Group C - The Netherlands, Italy, Romania, France
The Netherlands
Giovanni van Bronckhorst - How you doin'?[Getty Images]
What I think: Can anyone tell me why in God's name Team Netherlands wears orange when that color is nowhere to be found on their flag? Not that I'm complaining, there are certainly enough teams that have red white and blue covered. It's just always been a mystery to me. To Wikipedia I go! Okay, so apparently the red band on the flag was originally orange, and it has to do with some dude called William of Orange-Nassau. I suspect it also has to do with the fact that they can't pass up a nickname like "Clockwork Orange." Okay, with that out of the way, I have no strong feelings about the Dutch one way or the other, so they're going to have work if they want to win me over. The above picture is a good start.
Jerseys I would consider buying just for the sake of having the name on my back: Ooijer, Boulahrouz, de Zeeuw, Sneijder, van der Vaart, van Nistelrooy (Okay, having pretty uniformly ridiculous-sounding names is a step in the right direction, too.)
The outlook: Clockwork Orange seems to be a perfectly competent football team, qualifying without much drama (Romania gave them the biggest trouble, tying and beating them once apiece). They made it to the semifinal round of the 2006 World Cup before losing a pretty ugly game to Portugal 0-1, to whom they'd also lost 1-2 two years previous in the semifinals of Euro 2004. Some bad blood there, I expect. The Netherlands are celebrating the 20-year anniversary of their only Euro Cup win, and hoping for a repeat. I'm just hoping they'll get more interesting.
Jerseys I would consider buying just for the sake of having the name on my back: Ooijer, Boulahrouz, de Zeeuw, Sneijder, van der Vaart, van Nistelrooy (Okay, having pretty uniformly ridiculous-sounding names is a step in the right direction, too.)
The outlook: Clockwork Orange seems to be a perfectly competent football team, qualifying without much drama (Romania gave them the biggest trouble, tying and beating them once apiece). They made it to the semifinal round of the 2006 World Cup before losing a pretty ugly game to Portugal 0-1, to whom they'd also lost 1-2 two years previous in the semifinals of Euro 2004. Some bad blood there, I expect. The Netherlands are celebrating the 20-year anniversary of their only Euro Cup win, and hoping for a repeat. I'm just hoping they'll get more interesting.
Italy
Gianluigi Buffon - Buffs back the ball.[Getty Images]
What I think: The reigning World Cup Champions, the Italians are pretty hot shit. They're also just pretty hot. Undeniably. Unfortunately, they're also responsible for knocking my beloved Germany out in the semis of the 2006 World Cup, so I'm conflicted. (Also, what's up with them playing in blue when it's not one of their national colors and about a million other teams wear blue? It's just lame.) I predict, however, that my first glimpse of their faces will do a lot to bridge the gap of my soured feelings.
Jerseys I would consider buying just for the sake of having the name on my back: Buffon, Grosso, Materazzi, Quagliarella
The outlook: Obviously, after winning it all in 2006, the expectations are quite high. Unfortunately, their captain, Fabio Cannavaro was carted of the field at a training session three days ago after sending his ankle ligaments in all directions. I'm not familiar enough with the sport to speculate on how the absence of one player will change things, but losing your captain can never be a good thing. They competed strongly in their qualifying matches, though they struggled with France, whom they beat in a shootout in the 2006 finals. Italy should still be a major player in the tournament, and their game against France (June 17th) should be an interesting one.
Jerseys I would consider buying just for the sake of having the name on my back: Buffon, Grosso, Materazzi, Quagliarella
The outlook: Obviously, after winning it all in 2006, the expectations are quite high. Unfortunately, their captain, Fabio Cannavaro was carted of the field at a training session three days ago after sending his ankle ligaments in all directions. I'm not familiar enough with the sport to speculate on how the absence of one player will change things, but losing your captain can never be a good thing. They competed strongly in their qualifying matches, though they struggled with France, whom they beat in a shootout in the 2006 finals. Italy should still be a major player in the tournament, and their game against France (June 17th) should be an interesting one.
Romania
Bogdan LobonĊ£ - Hope he doesn't get "bogged down."(No, the bad puns won't ever stop.)
[Getty Images]
What I think: I know next to nothing about Romania. I've never been there, I've never met anyone from there, and they don't even have a delicious foodstuff for me to cling to as a basis for my opinions. (At least not one that I know of, though I'm open to suggestions.) All I can say is that it's pretty cute that their flag features the three primary colors. And that's all I got.
Jerseys I would consider buying just for the sake of having the name on my back: Popa, Stancioiu, RaĊ£, Sapunaru
The outlook: This is Romania's first trip to the Euro finals since 2000, but they seem to have pretty effectively asserted their dominance in the qualifying round. They conceded a 0-1 loss to Bulgaria, but remained unbeaten in their other ten games. They failed to qualify for the 2006 World Cup, and seem like the odd team out in this group, but their coach, who led them to qualifying for Euro 2000, but was replaced before the finals started, is looking for vindication. Could be some drama there.
Jerseys I would consider buying just for the sake of having the name on my back: Popa, Stancioiu, RaĊ£, Sapunaru
The outlook: This is Romania's first trip to the Euro finals since 2000, but they seem to have pretty effectively asserted their dominance in the qualifying round. They conceded a 0-1 loss to Bulgaria, but remained unbeaten in their other ten games. They failed to qualify for the 2006 World Cup, and seem like the odd team out in this group, but their coach, who led them to qualifying for Euro 2000, but was replaced before the finals started, is looking for vindication. Could be some drama there.
France
Nicolas Anelka - He can fly![Getty Images]
What I think: There's some residual bad blood between me and France from the 2006 World Cup. After Italy destroyed Germany's dreams of winning on their home turf, I decided to throw my support 100% behind France in the finals. Keep in mind, I had just finished watching Carolina, who'd stolen Buffalo's spot in the SCF, hoisting the Cup, and I was not at all about witnessing the success of another team that beat the one I loved, no matter how hot they were. Of course, then that ugly Zidane incident happened, and it was suddenly impossible to root for France, either. Just like that, in the game I'd looked forward to for weeks, I hated both teams. As a result, I've somehow ended up resenting France more for taking away my rooting interest than Italy for actually winning. Yes, I realize it's not fair for me to hold the actions of one player, especially a player who's not even playing anymore, against the entire team, but this isn't about being fair. If France wants my respect back, they're going to have to earn it.
Jerseys I would consider buying just for the sake of having the name on my back: Mandanda, Boumsong, Squillaci, Toulalan
The outlook: Well, everyone knows how the World Cup ended for them. Losing in a shootout after their captain had been sent off in disgrace. Pretty rough. Moreover, they exited Euro 2004 in the quarterfinal round at the hands of the eventual champions, Greece, after winning it all four years before. Their qualifying games were a bit of a mess, as they avenged themselves against Italy, beating them 3-0 and then tying them 0-0, but struggled to put Scotland away. They eventually clinched their place in the finals, finishing second in their group behind Italy, but it was more of an ordeal than they were expecting, and they'll have to pull themselves together if they want to go the distance this time.
Coming Soon: Group D!
Jerseys I would consider buying just for the sake of having the name on my back: Mandanda, Boumsong, Squillaci, Toulalan
The outlook: Well, everyone knows how the World Cup ended for them. Losing in a shootout after their captain had been sent off in disgrace. Pretty rough. Moreover, they exited Euro 2004 in the quarterfinal round at the hands of the eventual champions, Greece, after winning it all four years before. Their qualifying games were a bit of a mess, as they avenged themselves against Italy, beating them 3-0 and then tying them 0-0, but struggled to put Scotland away. They eventually clinched their place in the finals, finishing second in their group behind Italy, but it was more of an ordeal than they were expecting, and they'll have to pull themselves together if they want to go the distance this time.
Coming Soon: Group D!
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