Preview of the Upcoming Euro tournament

We're roughly 24 hours away from one of the most anticipated Euro Cups in a very long time. Some even claim that this tournament will be better than the World Cup, and given the competitiveness of the european sides, I would argue that they have a very valid point in making that statement. There's a couple of clear differences between the Euro Cup and the World Cup. Number 1; having the tournament played entirely on European soil allows for more fans to mobilise and attend the games, preventing empty sections as we were able to see dismally in some matches in South Africa, not to mention, Europeans have a better purchasing power than most parts of the world, and football is the number one priority of all countries participating. Number 2; very few players, if any, play outside of europe, increasing the intensity and quality of play for each team. Number 3; the Euro Cup historically has had less controversial referee mistakes than the World Cup. Of course, I confess that if we were in a World Cup year, I would be pointing out the advantages of the World Cup over the Euro, just because football is football, and I will love the tournament that comes next more than the one that had just passed. Stating that, here's what you all been waiting for, my preview of each group.

Group A Poland, Greece, Russia, Czech Republic

This is probably one of the hardest groups to predict because of how leveled the teams are. Greece managed to surprise everyone in 2004 winning it all and epically beating Portugal in the final in Portugal, but then, they failed to qualify for the World Cup in 2006. Russia looks like the stronger side, but I could honestly argue that anyone of these teams could progress from the group stage, only to then be crushed abysmally by any team in group B in the quarter finals. But since I have to guess, I would have Russia and, why not? Poland, the home side to progress from this group, but I wouldn't put any money on it. That is my forecast for Group A for "Aburrido" (means 'boring' in spanish).

Group B Germany, Netherlands, Portugal, Denmark

 

Poor Denmark, man. Seriously. They have a good team, a bunch of players named Poulsen, played great in qualifiers and their reward is to be grouped against, I would say, the #2, #3 and #4 best teams on the tournament? The only thing worse that could've happened was to make this a 5 team group and throw Spain in there. This is the most exciting group of the Cup on paper. Germany has pretty much the same team they had in South Africa, where they finished in 3rd place, plus a few new young players that have a very bright future. The Netherlands finished 2nd in South Africa, and despite playing terribly in the final against Spain, had an amazing World Cup that saw them eliminate Brazil, one of the tournament favorites. But their form, has dipped since 2010; Sneijder, their playmaker, is a shadow of what he was in 2010, and Robben added another season of "what could've been ..." under his belt by losing another top flight final (Champions League final 2010, World Cup final 2010, Champions League final 2012, at the Allianz, to add insult to injury) and I'm afraid that he will not shake off his ghost this year.
But despite all the amazing talent in this group, all eyes will be on Portugal. Everyone is expecting greatness from C. Ronaldo, arguably the best player on the tournament, as he was able to finally show up in an important game this past season by finally doing what he was paid to do, show up on a major game. If you're not familiar with soccer, C. Ronaldo would be the LeBron James of soccer; unlimited amount of talent, but fails to show up when it matters most. It only took him about 27 matches in 3 years against Barcelona to accomplish his mission, but he finally did it, with a deciding goal against Barcelona at the Camp Nou. Hopefully he has matured enough to put his team and country ahead of himself, because a lot of people along with 11 million Portuguese are looking to him to bring Portugal, the only team in this group not to win the Euro, that shiny big trophy home. This is also a hard group to predict, but I have Germany winning the group with The Netherlands following them right behind, and in fact, I have both of these teams making it to the final.
On a personal note, I do wish that C. Ronaldo will shut me up, by finally rising to the level of his skills, and show the world that he deserves the Ballon d'Or with a display worthy of a Zidane, Kaka or a Ronaldinho. Had he shown character from the beginning, he would've added a world cup, a euro cup, another champions league and a couple of league titles to his resume. This is Group B for 'Bullies'.


Group C Italy, Spain, Ireland, Croatia

Call me ignorant, but I don't recognize most of the players from Ireland and Croatia. But somehow I have a feeling that they will steal points in this tournament and one of these 2 could make a surprise run in the tournament, like Russia did 4 years ago. This group has current World and European Champions Spain, who in my opinion have nothing to prove except how hungry they are. Most people consider them the best national side in a very long time and at the club level, they arguably have the 2 best teams in the world. The motivation for this team? Newcomers that did not win the World Cup and Euro '08 like Mata, Pedro, Silva and Llorente that want to earn their place in the starting lineup for this team. I'm sure they will be deciding matches for Spain in this tournament.
And then we have Italy, in the middle of yet another match fixing scandal just like in 2006, this time including players. Italian Prime Minister said that Italian football should be suspended for 2 or 3 years, of course he said that as a football fan, not as the Prime Minister. Many people are drawing parallels to 2006 that in the middle of the scandal, and the uncertainty of whether these players would play in Serie A or not, made them bond, and as a team won the World Cup in 2006 in the most Italian and dramatic fashion ... from the penalty spot. Back then, it was a different team; Cannavaro and Materazzi played a flawless defense, along with breakout star Grosso and Mr. Wily Fox Zambrotta. Pirlo and Gatusso owned the midfield and Buffon was a wall, who did not concede a single "regular" goal in open play all tournament, except for an own goal and a pk from Mr. Zidane himself, they even managed to win the final with one less player; as somebody forgot to tell Francesco Totti that he was playing in the World Cup Final. This year, I don't see that magic. Especially after a quick World Cup 2 years ago that saw them exiting in the group stage, and could not beat Paraguay, New Zealand and lost to Slovakia.
But I believe that if Cassano replicates his pre-stroke form for the Nazionale, Pirlo brushes some last strokes of artsy brilliance and if nobody touches or looks at Balotelli in a manner that displeases him, Italy could have an epiphany and realize that they can play attacking football and score more than just the winning goal, and they better because with 3 left footed starting defenders, I don't see the typical water-tight defense that Italy is accustomed to present do much good. I have Spain progressing and a miraculous result that will allow Italy to progress as well. Group C for 'Cazzarola' (Italian for 'oh darn').

Group D Ukraine, Sweden, France, England

Ukraine will have a very hard time making it out of the group as hosts against this opposition, and frankly this is Shevchenko's goodbye from international football and it's a shame that his career is ending this way, after much success with Milan and carrying the Ukraine on his back to qualify for the World Cup for the first time in their history in 2006 a very disappointing ending to the career of one of the greatest forwards to step on the pitch. England looks very lackluster, France has a point to prove that they can actually finish a tournament after their dramatic display unprofessionalism in South Africa, and Sweden will look to Ibrahimovic to pull something out of his ... somewhere and help them win matches. Just like Group A, I find it hard to predict who will come out alive. England has a banned Wayne Rooney, who I don't think will matter as he is still waiting for "the right moment" to break out at the national level. I think that time has come and passed considering he's 26, although he looks 45.
France looks a bit more solid as a team although not as many stars as in previous occasions, but I do fancy Ribery and Benzema making the difference in a couple of matches.  The French really need a good tournament after South Africa which saw them not winning a single match in a group against Mexico, South Africa and Uruguay; terrible result for a former world champion. I see France winning this group with Sweden inching right behind them. Group D for 'denouement' (French for 'closure').