Major European football – part 1

Author: VK

The main football event in 2012 will take place in less than twenty-four hours. This article opens a series of materials dedicated to the European Championship which is about to start on the football pitches of Poland and Ukraine.

Group A

Greece

The Greek team became European champions for the first time in their history in 2004. Even for the most devoted fans of this team it was quite unexpected; however, this victory took place. Eight years later it is hardly likely to repeat. Firstly, only a few members of this team are playing in the current one. Secondly, there are no favorites in Group A: each team of this quartet has a chance of losing.

The Greek defense is strong, but the team has some problems with its attack. They have got Samaras and Salpingidis. But neither of them is good for the role of forward. Both the players score goals so rarely that the managers of the team had to bring Gekas who is quite experienced back to the team, though he announced the end of his career just before the qualifiers.

The Greek team prefers keeping it tight at the back and relying on quick counterattacks. But there aren’t any obvious leaders. The Spanish team and the German team who are always to the fore aren’t present amongst them. Poland, the Czech Republic and Russia can also rely on counterattacks, and we can only make guesses about the strategy of the Greek team in this case.

Nevertheless, it won’t be easy to play against Fernandu Santusha’s team. The results of the qualifiers speak for themselves. The team won all 10 qualifiers and let in only five goals. The Greeks won respect with this result. It will be quite difficult to outplay them.

Poland

Like Ukraine, Poland hosts the championship, that’s why they were qualified automatically. The Polish team hasn’t played any official matches for two years, that’s why all the guesses about the potential of this team lack any reasonable base. However, despite the absence of information about the team, particularly on the results of the qualifiers, it is possible to come to several conclusions.

The main force of the team is players who are in full vigor for football matches. They are about 25-27 years old. People playing for leading European football clubs amount to two thirds of the team. Jakub Błaszczykowski playing as a midfielder for Borussia Dortmund is the captain of the team and one of its leaders; he won the Bundesliga title with Borussia Dortmund twice. Robert Levandovski, the striker of the same club, will become the main force of the attack. He scored 22 goals in the last Bundesliga campaign. Wojciech Szczęsny, the goalkeeper of Arsenal, is almost sure to stay in goal. Despite the substantial progress made in the last year, the team didn’t manage to get rid of some embarrassing mistakes.

Taking into consideration the fact that the Polish team will play in its homeland, Franciszek Smuda’s team can hardly choose a counter-attacking style. The fans’ pressure won’t let the players choose defending. Experienced players, strong forwards and habitual Polish referees make the chances of the Polish team topping the group very good.

Russia


One month before the beginning of Euro-2012, the manager of our football team Dick Advocaat made a declaration that he would leave our country after the end of the championship. A little later it was reported that the Dutch manager would become the leader of PSV. Soon we will see the influence of this news on our team. What will the coming championship become for our team? Do we have any chances of returning to the result we achieved four years ago? It is quite difficult to answer these questions. To be honest, the background for it is worse than in 2008. The team almost hasn’t changed since 2008, and nobody can benefit from a lack of competition in football. Nevertheless, it is conceivable it could top the group. A stable line-up, an experienced manager and the good shape of the top players, which was demonstrated in the warm-up match with Italy which Russia won 3-0. All these advantages give us a good chance of success.

However, our defense is quite worrying. Team play is one of the most important conditions for the reliability of the defense. The absence at the championship of Vasili Berezutski, one of the main defenders of our team, is quite inopportune on this evidence. The attack is much less worrying. There are such players as Kerzhakov and Pogrebnyak who did quite well recently and began to score goals for Fulham immediately. Arshavin is getting back in shape after leaving “Arsenal” for his home club and is restoring his relations with the midfielders from Zenit. Roman Shirokov, who became one of the leaders of the team in a year, is also worth mentioning. A stable line-up, the good shape of the top players and an experienced manager allows Russian fans to hope for the best.

The Czech Republic

It is justified to assume that the Czech Republic team can leave the group like any other team of the quartet “A”. There is all the necessary background for it. The participation of the Czech Republic team in qualifying games shouldn’t mislead anybody. Michal Bílek’s team came second in its group and let the Spanish team, who are currently the European and World Champions, take first place. The combination of youth and experience in this team is excellent. A lot of its members play for European clubs. Tomáš Rosický, who plays for Arsenal as a midfielder, is the captain of the team and one of its leaders. The most famous player of the team is Petr Čech. He brought the the first UEFA Champions League win to Chelsea, is considered to be one of the best goalkeepers in the world and has demonstrated his professionalism for years. The additional advantage of the Czech Republic team is the fact that the Czech Republic and Poland are neighboring countries. Prague is situated only 250 kilometers from where the Czech Republic team will play all three of its group matches. No doubt fans from the Czech Republic will be supporting Michal Bílek’s team.

Nevertheless, despite the good prospect of this team, it may turn out that the team won’t manage to win the group. Michal Bílek’s team prefer to come second, like the Greek one. Is this team able to come first successfully? That is the question. It is possible to notice an additional common feature which characterizes both the Czech Republic team and the Greek one: the attack is quite weak. Though the Czech forwards work hard, they don’t manage to score goals. The fact that Michal Kadlec, who scored four goals, including three penalties, became the best forward at the qualifiers, speaks for itself. It seems that the best result the Czech Republic team can achieve is reaching the quarter-finals.

Resume

The Polish team and the Russian team have the best chances of leaving the group. The Polish team is playing at home. Their advantages are their experience, their native land and the favour of the referees. Our advantages are team-play and an experienced manager. The main line-up of the team hasn’t changed in comparison with the championship four years ago, and the shape of the current leaders allows us to hope for success. The Czech Republic team and the Greek team have a lot of problems with their attack, despite all their advantages. The lack of forwards capable of saving the results of the game affects both these teams. Nevertheless, it is very difficult to predict the results of the struggle in this group. All the teams of Group “A” have some reasons for surviving the group. We will soon see what the results of this struggle will be, because the championship is about to begin.