This post, my friends is going to be a mess. As long as you know that going in, we'll all be okay. Inside, we will break down each competing country's home and away jersey and file it into the categories Good, Bad and WTF. Pretty simple, huh?
For ease of my poorly HTMLing soul, I will only provide links to each shirt instead of trying to force them all into the Blogger template. Trust me, if you've seen how Blogger can mangle posts by screwing up pictures, this is a good thing.
Onwards and upwards, my friends. Here we go.
Group A
Switzerland Home Away Switzerland wear Puma jerseys. In what will quickly become a theme in this post, Puma jerseys all look cookie-cutter. They have a template, switch colors where necessary, and affix the necessary badges. Boring. What I like about the Swiss shirt is the badge. That kind of artsy rendering of their national association where they also fit in the white cross. However, these are Puma jerseys, so the verdict is:
Home and Away: Bad
Czech Republic Home Away Plain. Boring. Go home. I do like the blue piping on the home shirt, and the Czech badge is one of the more interesting entries, full of history, for those into that. But it is simply not enough to overcome the crappiness of being a Puma shirt.
Home and Away: Bad
Portugal Home Away There is something wrong with the Portugal home shirt. We here at UF could not quite put our finger on it, but we hate it. It could be the wrong hue, or it could just be the too tight fit. We hated it all the same. On the other hand, we were much more sympathetic to the white shirt. It looks a lot better, but, in the end, we found it a little plain.
Home and Away: Bad
Turkey Home Away Now we're talking. It may still be a hangover from their unbelievable victory over the Czechs on Sunday, but these are both very nice shirts. The home shirt can look a little like a 'Boro effort, I'm sure, but it dazzles nonetheless. And that away shirt, my goodness. Two teams made solid use of baby blue accents this tournament, and Turkey is one of them.
Home and Away: Good
Group B
Austria Home Away A mixed bag. Once again, we are stuck with Puma templates, but Austria does something a little right here. It's not in the home shirt, really, though it should rate a "meh" instead of its final grade. The winner here is the away shirt. Menacingly black with a little flag flair thrown in at the collar.
Home: Bad; Away: Good
Croatia Home Away Did we even get to see the all-checkerboard shirt yet? I don't recall. You have to give them respect for sticking with such and irritating-to-the-eyes shirt for all of these years. As for the blue away shirt, man, I don't know. And for that, it perfectly fits the WTF category. Safe to say I would not want to sport either one of these walking around my town.
Home and Away: WTF?
Germany Home Away Poor Germany. Forever saddled with a white shirt that they are not entirely happy with, so they fuck around with it. This year's entry feels unbalanced. Too much black in the striping, not enough red or yellow. At least it keeps us away from the away shirt. Seriously, this is not a look for top tier international football. This is a training top. Even though I kind of like the gold stitching on the black background, I hope they never have to wear it.
Home: Bad; Away: WTF?
Poland Home Away Poland, the home of unattractive football. They never looked good playing in the Euros, and these shirts did not help. Blandest of them all.
Home and Away: Bad
Group C
Romania Home Away Romania's shirts this year felt like a throwback to USA '94. Sadly, the team did not perform in the same manner. The worst part of it all is that they totally rip off the New York Cosmos badge. Anyway, 14 years is too soon to do a throwback jersey. Well, I write that, but I can't hate on the home jersey. I like it.
Home: Good; Away: Bad
France Home Away I am not a fan of the extra crap going across the middle of the French home shirt. They do, however, get credit with me by having their flag pop up inside the adidas stripes on the arms. Throw in that nice, newish badge of the rooster and you have a winner. God help me, I like the garish red away shirt as well. Two winners.
Home and Away: Good
Netherlands Home Away The Dutch are always hard to figure out. They have to use that bright orange which pays homage to a royal family line that no one likes. Sometimes they pull it off, and sometimes it is painful. This tournament, they pulled it off, sometimes. The Dutch were the second team to tastefully use Nike's new baby blue accent by pairing the orange shirt with baby blue socks. And it totally worked. However, when they reverted to orange socks yesterday, it all looked horrible. Also, nice try, but you can't work in your flag on the collar without it looking like you won First Grade attendance medals. As for the away shirt, it divides us. But, I'm the one writing here, and I hate it. So, there you go. We do seem to be unified in liking the cyborg numbering though.
Home: Good, with qualifications; Away: WTF?
Italy Home Away Italy stick with the basics. Once again, this is a Puma top, but it's not quite as bad as the red and white ones. This gets a passing grade for the gold at the neck. The away jersey, though, is run of the mill and boring.
Home: Good; Away: Bad
Group D
Spain Home Away I think we were a bit undecided by these. The home jersey is nothing out of the ordinary, but it works well. That light gold away shirt, though, is rather atrocious. Hopefully, Spain will not be required to trot it out on their way to winning this year's tournament.
Home: Good; Away: WTF?
Russia Home Away These had potential, especially the away shirt, but the execution is off. I am all for integrating you nation's flag into the shirt. I don't like it when doing so means that I have to fill in the blanks for you. The white shirt loses the top stripe of the flag and the red shirt loses the bottom stripe of the flag. Why not go with a blue away shirt so that one can easily make out the flag running across the torso? Nike FAIL.
Home: Bad; Away: WTF?
Greece Home Away Thanks for coming and bringing the same kit from 2004. Did you think that would work? Okay, the sublimated flag print on the away shirt is nice, but no dice.
Home and Away: Bad
Sweden Home Away It's always tough to deal with the Swedish shirts. The combo of yellow and blue is a nice one, but they just use too much yellow sometimes. If only I could get a reason to really like a bunch of yellow Swedish shirts. Oh, here's one. The away shirt is a tough one. In some pictures, it looks black, which would be a bold move, but in others it looks navy, which is kind of boring. Still, since Swedish girls will wear them and get pictured in them, they are both winners.
Home and Away: Good
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
The Good, The Bad, The WTF: Euro 2008 Edition
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Euro 2008 Liveblog: Switzerland v. Portugal
My last liveblog of Euro 2008 for a little bit, and I leave you with Switzerland v. Portugal. Bring in the models!
Portuguese model Diana Chaves: Dated Ronaldo (but who hasn't?)
The Switzerland starting XI for coach Jakob Kuhn:
GK - Zuberbuhler
DEF - Magnin (C); Senderos; Muller; Lichtsteiner
MID - Vonlanthen; Inler; Fernandes; Behrami
ST - Yakin; Derdiyok
The Portugal starting XI for coach Luiz Felipe Scolari:
GK - Ricardo
DEF - Ferreira; Alves; Miguel; Pepe
MID - Meira (C); Veloso; Meireles
ST - Quaresma; Postiga; Nani
This match is being played at St. Jakob Park in Basel.
Centre official: Konrad Plautz (AUS)
Assistant referees: Markus Mayr (AUS); Egon Bereuter (AUS) (I guess Venkman couldn't make it)
4th official: Ivan Bebek (CRO)
Switzerland have already been eliminated, and Portugal have already won the group, so there isn't much to play for. In fact, Scolari has sat Deco and Ronaldo for this match, not wanting to risk them.
So, given the circumstances, I am sure that everyone is watching the Turkey-Czech Republic match. But, just in case you weren't able to tape/Tivo/DVR this match, feel free to peruse the liveblog as I abuse myself by sitting through this meaningless match. Don't worry, I'm taping the other match and will watch it immediately after I am done here.
00:01 - And we're off!
00:02 - Hello? Hello? Is this thing in? You're all playing in the other liveblog, aren't you? If you were smart, you would actually watch that game, and read this liveblog at the same time.
01:00 - And the discussion of Big Phil's move to Chelsea purely for the money starts up by the announcers. Apparently, they were listening to Mike Georger.
02:10 - Free kick for Portugal taken by Miguel, but the ball ends up harmlessly at Zuberbuhler's feet. (Insert Ferris Beuller joke here)
04:10 - Magnin pushes Nani off the ball, because Nani weights ~127 pounds. The Portuguese looking discombobulated.
06:38 - Vonlanthen pulls a stepover in front of Miguel, who seems confused by it. The Portuguese counter-attack and the ball comes in to the 6 off a cheeky crossover pass from Quaresma, but Postiga is offsides and puts it over.
07:59 - The Swiss come down the other end, but Ricardo gets to the ball in the air before Vonlanthen.
09:40 - The referee awards a couple of cheap fouls to Portugal, the second after Behrami nudges Quaresma off the ball. Nani takes the ball after the free kick, but the Swiss close him down.
12:18 - The Swiss play the ball in to Yakin, but he is ruled offsides. The Swiss are still going with the All-Turk strike force of Yakin and Derdiyok, so we may see some goals today.
13:40 - Nani dances through the Swiss (cheese!) midfield, but Senderos (really?) clears the ball.
14:40 - Derdiyok dribbles the ball into the box and it takes a deflection of Ferriera, who eventually clears it out. The corner is taken and immediately put out. The second corner results in a half-assed clearance by Ricardo. Behrami takes a follow-up shot, but it is deadened off a Portuguese defender, and Ricardo picks it up.
17:00 - Free kick for Portugal from 40 yards, and the ball comes blistering into the box. Pepe gets a touch, but Zuberbuhler gets a hand on it and the ball goes off the bar and is cleared.
19:10 - Yet another free kick, as Inler dumps Quaresma. The ball is played in to Alves, who heads it toward the goal. Zuberbuhler makes a relatively easy save.
21:48 - Ball driven in by Magnin, but played out for a Swiss throw-in. The ball comes back in and Inler takes a great shot that Ricardo just barely tips over. The ball from the corner is played to the back post and headed down, but Ricardo gets a boot on it.
23:00 - A poor back pass to Zuberbuhler leads to him coming out of net and turning the ball over . Nani puts the ball into Postiga at the 6, but Senderos clears the weak shot.
24:30 - Miguel turns the ball over in midfield, but Vonlanthen makes a mess of the steal with a poor shot.
25:40 - Tommy Smyth tells us, perhaps for the 17th time this tournament, that Vonlanthen is the youngest player to ever score at the Euro when he put one in 4 years ago.
26:42 - More like the Gunner we know, Senderos fouls Nani (that sounds familiar). The resulting free kick is taken by Nani and the ball curls in to Zuberbuhler, who was fouled by Postiga. Apparently, Yakin was giving a yellow card for dissent after the foul, before the kick was taken.
28:01 - Yakin puts in a beautiful ball from a free kick 40 yards out, but Senderos is unable to get a boot on it, and the ball crosses the end line.
28:52 - Ferreira picks up a yellow card for a brutal tackle that catches Behrami (whom Tommy Smyth identifies as Derdiyok) directly in the boot.
31:00 - Yakin takes the free kick, which Ricardo punches out for a corner. The ball comes in from the corner to Yakin, who heads the ball with venom towards the goal, but Ricardo makes a brilliant save.
Precious Roy raises an interesting question. Despite not needing a result, will Big Phil's ego want a win so badly that he inserts Ronaldo if the match is still tied? And if he does, will someone then foul him maliciously and viciously?
35:30 - The Swiss are now booinh Ferreira every time he touches the ball. After some midfield play, the ball gets to Postiga who comes in one-on-one and puts it past Zuberbuhler. He is called offsides, but replays indicate that he was onside. No goal.
36:44 - Yellow card for Vonlanthen after he slams the ball down due to a (in his mind) poor call. He will miss the next match (which is non-existent) for the Swiss.
39:21 - Very long ball down the left side for Derdiyok, but Pepe gets there first and ushers the ball over the touchline.
40:21 - Ferreira off, Ribeiro on for Portugal (Carlton plays for the Portuguese?)
42:33 - Nani goes down in the box, but the referee gives him a wry smile and shakes his head. If it was such a dive, why not give him a yellow? Replays show that his shirt was tugged, but I doubt it was hard off enough to make him fly off his feet the way that he did.
44:20 - Inler has to come off the pitch, as he caught an elbow from Postiga that opened a cut above his eye.
45:00 (+02:05) - HALF-TIME. Switzerland 0 - Portugal 0.
Tommy informs us in a shocked voice that Brazil trails Paraguay 1-0 in a World Cup qualifier.
45:00 - And we're off again!
45:09 - Quick shots in succession from Inler and Vonlanthen, with Ricardo holding on to the second shot.
46:05 - Cross from Nani, but Meireles whiffs on his shot.
47:30 - Cross from Yakin is headed by Vonlanthen, but the ball goes wide right of the goal.
48:21 - Free kick for Portugal from 40 yards comes to Postiga, who heads it wide. Postiga was offsides anyway.
49:18 - Pressure down the right side from Behrami results in a cross in to the 6, but Ricardo deals with it well.
50:12 - After a foul by Ribeiro on Yakin, the Swiss free kick is hit directly to Ricardo.
51:19 - Derdiyok with some pressure, but he pokes it through directly on to Ricardo. The Swiss are getting the better of the pressure so far in this half.
52:10 - Meireles plays the ball through to Veolos, who sends a ball to Nani. The youngster puts the shot off the post and it goes wide.
56:30 - After Magnin gets called for a foul on Quaresma, he grabs his face claiming that Quaresma caught him with a boot. Replay shows that it was more of a slap.
57:54 - Senderos loses the ball and Quaresma blasts a shot, but Zuberbuhler punches it clear. The ball comes back in, but Postiga is offsides.
60:13 - Vonlanthen off, Barnetta on for Switzerland.
61:20 - Inler dances down the left side and plays the ball in to Barnetta, whose touch is put wide. The ball is played in to the 6 off the corner and comes back out, but Ribeiro fouls Barnetta. A quickly-taken free kick goes wide of the net.
63:30 - Ribeiro receives a yellow card for clipping Lichtsteiner.
63:50 - The ball gets played around the edge of the box from Behrami, and it falls to Inler who blasts a shot off the post.
67:20 - Yet more pressure from Barentta and Yakin, but the Swiss can't capitalize.
70:00 - Moutinho on, Veloso off for Portugal.
70:30 - GOAL! Switzerland 1 - Portugal 0. The Portuguese make a mess of a clearance, and a beautiful ball is played through to Yakin, who megs Ricardo for the goal.
73:00 - Postiga off, Almeida on for Portugal.
76:00 - A turnover at midfield leads to a break for Portugal, but Quaresma's attempt to play the ball back in to the middle goes off the defender and directly to Zuberbuhler.
77:49 - Yellow card to Meira for jumping on someone's back. Senderos sends the free kick directly to Portugal. The ball comes in the other direction and Quaresma sends a ball towards the goal that Senderos clears.
80:30 - Some shenanigans that I missed because ESPN cut to the other game for a replay of the Turkish goal, but Miguel (POR) and Barnetta (SUI) are both awarded a yellow card.
81:38 - GOAL! Switzerland 2 - Portugal 0. Barnetta is taken down in the box by Meira, and a PK is awarded (a little softly, I might add). Yakin takes the PK and blasts it home past Ricardo (who dove in the right direction). Hard shot into the upper-left 90.
84:03 - Portugal free kick comes in directly to Zuberbuhler, and the Portuguese are livid about not getting a foul called. Also, Lichtsteiner was subbed off for Switzerland, but it's not clear who came on.
85:15 - Yakin off, Cabanas on for Switzerland.
87:50 - Nani, after a bit of dancing along the touchline, is dumped. The resulting free kick is cleared easily by the Swiss.
Tommy Smyth just referred to a "Jason Timberlake" - what a hip dude.
89:49 - Free kick for Portugal is played, but Alves is called for climbing up the back of a Swiss defender.
90:00 (+01:11) - After a shot from Derdiyok, Fernandes cuts down Quaresma in the middle of the pitch and is awarded a yellow card.
90:00 (+02:05) - FULL TIME. Switzerland 2 - Portugal 0.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Euro Trash Day 5: "90th minute substitution"
Today we saw our first team eliminated from the tournament, a relegation-style scrum played in a monsoon, and even more off field drama from Portugal. Lets recap, after the jump.
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Euro 2008 Liveblog: Switzerland v. Turkey
Swiss models: Sultry
Turkish models: Likely to be thrown in prison.
Once again, join me after the jump for line-ups and shenanigans.
The starting roster for the Switzerland:
GK - Benaglio
DEF - Magnin (C), Senderos, Muller, Lichtsteiner
MID - Barnetta, Fernandes, Inler, Behrami
ST - Hakan Yakin, Derdiyok
The starting roster for the Turks:
GK - Volkan Demirel
DEF - Altintip, Asik, Cetin, Baita
MID - Gokdeniz-Karadeniz, Metin, Aurelio, Turan
ST - Kahveci (C), Tuncay Sanli
Repeat warning: In order to watch the game in HD and live-blog at the same time, I am running things on my laptop, using my wireless network. So, any outages in updates are due to my running upstairs to power-cycle my router. You've been warned.
Second live-blog of the day, second masturbation comment related to my wireless network. I'm frightened.
00:00 - As Goat has noted, ESPN is all over the argy-bargy from the last time these two teams met. To be fair, the chance of another fight is the most captivating part of this match.
Apparently, the Swiss have Gary Gygax on the bench. I do not think that he will be very useful - he's not very mobile.
00:01 - And we're off!
00:15 - Senderos commits a foul. Kill me now.
01:00 - Turkey with the first corner of the game, but it leads to nothing.
02:37 - Giants WR Plaxico Burress says that he will not practice until his contract is finalized. Wait, what?
03:35 - Long ball to Magnin, and the Swiss captain is offside by approximately 230 yards.
05:01 - The first Turkish shot on goal is an easy save for Benaglio. The Turks have had the greater possession so far.
Call me fey, but I'm actually digging the Turks' baby blue shorts/socks.
08:47 - Deep ball by Turan into the box, but Benaglio gets up for the catch.
10:11 - Yet another long ball over the top by the Swiss, but Yakin is unable to catch up. HE'S THROWING THE MATCH!
12:10 - A good shot of how hard it's raining in Basel for this match. The poor turf conditions favor the Turks, as the Swiss are too orderly to enjoy it.
14:40 - Free kick for the Swiss, and Yakin delivers a dangerous ball which falls all the way to Demirel.
16:00 - Fernandes fouls Turan from behind, leading to a Turk free kick from 40 yards. The ball is played around the midfield until Metin is fouled, leading to a second free kick. The ball is delivered from 35 yards by Kahveci, but it curls very wide.
19:00 - Shot on goal from Inler, but Demirel deals with it well, considering the conditions.
22:10 - Senderos attempts a clearance and it lands at the feet of Balta. The ensuing ball played in towards Benaglio results in a clusterfuck, and nothing comes of it.
23:00 - On the counter-attack, Yakin gets off a nice strike which is parried to the side by Demirel. The resulting corner comes out to Magnin, who is fouled by Karadeniz, leading to a dangerous free kick from 25 yards. The dead ball results in a shot on goal by Barnetta, saved by Demirel. The ensuing corner from Yakin is poor, and played out by the Turks.
The pitch is getting increasingly soggy, leading to sloppy tackles and poor touch on the ball. If the English had qualified, it's the type of weather that they would enjoy.
27:30 - Turkey draws a free kick right on the line to the right of Benaglio's goal, although it looked to be a bit of a dive. The free kick by Kahveci is drilled into the 6, and Benaglio tips the ball off Turan's head, on to the post, and out.
30:00 - Kahveci shows the ref that his jersey was ripped on a scrum off a dead ball, but the ref seems indifferent. As the ref is ignoring Kahveci, Tuncay comes in from behind on Inler, resulting in our first yellow card, which displeases the captain Kahveci even more.
31:30 - GOAL! Switzerland 1 - Turkey 0. After a quick restart the ball is sent over the top to Derdiyok, who plays it across the goal mouth. Despite being stopped by a puddle in front of goal, Yakin gets on the end and puts it in. 2 players of Turkish descent link up for the goal against Turkey.
34:00 - Yakin receives a cross right in front of goal, but the pitch causes the ball to skip and he mis-hits it out of bounds.
The pitch at this point is literally a bog - any passes on the ground are slowed down almost to a stop by the amount of water. Although there are no flashes of lightning, if the water keeps coming down this hard, the game may be abandoned. Right now the style of play is along the lines of Portsmouth (Switzerland) - Blackburn (Turkey) game, with Pompey having stolen a goal.
36:30 - Yakin called offside coming in alone on Demirel, but the call appears questionable.
With their jerseys being white and tight, this rain is doing wonders for the photo-model opportunities of the Turkish team.
39:41 - Long free kick into the box from Altintop, but Benaglio is sure-handed. Worth a try, since the ball is wet and Benaglio had to be very secure.
40:34 - Yellow card to Aurelio for fouling Behrami from behind. A very questionable card, as Behrami had lost the ball due to the poor pitch and Aurelio barely touched him. The resulting free kick is hit into the wall by Yakin.
44:20 - Derdiyok with a nice backheel for Behrami, but once again the pitch slows down the ball and kills the attack.
And the first half ends. The pitch is really poor at this point - the players will definitely need to change studs/boots. The biggest effect of the rain is likely to be felt by the GKs - on several occasions Benaglio has come out for a long ball for Turkey on the ground only to realize that the pitch had slowed the ball to the point that it wouldn't reach him. At this rate I wouldn't be surprised to see a GK come out for a save and get beaten because the ball slowed down to the point where another striker was able to get onto it.
Every time Julie Foudy says something stupid, God kills a kitten.
45:00 - Karadeniz and Metin off for Senturk and Topal for Turkey.
45:34 - Turkey with a quick ball over the top, cleared for a corner. The resulting ball is shite, and knocked out for a Turk throw.
46:30 - Durdiyok draws a foul by splitting two Turkish defenders, but the free kick is also shite. The Turk counter-attack results in a foul by Inler. The ball in by Kahveci is handled by Balta, which results in a yellow for the Turk.
The rain seems to have slowed down quite a bit, but there is absolutely no chance of the pitch drying off.
49:55 - Barnetta makes a nice run to the end line, but is dispossessed. The goal kick is long to Turan, but he immediately turns the ball back over.
51:50 - Through ball for Senturk, but he is offside. The resulting dead ball is sent long to Yakin, but he commits a foul to get into position.
54:20 - A long ball to Durdiyok goes toward the touch line, and he slides in and gets a piece of Altintip. Yellow card to Durdiyok.
56:00 - GOAL! Switzerland 1 - Turkey 1. Turan sends in a brilliant cross and Senturk (the substitute) heads the ball past Benaglio, who gets a hand on it (but not enough).
58:00 - The Swiss almost respond immediately, with a long ball headed down to Yakin's feet, although he puts the shot off the defender. The resulting cross is taken, but tempers are starting to flare as Magnin is dragged down in the box. The kick is re-taken, and it takes Demeril 2 punches to clear it.
60:00 - The ball is played off the Turks for a corner, which is cleared out to Magnin, who fires a shot wide.
63:00 - Service into the box from Inler, headed on to the goal by Derdiyok. Demeril makes the save look more difficult than it really was.
64:00 - A botched clearance by the Swiss leads to a shot from Tuncay, but he puts it wide.
Big Phil Scolari named Chelsea manager.
65:30 - Vonlanthen on for Barnetta for the Swiss.
66:30 - Kahveci takes a shot which caroms off Senderos' arm, leading to shouts for a hand-ball. Good no-call there, as Senderos had his arms in tight to his body, attempting to move them out of the way. The resulting corner is headed out by Asik.
68:00 - A brilliant run by Vonlanthen around 3 Turkish players, with the ball then played across the pitch to Durdiyok, and then to Yakin. Yakin's ball into the 6 yard box leads to a foul by the Swiss.
70:05 - Build-up by the Swiss results in a shot on goal by Inler, which is deflected. The AR and ref fail to notice, and award a goal kick, which Demeril manages to take from an incorrect spot (i.e. not on the 6-yard line). Are the Turks playing for a tie?
72:00 - Another brilliant run from Vanlanthen, but he is unable to cross the ball. In the scrum, Cetin picks up a knock and stays down for approximately 17 minutes.
73:00 - A great run on to the ball from Tuncay, who plays it across the goal mouth to Kahveci. Unfortunately, the captain falls one step short and is unable to get there in time.
75:00 - Cabanas on for Fernandes for the Swiss.
75:43 - Ball played out wide to Tuncay, but his pass back through the middle is cleared. The ball only goes out to midfield, and is played back in, leading to a foul. Tuncay takes the resuling free kick and puts it 19 yards over the bar.
78:12 - Cabanas plays the ball through for Lichtsteiner (first we've heard of him all match), who is run off the ball for a goal kick.
79:09 - Turkey once again applying pressure, and the ball is played from Altintop to Aurelio at the 18, but his shot is deflected.
80:24 - Cross into the box from Turkey, but it's too close to Benaglio. His punt is given right back to Turkey, who bring the ball back into the box only to have Kahveci commit a foul.
82:18 - Hand-ball committed by Vonlanthen 35 yards out. Kahveci takes the free kick and it pushed directly to the Swiss who counter in numbers. Vonlanthen receives the ball from Senderos and it comes out to Yakin whose shot is blocked by Demeril, who also blocks (and smothers) the follow-up shot.
84:36 - Kazim on for Kahveci for Turkey. Gygax on for Yakin for Switzerland.
85:48 - Corner for the Swiss comes out to Inler, who is fouled 20 yards out. The resulting free kick is taken by Magnin and it comes off the top of the wall. The ensuing corner comes too close to Demeril, who punches it out. The ball is played back in to Senderos, but he is offside.
88:45 - After a brief attack from Tuncay, Kazim commits a foul. Play goes in the other direction, and the Swiss win a throw-in off of Altintop's clearance.
4 minutes of stoppage time, and for the 4th time this match a Turkish player is bleeding. Asik is stretchered off, but Turkey has no subs left.
90:00 (+01:30) - Asik back on looking like an extra from Saving Private Ryan. The ball goes over the top to Cabanas, but Demeril is out quickly. The Turks counter-attack quickly.
90:00 (+02:00) - GOAL! Switzerland 1 - Turkey 2. Off the counter-attack, Turan receives the ball and strikes it well. It takes a deflection off a Swiss defender and dips in over Benaglio.
And that's it! Game over - after leading 1-0, Switzerland is eliminated from Euro 2008, and are now relegated to merely hosting.
That's it for today, kids. Tomorrow's games will be live-blogged (live-bloge?) by a Spurs supporter, but be nice to him anyway. I'll be back on Friday for the 2nd round of Group of Death matches.
Saturday, June 7, 2008
Euro 2008 Live Blog: Switzerland v. Czech Republic
It's finally here, the first match of Euro 2008 pitting co-host Switzerland against a strong Czech Republic squad from St. Jakob Park in Basel, Switzerland. I am thoroughly excited about the tournament, although I won't likely be able to watch every single minute of each match like I did with World Cup 2006. Stupid jobs and needing to make money.
This match has the potential to be a scoreless draw. The Swiss are known for keeping a tight back line having been ousted from the last World Cup without allowing a goal. The Czech team is led by its all-world keeper Petr Cech. But, the Czech team is missing some of its offensive firepower with Tomas Rosicky out injured and Pavel Nedved retired.
After the jump, the lineups
Czech Rep.
Petr Cech-G; Marek Jankulovski-D, Tomas Ujfalusi-D, David Rozehnal-D, Zdenek Grygera-D; David Jarolim-M, Libor Sionko-M, Tomas Galasek-M, Jaroslav Plasil-M, Jan Polak-M; Jan Koller-F
Switzerland
Diego Benaglio-G; Patrick Müller-D, Ludovic Magnin-D, Philippe Senderos-D, Stephan Lichtsteiner-D; Tranquillo Barnetta-M, Valon Behrami-M, Fernandes Gelson-M, Gokhan Inler-M; Alexander Frei-F, Marco Streller-F
0:00 The match is underway, but you know what sucks...not having ESPN Classic and only getting an Asian language feed. Gotta find something better.
6:00 Seriously, this is annoying. Compounded by some domestic disorder this morning, my day is not starting well.
Not even a fucking clock...Jeeezzus!!
16:00 Now it's french...I don't fucking speak french. Bastards.
20:00 Swiss Mister Frei with a nice touch on to free his teammate for a shot on Cech. But, the effort was lacking and Cech easily smothered it.
22:00 Wow! That was some pathetic defense on the Czech squad. Allowing the ball to bounce over his head letting Frei free, but Cech again saved the team coming off his line.
25:00 That was an ambitious effort from Sionko for Czech Rep. An off-balance turn at the 18 with no pace on the shot. Good idea.
27:00 The Czech squad seems to be having trouble stringing anything together. Just trying to power it in without any strategy right now. They should fix that.
30:00 Seriously, the Czech strategy seems to be hump the ball upfield and (1) shoot or (2) try to get it to Koller's head. Now, Koller is tall and it worked against the US two years ago, but really?
34:00 Foul on Fernandes. His name definitely sounds Swiss.
35:00 If Koller had been 6 inches taller, he would be playing basketball, but he might have been able to get his head on that. Who am I kidding, he would have had to be faster and younger. Tough to get to when your old as the alps.
36:00 The Swiss offense finally reappeared with an excellent long-range shot that Cech could only parry away but there were Swiss attackers in the area, that were offside. Lucky for the Cech.
41:00 The lone creative force in this match, Alex Frei, is down and has to come off to the sideline after a Czech player came in on a tackle and twisted his knee. Hopefully he can make a Paul Pierce like comeback. Otherwise, this match is going to be even less tolerable.
45:00 Well, we have our first man tears as Frei sheds a few as he walks back to the lockerroom with his knee wrapped in ice. This doesn't look good.
Halftime 0-0 Well, at least there have been a few opportunities.
So, is horseracing that popular that ESPN needs to cover all the races prior to the Belmont Stakes this morning rather than putting soccer on a channel that just about all cable systems in the US have? Just curious. I mean, there is only so many times I can stand to watch Big Brown bucking in his security stable this morning and hearing the question "Is this going to affect him?"...No you fucking asshole, it won't and if it does will it change your bet? Not likely you fucking degenerate gambler.
46:00 So Frei is off, Hakin Yakin is on for him. Bummer.
Precious Roy writes:The real reason soccer will never be huge in this country?
Every time there is good buzz for the sport off something like the CL final, the very next match that people might tune in to is invariably something like this.
Thankfully this match is only on ESPN Classic. Those bastards.
47:00 A nice set play for the Swiss off the corner that gets Cech on the ground for the save.
That was a nice overhead camera shot prior to the corner. Like thos NFL sky cams. I'd like to see more of those shots.
51:00 Yakin has impacted the match since he stepped on the pitch. He is looking very dangerous.
In case your interested, Piazza de Spagna won the MSG Network Purse just now. Congratulations. Now switch over to a soccer match ESPN, you wankers.
57:00 Sverkos on for Koller...hopefully this will keep them away from Route 1 football.
59:00 Magnin, the new Swiss captain, becomes the first player booked in the tourney on a late tackle from behind.
60:00 Sionko gets a head on the ensuing free kick but it goes just wide right. A good opportunity and Sionko continues to impress.
62:00 Lichtsteiner made a nice run to the corner with the ball and weighted a nice cross to the middle of the box that Bernetta skied. I would really like to see a goal. But, nobody seems to have the finishing quality.
65:00 Yakin proves dangerous again getting his head on a cross but it goes wide right.
67:00 Frei comes out from the lockerroom on crutches. What a disappointment to suffer the injury. I hope it's not too serious.
71:00 GOALLLLL!!! 1-0 C.R. The sub Sverkos scores for Czech on some bad defending. The line let him slip by as the ball was chipped over and he loped onto into easily putting it in the right corner.
That's the first goal the Swiss have conceded in an international tournament since 2004.
75:00 Vanlanthen on for Lichtsteiner, who played well, and then Vanlanthen gets a yellow immediately. Well done, well done.
78:00 How unlucky can Switzerland get. They had Cech beaten with a rebound on a shot but the woodwork still beat them.
By the way, it looks like TIET was serious that she would turn off the match if Frei was out. Haven't seen hide nor hair of her since halftime. She is a principled woman.
82:00 Sionko off for Vlcek. I'd like to give this guy one of Sionko's vowels.
I think Magnin was an extra on the Caveman show.
87:00 Jarolim on for Kovac. I'm not going to even pretend I know a single thing about these guys. My Froot Loops have been more interesting than the end of this match. Did you know it has a new "Darkberry" Froot Loop? that might be mildly racist.
90:00 3 Minutes of stoppage time. I must say Cech hasn't looked great. He gave up an easy corner there and just seems out of synch.
90:00 +2 Hey, Shaq's at the Belmont Stakes. Is somebody going to ride him in the race?
Goal scorer Sverkos gets the stretcher after he ran into a Swiss ass. No, I don't mean Senderos.
90:00 +5: Barnetta gets booked and we have the final whistle. Czech Republic has to be happy with the win but somewhat concerned with their lack of offense. While, the Swiss are probably pretty down after losing Frei and creating the majority of the chances but failing to capitalize.
Well, see you all in about an hour for the next match between Portugal and Turkey.
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