Euro 2008 Liveblog: Germany v. Spain

Okay kids, this is it! You know where we stand in terms of predictions, but we have yet to hear from you clowns. Let's get some suggestions in early, before the match gets too far underway. Germany v. Spain! Wienerschnitzel v. tapas. Berlin v. Barcelona. BMW v...Oh well. Hopefully you are in a good mood and ready for today's match. Personally, I am ecstatic, as I have been watching Landon Donovan cry in HD thanks to the abuse heaped upon him and the LA Galaxy by DC United. After the jump, all the details.



The starting XI for Joachim Low's German squad:

GK: Lehmann (tee-hee; all EPL fans assume at least 1 howler is in order)
DEF: Friedrich; Mertesacker; Metzelder; Lahm
MID: Hitzlsperger; Ballack (C); Frings; Podolski; Schweinsteiger
ST: Klose

Notes on Germany: Obviously, the big news here is that Ballack is fit and will start, although talk has immediately turned to whether he was simply providing a pre-made excuse in the case of a poor performance. Germany plays a modified 4-5-1, which in practice resembles a 4-3-3, with Podolski and Schweinsteiger both acting as offensive midfielders/defensive forwards.

The starting XI for Luis Aragones' Spain squad:

GK: Casillas (C)
DEF: Sergio Ramos; Marchena; Puyol; Capdevila
MID: Senna; Iniesta; Xavi Hernandez; Silva; Fabregas (finally!)
ST: Torres

Notes on Spain: The Spanish side plays a 4-1-4-1, with Senna acting as the lone defensive midfielder. Also, Aragones is a racist.

The match is being played at Ernst-Happel Stadion in Vienna, Austria.

Centre official: Roberto Rosetti (ITA)
Assistant referees: Alessandro Griselli (ITA); Paolo Calcagno (ITA)
4th official: Peter Frojdfeldt (SWE)


Is anyone out there, or am I blogging with myself?


00:01 - And we're off!

01:00 - Throw-in from Torres put out, resulting in a throw for Ze Germans.

01:50 - The boobirds come out as Spain opens up very timidly, moving the ball in their defensive third of the pitch.

02:55 - Bad touch from Ramos forced by Schweinsteiger, but Klose is unable to get off a shot.

03:43 - Long ball from Silva, but Torres is offside.

04:27 - More offense from the Germans, as Podolski plays Lahm at the endline, but he is unable to cross the ball in-bounds.

05:56 - Sergio Ramos pushes forward, and the ball eventually gets to Capdevila, who is about 28 yards offsides.

06:59 - Ballack gets loose on the left around Puyol, but the ball served across the goal doesn't find anyone waiting for it.

08:24 - Klose pushes the ball into the middle for Hitzlsperger, but the quiet midfielder gets off a very weak shot. Too easy for Casillas.

09:16 - The Germans are moving the ball much better than the Spaniards. The crowd is still booing, although that might be residual from Enrique Iglesias' performance.

10:54 - Poor ball forward for the Spaniards, and Torres and Mertesacker get tangled up. No foul, as the ball was already firmly in Lehmann's hands.

11:10 - Klose earns a corner. The resulting kick by Schweinsteiger is punched out by Casillas, straight to the Germans. Frierich delivers a ball into the box which is grabbed by Casillas.

12:29 - Torres is fouled by Lahm, but the Spaniards play the resulting kick back into the midfield. They are very tentative.

13:50 - Torres drives the ball into Iniesta, but it comes off Metzelder, which forces Lehmann into an excellent save. The corner is played short to Iniesta, back to Xavi, who puts forth a poor cross.

16:09 - Spanish free kick from 35 yards, and the ball goes directly to Lehmann. Very poor effort.

Ed's note: I am not impressed by Torsten Frings' tale of pain. I once broke 3 ribs in the first game of my rec season, and played 3 more games before I realized it. Suck it, Torsten!

18:51 - Deep ball from Silva to Torres, and Metzelder hacks at Torres resulting in a free kick. The ball from Xavi finds Torres, who heads it over the goal.

21:26 - Ballack fouls Xavi as he passes the ball to Cesc. The free kick is played back to the Spanish midfield, and then back forward for Fabregas. He gets it to Torres, who puts it off the post and Sergio Ramos and Capdevila both muff chances at the follow.

24:11 - Podolski earns a corner. Schweinsteiger puts in a ball that is too low, but his second ball comes out to the far post. Ballack receives the ball and fires the ball into Xavi. On the Spanish break-out, Lehmann goofs and has to put the ball out. The resulting throw-in leads to a low shot taken cleanly by Jens.

26:23 - Klose plays the ball through to Podolski, but he is unable to find Hitzlsperger in the middle.

During discussion of NASCAR, we find out that Andy Gray was treating a lady-friend to some shopping yesterday. Fascinating!

28:28 - Ballack is fouled by Senna, and Lahm takes the free kick quickly, but the Spanish take control.

28:51 - Torres gets loose, but Metzelder is able to track him down and put the ball out. The corner kick is played in, but the Spaniards are called for a foul in the box (Sergio Ramos).

30:21 - Silva plays the ball out, resulting in a throw for Lahm. Silva has some words for the AR, who doesn't seem interested. The ball comes back out to Fabregas, who puts in a low shot that is taken cleanly by Lehmann.

32:20 - GOAL! Spain 1 - Germany 0. Torres gets loose once again, this time darting between two German defenders (Lahm and Mertesacker). Lehmann comes out for it, but Torres pokes it over him.

34:10 - Iniesta gets forward and plays the ball to Silva, who puts it way over the goal. The Spaniards have their tails up.

35:11 - Ballack is bleeding, although it's not clear where the cut came from. Ah, it appears it was a head-butt from Senna.

36:01 - Schweinsteiger draws a free kick at 30 yards out. The kick is played into the box, but it skies over the bar.

The replays really demonstrate just how brilliant the goal was from Torres. He beats 2 German defenders (one of whom, Lahm, is arguably the team's best) with his speed, and then beats Lehmann with a smart touch.

37:49 - Ballack fouls Fabregas, and is then sent off again for blood streaming down his face.

39:11 - Schweinsteiger is fouled by Capdevila, although it's a soft call. Hitzlsperger plays the ball into the box, but the ref calls it back since he hadn't blown the whistle. The stoppage actually gives Ballack a chance to get back in. The second kick is played into the box and put out by Senna for a corner. The third kick of this series is played out by Casillas, directly to the Germans, who earn another corner. That ball is played out to the top of the box, and played out by Xavi before Hitzlsperger can perform the bicycle kick.

41:31 - Ballack gets involved in an altercation, and Casillas comes flying out of net to push him away. They both earn a yellow card for their trouble.

43:18 - Free kick for Spain near midfield, and it gets played all the way back to Casillas. Fabregas moves forward with the ball, but is dispossessed by Schweinsteiger. The ball is played into Metzelder, but the Spanish respond well, and get the ball up to Iniesta, who earns a corner. The resulting kick is played short to Senna, who eventually plays it into the box. Sergio Ramos goes down trying to earn a PK, but the ref waves it off.

45:00 (+01:00) - Halftime. Spain 1 - Germany 0 on a brilliant goal from Torres.

u75 has posited that all which Ballack has contributed today is chipping at the ankles of the Spaniards, which is a bit unfair. He has also bled on them.

45:00 - Friedrich off, Jansen on for Germany to start the half. CORRECTION - It's Lahm who is off.

46:01 - Klose goes down in a heap after a pass from Frings, but he was offsides.

48:09 - Fabregas to Iniesta, but Frings recovers the ball and is then fouled. Andy Gray isn't happy with the call.

49:01 - Torres is taken down, but no foul is given. Andy Gray disagrees with this call also.

50:09 - Torres is caught offsides, and Klose takes a boot to the coinpurse.

Signal to Noise has put in a vote for Senna as "best under-the-radar player" for the tournament. Luis Aragones doesn't think that he should be eligible, since he is black.

52:46 - Fabregas to Torres to Xavi, who puts the shot wide.

53:29 - Corner for Spain, as apparently Lehmann got a hand onto the ball. The kick comes out to Silva, who puts a shot on goal. Sergio Ramos tries to redirect the shot, but it goes wide.

54:43 - Xavi slides the ball through for Torres, but Lehmann comes out quickly and manages to make the save this time.

56:58 - Frings tackles Iniesta, who goes down in a heap. Looked worse than it actually was.

57:22 - Karanyi on, Hitzlsperger off for Germany. Karanyi will play up top with Klose.

57:49 - Good build-up from Spain, and ends up with Sergio Ramos putting the ball across the goal mouth and over the endline.

59:00 - Puyol coughs up the ball, and it comes to Schweinsteiger who touches it for Ballack. The shot goes just wide, hitting the side netting.


59:11 - Karanyi is called offside, but he looked to be even.

60:01 - Torres goes down after a kiss from Metzelder, and the crowd boos. No foul is called. The counter-attack comes out to Ballack, who crosses for Karanyi. Casillas barely manages to get to it.

61:23 - Schweinsteiger plays a beautiful ball for Klose, but Sergio Ramos guides it out. The Spanish counter-attack results in Torres being taken down, but the free kick goes nowhere. The Germans attack again, but Schweinsteiger puts the ball out off Klose.

62:54 - Fabregas off, Xabi Alonso on for the Spaniards in a defensive move.

63:01 - A bit of the argy-bargy as Silva and Podolski jaw at each other. Silva barely moves his head, and Podolski immediately grabs his eye. The ref ignores everyone, particularly Ballack who is trying to get a red for Silva.

65:49 - The ball comes off Metzelder's hand, resulting in a free kick. The ball is played into the box, and Sergio Ramos gets off a blistering header that is stopped by Jens.

67:01 - The resulting corner is played quickly, and the shot comes tearing in but Frings clears it off the post. The ball makes its way back to Iniesta, who pokes it towards Jens. The save is made, and Spain earn a throw-in.

69:40 - Jansen earns a free kick by running into Sergio Ramos' back. The ball is played by Frings into the box, but Casillas punches it clear.

71:48 - Casillas is bent over in some pain. It may be stomach or groin pain, but it's more likely a jammed finger.

Apparently, I missed a substitution, since Cazorla is running around the pitch for for Spain. Possibly on for Marchena.

73:33 - Torres earns a yellow card for an accidental headbutt of Metzelder. Poor decision by the referee.

75:00 - Torres gets loose, but his touch to get around Mertesacker is too heavy and goes directly to Jens.

76:10 - Good pressure from Spain, but Torres is unable to get past the German defense. The ball is played out for a corner, which results in nothing.

77:25 - Guiza on, Torres off for Spain. Gomez on, Klose off for Germany.

78:00 - Lehmann gets away with playing the ball off his arm just outside the box. The ball bounces around midfield, and the Spaniards come back with Iniesta to Xavi to Capdevila, who puts a shot low directly at Lehmann. The Germans try to counter with Schweinsteiger in space where Capdevila should be defending, but it comes to nothing.

80:50 - The Spaniards attack again, and Guiza heads the ball back toward Senna, who just misses scoring the killing goal.

82:00 - Guiza comes down 1-on-4, and draws a corner. The resulting kick is useless. Germany play the ball out, but it comes back to Senna who is fouled. Xavi puts the ball over the bar.

86:00 - Karanyi offsides as the Germans continue to push.

87:01 - Yellow card for Karanyi for a late tackle.

89:58 - Late German pressure, but Gomez fouls Capdevila.

90:00 (+00:55) - Podolski takes the ball off Capdevila, but is unable to find Gomez.

90:00 (+01:24) - Xavi takes the ball into the corner, and then to Cazorla, who lays it off to Xabi Alonso. Long kick from Lehmann and the Spaniards earn a free kick.

90:00 (+02:25) - Throw-in for Germany in their own end. Lehmann almost gives the ball right back to them, but Schweinsteiger plays the ball long. Puyol gets a head on it, and sends Metzelder to the turf at the same time. No foul called, and the whistle blows after Casillas' kick.

90:00 (+03:00) - FULL TIME. Spain 1 - Germany 0.