Soccer Tournaments

Final - 2008 Round up.

So we finish one of the best ever soccer tournaments on a high, the best team has won and collectively this could be one of the best European tournaments ever. Well done to Spain, who looked very creative going forward but maybe more surprisingly very strong at the back which is no mean feat considering Ramos and Capdevilla were charging up the wings most of the time! Puyol and Marchena forged a decent partnership despite them both looking likely to make a mistake at club level. Although diminutive in stature the midfield of Xavi, Senna, Iniesta and Silva kept possession superbly and once Spain went ahead in a match it was pretty hard to get the ball back off of them. Torres and Villa also showed signs that they will be a strike partnership to fear in the next few tournaments and hopefully the goal in the final will push Torres on to be one of the worlds best. The Torres for Spain is different to the one we see playing for Liverpool. At Anfield he plays with no fear and total confidence in his ability yet when he puts the Spanish shirt on you see a slightly different player, maybe one who is unsure if he deserves his place or gets the support he deserves?

Spain were as entertaining as Germany were robotic. With exception to the midfield, Germany lacked class and really did very well in the end to make it to the final. Klose is a very good striker and if used correctly will score goals but after the Croatia defeat Low seemed to think that playing him up front on his own would work. It didn’t, Klose can convert crosses and play one-two’s but a hold up man he is not.. It took 240 minutes for Low to realise this and as soon as Kuranyi came on to help Klose up front the Germans actually looked like they could get back into the game. This brief soiree into Spains half was soon stopped however and the Germans lacked the quality or inventiveness to create anymore chances. *On a side note perhaps teams that contain Michael Ballack should use him in any match bar a final as his record in matches that matter is really poor*