Group D - Greece, Sweden, Spain, Russia
Greece
Greece 2004 - Get ready to hand it over.[Getty Images]
What I think: Aside from the obvious--chicken wings, beef on weck, sponge candy--the thing I miss most about the Western New York food scene is the abundance of Greek restaurants. I would kill for some of Kosta's taramosalata or chicken souvlaki. Stuffed grape leaves! Baklava! Mmmmmm! So, in keeping with the tradition of letting my football opinions be swayed by the deliciousness of a country's native cuisine, Greece has my approval.
Jerseys I would consider buying just for the sake of having the name on my back: Patsatzoglou, Spiropoulos, Giannakopoulos, Liberopoulos
The outlook: Surprised many by winning Euro 2004, apparently relying very heavily on their defense. They logged three consecutive shutouts in the quarterfinal, semifinal, and final round, winning each by a score of 1-0. That's pretty sexy. Unfortunately for them, in the 48-year history of the Euro Cup, in which 12 champions have been crowned, no team has yet managed to effectively defend their title, so the odds are against a Greek repeat. Still, it looks like they're not going to give it up without a fight, at least. They were one of the most successful teams in qualifying, clinching with two games to spare and notching 31 points, more than any other team in the qualifying round. After failing to qualify for the 2006 World Cup, it looks like they're coming on strong again.
Jerseys I would consider buying just for the sake of having the name on my back: Patsatzoglou, Spiropoulos, Giannakopoulos, Liberopoulos
The outlook: Surprised many by winning Euro 2004, apparently relying very heavily on their defense. They logged three consecutive shutouts in the quarterfinal, semifinal, and final round, winning each by a score of 1-0. That's pretty sexy. Unfortunately for them, in the 48-year history of the Euro Cup, in which 12 champions have been crowned, no team has yet managed to effectively defend their title, so the odds are against a Greek repeat. Still, it looks like they're not going to give it up without a fight, at least. They were one of the most successful teams in qualifying, clinching with two games to spare and notching 31 points, more than any other team in the qualifying round. After failing to qualify for the 2006 World Cup, it looks like they're coming on strong again.
Sweden
Various Swedes - Look, it's a team of Hank Tallinders![Getty Images]
What I think: Sweden has brought me so many great things. Henrik Tallinder. Swedish Fish. Pretty much all of the home furnishings in Europe (at the moment, the chair I'm sitting on, the bowl I'm eating cereal out of, and the spoon I'm eating it with all say IKEA on them). And did I mention it's an entire team of Swedish men? Yeah, how could I not like the Swedes?
Jerseys I would consider buying just for the sake of having the name on my back: Shaaban, Majstorovic, Ljungberg, Ibrahimović
The outlook: This will be Sweden's fifth consecutive appearance in the Euro finals, but they have yet to make it past the first knockout round of the tournament. In 2006 they were likewise sent home by Germany in the Round of 16. The story of their qualifying games is somewhat less than inspiring, as they won their first four games, including a 2-0 victory over Spain, but failed to clinch their place in the finals until their very last game, when they beat Latvia 2-1. There's also this somewhat bewildering story accompanying one of their games in Denmark:
Jerseys I would consider buying just for the sake of having the name on my back: Shaaban, Majstorovic, Ljungberg, Ibrahimović
The outlook: This will be Sweden's fifth consecutive appearance in the Euro finals, but they have yet to make it past the first knockout round of the tournament. In 2006 they were likewise sent home by Germany in the Round of 16. The story of their qualifying games is somewhat less than inspiring, as they won their first four games, including a 2-0 victory over Spain, but failed to clinch their place in the finals until their very last game, when they beat Latvia 2-1. There's also this somewhat bewildering story accompanying one of their games in Denmark:
Sweden were awarded a 3-0 win against Denmark in their next game after the qualifier in Copenhagen was abandoned after a Danish spectator attacked the match referee, who had just awarded Sweden a late penalty with the scores level at 3-3.I'm confused. Does this mean that Denmark scored three goals, but then had them all taken away? Officially? Because of the actions of one of their fans? That doesn't seem right at all. (Neither does jumping out of the stands to attack a referee, but that's European football for you.) Anyway, despite this curious gift, Sweden still struggled to qualify and seem primed to get knocked out in the early going once again.
Spain
Iker Casillas - He's definitely not icky.[Getty Images]
What I think: After exhaustively researching Spain's photo gallery, I've determined that they are, almost as a rule, all sexpots. I approve.
Jerseys I would consider buying just for the sake of having the name on my back: Palop, Puyol, Capdevila
The outlook: Spain won the Euro Cup in 1964, but have failed to really make a strong impression since then, perennially exiting in the early rounds. They also bowed out of the 2006 World Cup early, not even making it out of the group stage. They ended their recent qualifying round strongly, recovering from a bad start which saw them take only three points from their first three qualifying games (I don't know what that means, but apparently it's near-disastrous). They eventually finished on top of their qualifying group, and seem to be a popular pick to win it all this year.
Jerseys I would consider buying just for the sake of having the name on my back: Palop, Puyol, Capdevila
The outlook: Spain won the Euro Cup in 1964, but have failed to really make a strong impression since then, perennially exiting in the early rounds. They also bowed out of the 2006 World Cup early, not even making it out of the group stage. They ended their recent qualifying round strongly, recovering from a bad start which saw them take only three points from their first three qualifying games (I don't know what that means, but apparently it's near-disastrous). They eventually finished on top of their qualifying group, and seem to be a popular pick to win it all this year.
Russia
Alexey Berezulski - Russian ballet?[Getty Images]
What I think: After I perfect my German (HA!), I hope to one day learn Russian. I already have a semester's-worth under my belt, which means I can read Cyrillic, albeit only very slowly and with all the emphasis on the wrong syllables, I'm sure. I can also say the sentence, "Thank God I'm going to the circus," which, of course, is useful in any number of situations. I'm practically fluent already! My point is, I'm inclined to like the Russians based on the awesomeness of their language, as well as their high production of NHLers. Unfortunately, in a group full of steamy Mediterranians and darling Scandanavians the Russians are, with a few exceptions, the European football equivalent of Marla Hooch from A League of their Own. (What a hitter!) If they want to win me over, they're going to have to do it with their play. And preferably with only wide-angle camera shots.
Jerseys I would consider buying just for the sake of having the name on my back: Malafeev, Ignashevich, Bilyaletdinov, Pavlyuchenko
The outlook: Well, it looks like the Russians are probably going to have a hard time impressing me on the field, too. They failed to qualify for the 2006 World Cup, and didn't survive the group stage of Euro 2004, which remains their best performance in a Euro Cup to date. (As the USSR, they won the first Cup in 1960, and appeared to two other finals thereafter.) Their performance in their qualifying games was somewhat less than encouraging, as they managed a surprise qualification only because Croatia beat England 3-2 in their last meeting. Well, at least their hockey team are champions, right?
Coming Soon: Day 1, July 7th!
3 comments:
Let's go Sweden, let's go! Let's go Sweden, let's go!
Heh, Heather. I figured that picture of the Hanks would pique your interest!
They do all resemble Hank! And the guy on the left makes me think of Stefan Edberg who was my first real sports crush. I have a long, fruitful history with the Swedes :-D
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