of him

All I know about Allbäck, is that he scored twice two weeks ago when Sweden played against Finland in Tampere, Finland. Don't like him too much...

this thread is so funny and somehow it has something to do with the dutch posters. guys, are you really overrating your own team that much or is it just your sense of humor?
i don't want to insult anybody here, but some lack some sort of realism. the netherlands are a good team, but you're writing as if they are soccer gods. they're not.
and bashing germany is fine with me, but hasn't sports also something to do with sportsmanship? germany was 2nd at the WC, so why do you still bash them for that? the netherlands haven't won something important for a long time, although they have a team to do so, but they team-spirit is ok? hahaha, that's funny.

ok, i will be quiet now, but carefully reading and laughing most of the time. realism and sports...sometimes two worlds.

From the start I've said The Netherlands won win the EC. That's realism at his finest.

From the start I've said The Netherlands won win the EC. That's realism at his finest.

i guess you mean "won't win". if so, it's not realism at all, it's just betting or whatever. they have a chance on winning.
i just see that some (you included) are raising the team to heaven while bashing germany to hell. ok, it's a rivalry, but sometimes it sounds as if it was "hate". if that's the case, it's a bit sad.

i could still make jokes on dutch people (which is fun :D ), but i won't bash 'em at all.

in a few words: your dutch-hype is funny to read, but still something that denies maybe a nice discussion where i'd like to join. :)

i guess you mean "won't win". if so, it's not realism at all, it's just betting or whatever. they have a chance on winning.
i just see that some (you included) are raising the team to heaven while bashing germany to hell. ok, it's a rivalry, but sometimes it sounds as if it was "hate". if that's the case, it's a bit sad.

i could still make jokes on dutch people (which is fun :D ), but i won't bash 'em at all.

in a few words: your dutch-hype is funny to read, but still something that denies maybe a nice discussion where i'd like to join. :)

Yes, I meant "won't".

Zecke could you give me the posts where I bashed Germany ?

Zecke could you give me the posts where I bashed Germany ?

honestly i'm too lazy to read every post again in this and other topics, but i believe you did. if not, sorry and i really mean it. still you're raising your team to heaven which you can't deny. ;)

but what i really wanted to say is that if it comes to national teams, people tend to lose realism. actually 40 percent of the german soccer fans believe that germany will win the EC. i sometimes wonder if they have watched a single game the last years. i talked to someone of these german guys today and he talked a lot about the great defense germany has. ehm...i watched the game vs hungary and the defense was crap. nowotny was horrible and hinkel wasn't good as well. it's still kahn between the pipes, but he tends to make errors too as of late.

i didn't want to bash the dutch alone. i'm just getting bored of people who overrate their own team while bashing others. ignorance is having good times these days.

honestly i'm too lazy to read every post again in this and other topics, but i believe you did. if not, sorry and i really mean it.

No, I didn't.


still you're raising your team to heaven which you can't deny. ;)


After the 2002 WC The Netherlands has lost four times in 21 games (including the final two games), so I think a bit optimism is propiate. I haven't seen any posts of me where I raised The Netherlands to heaven.


but what i really wanted to say is that if it comes to national teams, people tend to lose realism. actually 40 percent of the german soccer fans believe that germany will win the EC. i sometimes wonder if they have watched a single game the last years. i talked to someone of these german guys today and he talked a lot about the great defense germany has. ehm...i watched the game vs hungary and the defense was crap. nowotny was horrible and hinkel wasn't good as well. it's still kahn between the pipes, but he tends to make errors too as of late.

i didn't want to bash the dutch alone. i'm just getting bored of people who overrate their own team while bashing others. ignorance is having good times these days.


Don't tell me about it. I've just seen a very weak France, still people felt the need to exaggerate.

Point taken.

No, I didn't.


then sorry again! :bow:


After the 2002 WC The Netherlands has lost four times in 21 games (including the final two games), so I think a bit optimism is propiate. I haven't seen any posts of me where I raised The Netherlands to heaven.


where should leave it with this. i guess i know your point now and can accept it. you weren't the main person i meant with my critizism, but you were the first to react. so you were the one who had to deal with my frustration. i feel sorry about it. still i stand behind what i wrote. :)


Don't tell me about it. I've just seen a very weak France, still people felt the need to exaggerate.


haha, the so-called hockey gods striked again. i still wonder why everyone seems to love french soccer. they don't play very good often, but they win. that's all.

I've just seen a very weak France

Your standards must be very high! France didn't play brilliantly but to say that they were 'very weak'...
Can't wait to see what the 'great' Holland team is going to offer to us, poor other nation fans!!

I can't believe England choked in extra time! Bring back David Seamen!!! :cry:

Don't tell me about it. I've just seen a very weak France, still people felt the need to exaggerate.

"Need to exaggerate"?
I said France was awful offensively while having the best players on paper.
Sorry you feel I overrate my team.
I never, never said ONCE that France was good last night.

Your standards must be very high! France didn't play brilliantly but to say that they were 'very weak'...
Can't wait to see what the 'great' Holland team is going to offer to us, poor other nation fans!!

90 minutes of play, 0 scorings chances, wrong passes from both teams everywhere.
Do I really have to defend my comment, I don't think so. No idea what Holland has do with it.

Hope springs eternal, but this has the early makings of a bad tournament -- the kind determined by who makes the mistakes rather than by who makes the magic. In spite of having the most powerful team there, France created utterly nothing, they had to wait for stupid mistakes to capitalize. Can anybody name me a goal that was created by the offense rather than by the defense so far?

..If you were to judge him on his mistake of a few weeks ago, the real first mistake I can ever recall him (Van der sar) doing...
:eek:
wow, there has to be something really wrong with your memory!

Hope springs eternal, but this has the early makings of a bad tournament -- the kind determined by who makes the mistakes rather than by who makes the magic. In spite of having the most powerful team there, France created utterly nothing, they had to wait for stupid mistakes to capitalize. Can anybody name me a goal that was created by the offense rather than by the defense so far?
That's always in the first round of games. Teams are usually extremely careful in their first game, and then it opens up a bit. Don't give up hope just yet.

90 minutes of play, 0 scorings chances, wrong passes from both teams everywhere.
Do I really have to defend my comment, I don't think so. No idea what Holland has do with it.

:lol

:lol

That you don't have much to add is no surprise to me.

I don't know what's worse...that you have so much fun about something what was as plain as day or that you seriously deny that the game wasn't worth looking at.

That you don't have much to add is no surprise to me.

I don't know what's worse...that you have so much fun about something what was as plain as day or that you seriously deny that the game wasn't worth looking at.

I am disappointed that you almost feel that your comments are like authority on these boards.
I am afraid we don't see football the same way and as you don't leave any room for anything else than frustrated and agressive discussion, there isn't any point going much further.
For the constructive comments about last night game, don't hesitate to read again the other thread.
Good luck for your game against Germany tomorrow, hopefully it will be good.

They played Saudi Arabia, Cameroon and Ireland in the group stage...they played Paraguay, USA and South Korea in the knockout round before losing to their first true test in Brazil.


oh yea...saudi arabia may be easy, cameroon isn't easy to beat...and wait...ireland...wasn't there a team that had to stay home because of the weak irish? :p:


Germany isn't the only European team who could reach the finals with relative ease with that lineup of opponents.


it may be true. no one said that germany is the best in europe. ok, some stupid german soccer fans would do it, but they would be wrong for sure. maybe some teams would have gone as far as germany with that opponents, but not every. your dutch guys play good soccer, but they tend to forget to fight. skill isn't everything.


Their team spirit is just fine. Without quoting British tabloids, tell me why the Dutch don't have good team spirit this year.

german newspapers wrote about problems with makaay.

and even if the team has a spirit (which i doubt), they still have not easy days with those attacks from cruyff and others. that is always a problem, don't you think?

and even if the team has a spirit (which i doubt), they still have not easy days with those attacks from cruyff and others. that is always a problem, don't you think?

You bet the Dutch have spirit, why don't they?

And I follow the Dutch as close as possible and there's nothing going on, not with Makaay not with anyone. And no, I don't see how the opinion of outside fans matter, regardless of his status.. Hardly a problem..

You bet the Dutch have spirit, why don't they?

too many superstars. that's always a problem. at least too many good attackers. i think it is a problem.


And I follow the Dutch as close as possible and there's nothing going on, not with Makaay not with anyone. And no, I don't see how the opinion of outside fans matter, regardless of his status.. Hardly a problem..

maybe the german newspapers want to see makaay and create a problem here. it is possible.

and if the all-time best player of your country critizises that harsh, it's a problem. you can't tell me that they ignore it. they can't.

but all this talk won't bring anything. tomorrow we'll see what's up with your oranjes. they should blow germany away if everything is well.

If there is a single player who will not cause any problems in the Dutch squad, it is Roy Makaay. He is way too humble to demand the position which he arguably deserves, much less cause trouble...

no matter when i say something about the netherlands, there's always another duch guy who answers? scary. ;)

how many oranjes do we have here?

how many oranjes do we have here?

Too many.:lol

Well I think that we have at least three Dutchy and more than four that support the Dutch team (e.g. Van)

no matter when i say something about the netherlands, there's always another duch guy who answers? scary. ;)

how many oranjes do we have here?

Hmm, let's see...

There is:

*Modano=Dud, Frolov 6'3, MikeModano and myself who are from Holland. There is also another guy named el_loco_avs, but he has yet to show up on the Other Sports board.
*Dutchy is afaik a Dutch guy who has somehow ended up in Montreal.
*SensGod and Van are two persons with Dutch background and ancestry.

My apologies to whoever I forgot :)

That's all we need to hear to know that the "problems" with Makaay aren't happening.


still there could be problems...you can't prove them wrong. not for now. :D


I read the article on euro2004.com that stated Makaay was angry that he wasn't selected over Ruud van Nistelrooy as the starting striker. I found it funny that with every subject the article touched on, they had quotes from players or Advocaat...yet they had nothing to backup the claim about Makaay being angry.

is it me or has this website some really silly articles? i hardly read there.

Hmm, let's see...

There is:

*Modano=Dud, Frolov 6'3, MikeModano and myself who are from Holland. There is also another guy named el_loco_avs, but he has yet to show up on the Other Sports board.
*Dutchy is afaik a Dutch guy who has somehow ended up in Montreal.
*SensGod and Van are two persons with Dutch background and ancestry.

My apologies to whoever I forgot :)

wow, that's half of your country... :lol

isn't joeri loonen writing on these boards too? he was a HF writer at least.

still there could be problems...you can't prove them wrong. not for now. :D


If we are to believe the German tabloid press, Oranje will play 11 bratwursts tomorrow ;)

We do have approximately twice your population btw :p:

If we are to believe the German tabloid press, Oranje will play 11 bratwursts tomorrow ;)


hehehe, stop it or we'll send the you some bad TV-moderators back who invaded us. ;)


We do have approximately twice your population btw :p:

you have 160 mill? :eek:

hehehe, stop it or we'll send the you some bad TV-moderators back who invaded us. ;)

I wouldn't mind Linda de Mol, as she already moderates in both countries anyways and isn't too bad. You can keep Rudi Carell though :p:

If you don't look out, we will send Frans Bauer as our next export product :D

you have 160 mill? :eek:


I was talking about your heart ;)

I wouldn't mind Linda de Mol, as she already moderates in both countries anyways and isn't too bad.


she's horrible. and her brother (jon) brought us big brother. looks like german TV is just bad because of the netherlands. :lol


You can keep Rudi Carell though :p:


at least he's funny when trying to be funny.


If you don't look out, we will send Frans Bauer as our next export product :D


who is he? never heard of him? another singing dutch?


I was talking about your heart ;)

ah hehe. my heart is even bigger than your country, trust me. just a part is in sweden, but a lovely part. ;)

who is he? never heard of him? another singing dutch?

http://www.sonymusic.nl/fransbauer/postcards/images/03.jpg
http://www.sonymusic.nl/fransbauer/postcards/images/04.jpg

http://www.sonymusic.nl/fransbauer/postcards/images/03.jpg
http://www.sonymusic.nl/fransbauer/postcards/images/04.jpg

what the ******? he looks aweful...typical dutch i would say. :D

is he sounding like all the other dutch singers that had success in germany like heintje and so on?

is he sounding like all the other dutch singers that had success in germany like heintje and so on?

Unfortunately, yes.

Unfortunately, yes.

hahaha. do you have other music than this? :)

i remember charly lownoise and menthal theo from the mid 90s. and the hermes house band. but that's all. nah...wait...golden earring was dutch.

hahaha. do you have other music than this? :)

i remember charly lownoise and menthal theo from the mid 90s. and the hermes house band. but that's all. nah...wait...golden earring was dutch.

Don't forget 2Unlimited in the '90s. ;)

The Hermes house band.

Really they are Dutch?

Don't forget 2Unlimited in the '90s. ;)

no no no no no no no no no no no no there's no limit... :lol

i wonder where belgian fan is. he will surely tell us to go on-topic again, but only because no one cares about belgium. :D

Really they are Dutch?

they look so stupid, what else could they be? :D

never seen an interview? their german is quite funny.

they look so stupid, what else could they be? :D

never seen an interview? their german is quite funny.

I never really looked at them that closely, because I could care less about them and their music.

Don't forget 2Unlimited in the '90s. ;)

Don't forget our DJ's who are supposed to be the best in the world..

BTW, what is this whole Ballack thing? Ballack is a good player, arguably German's best, but he's playing against Edgar Davids and Philip Cocu. Yet we don't hear anything about Davids, Cocu, van der Vaart, Robben, Sneijder or Seedorf, who are all in the same boat, if not a few notches higher..

BTW, what is this whole Ballack thing? Ballack is a good player, arguably German's best, but he's playing against Edgar Davids and Philip Cocu. Yet we don't hear anything about Davids, Cocu, van der Vaart, Robben, Sneijder or Seedorf, who are all in the same boat, if not a few notches higher..
I think that that's a home made problem of the Dutch squad. As long as everybody discusses (and complains, and knows everything better) about the lineup and the system, and as long as it's not clear at all who's actually going to play, it's understandable that nobody is discussing them as much as Ballack. He's been set for a long time, and everybody knows that he's a fixpoint in the German squad.

I think that that's a home made problem of the Dutch squad. As long as everybody discusses (and complains, and knows everything better) about the lineup and the system, and as long as it's not clear at all who's actually going to play, it's understandable that nobody is discussing them as much as Ballack. He's been set for a long time, and everybody knows that he's a fixpoint in the German squad.

Davids and Cocu are locks, I see your reasoning for the rest as they aren't all that much of a certainty to start, but Ballack's praising around here would make you think he's the best player on the entire pitch. Davids and Cocu are better (oh bite me, they are) and aren't discussed at all..

Or is that due to the Dutch having a boat load of so called stars (Ruud, Kluivert, Stam, Makaay, Davids, etc) while the Germans only have one?

Expect the Germans to work their butt off tonight.. They know they won't outskill the Dutch, but the hard working/underdog mentality/position is quite scary..

BTW, I read this Dutch magazine yesterday afternoon and they compared each and every player playing the same position with eachother.. The Score was like 40 - 4 .. :joker: I remember Kahn being the only winner of the ones that are suppose to start..

Or is that due to the Dutch having a boat load of so called stars (Ruud, Kluivert, Stam, Makaay, Davids, etc) while the Germans only have one?
That's certainly a factor.

Relax now folks. Confidence is good but don't get too arrogant about either our own or other players. Perhaps it's me but I feel there are already some people who are looking down on us, like people do with the Maple Leafs fans here.

Relax now folks. Confidence is good but don't get too arrogant about either our own or other players. Perhaps it's me but I feel there are already some people who are looking down on us, like people do with the Maple Leafs fans here.

Hey, I have the Dutch finishing 3rd in my pool (Behind Czech and Germany), and I have them tying Germany tonight. I was just asking a few questions and gave some funny tidbits..

Hey, I have the Dutch finishing 3rd in my pool (Behind Czech and Germany), and I have them tying Germany tonight. I was just asking a few questions and gave some funny tidbits..

Ok, very good you have the Dutch finishing 3rd in your pool, so there's at least some realism. ;) We'll see if that really happens.

That's the reasoning I was about to give. Germany is all about Michael Ballack...while Holland is all about Ruud, Kluivert, Stam, Makaay, Davids, etc.

Germany will prevail. They are so talented that they will win or at least advance to the Finals :D

Ok, very good you have the Dutch finishing 3rd in your pool, so there's at least some realism. ;) We'll see if that really happens.

Dan heb ik tenminste wat troost al worden ze echt 3e, 150 euro's.. ;)

Germany will prevail. They are so talented that they will win or at least advance to the Finals :D

:lol

Germany will prevail. They are so talented that they will win or at least advance to the Finals :D

Talented is not exactly how I would describe Germany.


PS, I always thought 2Unlimited was Half Dutch half Belgian, I'm not expert on the subject though.


All I do know is that I'm very happy that Belgium doesn't produce stuff like: Marco Borsato (even though he's apparenlty very popular here), Frank Boeijen, Krezip, ....
(And we don't produce Heineken either, another big plus :p: )

PS, I always thought 2Unlimited was Half Dutch half Belgian, I'm not expert on the subject though.

Ya you'd wish.. Their hit "You're ready for this was actually played crazy in NHL stadiums"..

And Heineken > whatever beer Belgium fabricates..

Talented is not exactly how I would describe Germany.
PS, I always thought 2Unlimited was Half Dutch half Belgian, I'm not expert on the subject though.


You want to put a good face on the matter ? Forget it, they are 100% Dutch. ;)


Vaya Con Dios ! You're an expert on this subject, aren't you ?

No seriously, I thought one of the singers they once employed was Belgian, but I will take your word for it, I don't know a thing about that kind of music.


As for Beer, please don't go there M=D, Belgian beer easily blows Dutch beer out of the water


And no, I'm not a huge Dani Klein fan but I do like here voice, she's got a good bluesy feel in her vocals

As for Beer, please don't go there M=D, Belgian beer easily blows Dutch beer out of the water

Palm is Belgian beer right? If so then yeah, I usually drink that.. But Heinkeken, Grolsch and Bavaria are good too..

Palm is Belgian beer right? If so then yeah, I usually drink that.. But Heinkeken, Grolsch and Bavaria are good too..

Correct, Palm is from below the Moerdijk!

And Heineken > whatever beer Belgium fabricates..
Wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong.

Heineken is yet another mass market beer with little taste. Gets beaten by dozens (if not hundreds) of beers around the world. And the Belgians can brew beer, you gotta give that to them. But their chocolate can't touch ours ;).

Wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong.

Heineken is yet another mass market beer with little taste. Gets beaten by dozens (if not hundreds) of beers around the world. And the Belgians can brew beer, you gotta give that to them. But their chocolate can't touch ours ;).

Mwah.. we Dutch prefer quantity over quality in terms of alcohol anyway.. ;)

Can't touch our cheese though.. Dutch cheese > Swiss cheese..

Can't touch our cheese though.. Dutch cheese > Swiss cheese..
No way, that's blasphemy! ;)

No way, that's blasphemy! ;)

You have way too many holes in it.. Ours is solid and more tasteful.. ;)

Alright alright, but you can't touch our pot..

Mwah.. we Dutch prefer quantity over quality in terms of alcohol anyway.. ;)

Another Lie!!

Jupiler and Stella have a 5.2 Alcohol%, while your Heineken was a mere 5,0% ;)


Can't touch our cheese though.. Dutch cheese > Swiss cheese..

Hmm, Swiss cheese is a bit better I would say, even though I do like Jong Gouda or stuff like that to put on my sandwich. French Cheese is another high quality thing.

Jupiler and Stella have a 5.2 Alcohol%, while your Heineken was a mere 5,0% ;)
What about Leffe Triple? I thought it has more than 8.

What about Leffe Triple? I thought it has more than 8.

Yeah, I was simply comparing Pils / Lagers...


The speciality beers like Tripels or Duvel of whatever have a higher percentage

Grolsch

No need to argue about it. A nice and solid beer.

You don't like to backup much of what you say, do you?

You don't need to back that up, when you know what up!



























j/k:joker:

Russia has sent Mostovoi home...

http://www.euro2004.com/News/Kind=1/newsId=192866.html

Good move by Yarzev. Mostovoi wasn't even a factor in the game vs. Spain.

Yep, after his harsh comments towards his coach, he didn't have much choice anyway...

HAHAHAHAHAHAH!!

http://www.tsn.ca/soccer/euro/news_story.asp?ID=87712&hubName=soccer-euro

What a bunch of damn complainers....

HAHAHAHAHAHAH!!

http://www.tsn.ca/soccer/euro/news_story.asp?ID=87712&hubName=soccer-euro

What a bunch of damn complainers....

:lol


:lol to that Russian player too...

With those hilarious comments, you can feel that the italians haven't their mind to the competition. They are out of focus, out of sync.
The game against Sweden on friday will be very interesting.

HAHAHAHAHAHAH!!

http://www.tsn.ca/soccer/euro/news_story.asp?ID=87712&hubName=soccer-euro

What a bunch of damn complainers....

What a bunch of sissies. :shakehead

what did you except, they're all a bunch of gay gino's.
Did you see their jerseys..skin tight. Why can't they realize that they're playing football and that they're not in a night club?
I hope sweden gives them a beating!

A lot of people make fun of the Italians....but most of us do it within the bounds of good taste.

I bet the Italian players have wives/girlfriends hotter than any woman any of us will ever end up with.

Yes it's true :cry:

A lot of people make fun of the Italians....but most of us do it within the bounds of good taste.

I bet the Italian players have wives/girlfriends hotter than any woman any of us will ever end up with.

I think that goes for almost every high profile professional athlete :joker:

Did you see their jerseys..skin tight. Why can't they realize that they're playing football and that they're not in a night club?


The New Zealand rugby team wears skin tight jerseys. What exactly is wrong with it? It increases mobility and prevents others from being able to grab them. A case could also be used for aerodynamicity.

The Italians played against Scandinavian team and the heat was problem for...the Italians! :lol

The New Zealand rugby team wears skin tight jerseys. What exactly is wrong with it? It increases mobility and prevents others from being able to grab them. A case could also be used for aerodynamicity.
lol nice :lol

The New Zealand rugby team wears skin tight jerseys. What exactly is wrong with it? It increases mobility and prevents others from being able to grab them. A case could also be used for aerodynamicity.
And personally I wouldn't go in front of Lomu and call him gay... :joker:

You don't like to backup much of what you say, do you?

I don't need to...

The Germans will do that for me once they hoist the cup. Be patient, my son. :)

Instead of insulting him, why don't you prove him wrong?

I'm insulting him while saying his memory got short as for Van der sar??

anyway, here are some extracts..
'...Buffon has forced the team to a start of handicap, just with a classic fault of a goal rubbed by the Veronese Marazzina. A goal that made the fans whistled in the ears of Van der Sar, just before Buffon came in the goalbox for Juventus and the past years under process for oversights and errors..'
http://w1.402.telia.com/~u40211512/refereemiss.htm


'..The Turin club have seen recent mistakes by Edwin Van der Sar cost them matches..'
http://www.wldcup.com/worldcup2002/news/2000Dec/20001206_6404_juventus_buffon.html


if only you could read Italian there would be A LOT to read...


other extracts to save you some time :

'..Edwin Van der Sar è nato a Voorhout (Olanda) il 29 ottobre 1970. Portiere alto quasi due metri, forte soprattutto con i piedi, campione d’Olanda (quattro volte), d’Europa e del mondo con l’Ajax, alla Juventus è stato due volte vicecampione d’Italia (1999/2000, 2000/2001), ma è ricordato soprattutto per alcune clamorose papere. Attualmente gioca in Inghilterra con il Fulham..'
http://parrini.clarence.com/archive/038416.html


'Van der Sar once threw a bal out against the back of an attacker of the pther team. The guy scored in the empty goal. It is worse if you see the situation on your tv, especcialy if you are an Ajax fan.'


Van der Sar under pressure (Italy 02-11)
'After loosing from Udinese 1-2 Edwin van der Sar goal keeper from Juventus is under a lot of pressure. The Dutch keeoer was again not in shape and has never made so many mistakes. The tifosi from Juve want veteran Michelangelo Rampulla to defend the goal. Juventus is on the brink of defeat in the Champions League. As a result coach Carlo Ancelotti is also under a lot of pressure and the name of Gianluca Vialli is heard quit a lot.'


Here comes a poetry written by Juve's archrival fans!

ODE A VAN DER SAR
"Nello stadio di Torino gioca un grande juventino
sembra strano eppure è vero è un mito in bianconero.
E' importante il suo mestiere, sai com'è lui fa il portiere,
è famoso in tutti i mar l'olandese Van der Sar.
Con i gol che si è beccato è un mito celebrato
le sue papere migliori son dei colossali errori,
sembra quasi che ha paura della palla gonfia e dura:
sai, lui prenderla non osa, gli parrà bomba inesplosa.
E' una manna con lui in porta, la speranza ci è risorta
pur con gli arbitri a sfavore. Lo trattiamo con amore
ricordando certi eventi in cui con i suoi interventi
ribaltò il risultato o ha perduto il campionato.
Lo ricordan con affetto nella Lazio da scudetto,
si ricordan le sue imprese quelli al Celta e l'Udinese,
se in Europa è molto amato dall'Amburgo è venerato,
dopo ciò che fa in Atene gli diciamo: dai, vai bene!"

:lol
Oh Edwin , you're missed!

Totti could be banned for spitting towards Poulsen during the game against Denmark. :amazed:
Considering also the foul on Hendricksen i guess it would be well deserved!
Anyway i hope he will have another chance to prove himself during this Euro despite that idiotic first game. :dunno:

If the spitting incident is true he should get a 3 game ban! There is nothing more disgusting and humilating than being spat on :banghead: :mad: . I know the french dont mind it as much but if this happens in England your more likely to get a full blown riot than if someone punched someone,Its the lowest of the low. I hope this is untrue as Totti was Italys best player by a mile against denmark on pitch! They will struggle without him. I think it showed what a big mistake Trapatoni is making not picking Pirlo.