Article:Euro 2008 Group A Review...



Group A

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Countries

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1-

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Switzerland

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2-

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Portugal

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3-

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Turkey

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4-

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Czech Republic

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I really wanted to do this throughout the Games but as I have my High School Finals all through them, I decided to do it now.

I will not pick or predict the Standings in the Group, but I will analyze each team and give you an all in all look at the Group.

1- Switzerland
A hosting country with great talent and conviction, they did really well in the World Cup in 2006 passing the Group stages going on to play in the Last 16 playing against Ukraine but unfortunately losing on penalties, they have their sights on winning the Trophy but all I can say is that it wont be at all easy, with Portugal and Czech Rep. in there Group so the opening game will have a lot to do with there performance throughout the Euro’s.

‘’’Switzerland’s 23 man Squad:’’’


 * ’’Goalkeepers:’’ Diego Benaglio (Wolfsburg), Eldin Jakupovic (Grasshopper), Pascal Zuberbuehler (Xamax Neuchatel).


 * ’’Defenders:’’ Philipp Degen (Borussia Dortmund), Johan Djourou (Arsenal), Stephane Grichting (Auxerre), Stephan Lichtsteiner (Lille), Ludovic Magnin (Stuttgart), Patrick Mueller (Lyon), Philippe Senderos (Arsenal), Christoph Spycher (Eintracht Frankfurt).


 * ’’Midfielders:’’ Tranquillo Barnetta (Bayer Leverkusen), Valon Behrami (Lazio), Ricardo Cabanas (Grasshopper), Gelson Fernandes (Manchester City), Daniel Gygax (FC Metz), Benjamin Huggel (Basel), Gokhan Inler (Udinese), Johan Vonlanthen (Red Bull Salzburg).


 * ’’Forwards:’’ Eren Derdiyok (Basel), Alexander Frei (Borussia Dortmund), Marco Streller (Basel), Hakan Yakin (Young Boys).

‘’’Players to Watch’’’

Tranquillo Barnetta and Ludovic Magnin

2- Portugal
A wonderful team, with talented players and a tactical Manager, Portugal is The Group Favorite and a lot is expected from them, they managed to get 4 th place in the World Cup and reached the Semifinals but lost to France.

They are one of my favorite teams to watch and it won’t surprise me if I see them go far.

‘’’Portugal’s 23 man Squad:’’’


 * ’’Goalkeepers:’’ Ricardo (Real Betis Balompié), Quim (SL Benfica), Rui Patrício (Sporting Clube de Portugal).


 * ’’Defenders:’’ Paulo Ferreira (Chelsea FC), Ricardo Carvalho (Chelsea FC), Bosingwa (FC Porto), Bruno Alves (FC Porto), Jorge Ribeiro (Boavista FC), Miguel (Valencia CF), Fernando Meira (VfB Stuttgart), Pepe (Real Madrid CF).


 * ’’Midfielders:’’ Petit (SL Benfica), Deco (FC Barcelona), Raul Meireles (FC Porto), Miguel Veloso (Sporting Clube de Portugal), João Moutinho (Sporting Clube de Portugal).


 * ’’Forwards:’’ Nuno Gomes (SL Benfica), Simão Sabrosa (Atlético de Madrid), Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United FC), Nani (Manchester United FC), Hugo Almeida (Werder Bremen), Ricardo Quaresma (FC Porto), Hélder Postiga (Panathinaikos FC).

‘’’Players to Watch’’’

Of Course, Cristiano Ronaldo will be the man to see, as he helped Manchester United this season to win the Premiership and the Champions League scoring 42 Goals all in all.

Other players are Simao Sabrosa, Nani, Pepe and Ricardo Quaresma

3- Turkey
An Underdog team to any major European or International Event, they have got talented and strong players and a very experienced Manager and might have some trouble beating sometimes, I would like to see them advance because I just love the way they play.

On a Side note, in the World Cup 2002 Turkey were 4 th place and have the fastest goal scored in the World Cup (11 Seconds).

‘’’Turkeys 23 man Squad:’’’


 * ’’Goalkeepers:’’Volkan Demirel (Fenerbahce), Rustu Recber (Besiktas), Tolga Zengin (Trabzonspor)


 * ’’Defenders:’’Gokhan Zan (Besiktas), Sabri Sarioglu (Galatasaray), Emre Asik (Ankaraspor), Servet Cetin (Galatasaray), Emre Gungor (Galatasaray), Hakan Balta (Galatasaray), Ugur Boral, Gokhan Gonul (Fenerbahce)


 * ’’Midfielders:’’Mehmet Aurelio (Fenerbahce), Mehmet Topal (Galatasaray), Arda Turan (Galatasaray), Ayhan Akman (Galatasaray), Emre Belozoglu (Newcastle), Tumer Metin (Larissa), Hamit Altintop (Bayern Munich), Gokdeniz Karadeniz (Rubin Kazan)


 * ’’Forwards:’’Nihat Kahveci (Villarreal), Semih Senturk (Fenerbahce), Mevlut Erdinc (Sochaux), Tuncay Sanli (Middlesbrough), Colin Kazim-Richards (Fenerbahce)

‘’’Players to Watch’’’

Nihat Kahveci Scored 18 Goals this Season in The Spanish League, is an Exceptional Forward with Great Sight on Goal and is a very Good Shot.

Other Players are Hamit Altintop and Tuncay Sanli

4- Czech Republic
Considered as an underachiever, as I remember they were considered number #1 before the World Cup in 2006 but didn’t even pass the Group stages that year. They have a very strong team and beat Germany 3-0 in the Qualifiers, so they will be a tough team to beat.

‘’’Czech Rep. 23 man Squad:’’’


 * ’’Goalkeepers:’’Petr Cech (Chelsea), Jaromir Blazek (Nuremberg), Daniel Zitka (Anderlecht).


 * ’’Defenders:’’Zdenek Grygera (Juventus), Marek Jankulovski (AC Milan), Michal Kadlec (Sparta Prague), Radoslav Kovac (Spartak Moscow), Zdenek Pospech (Copenhagen), David Rozehnal (Lazio), Tomas Sivok (Sparta Prague), Tomas Ujfalusi (Fiorentina).


 * ’’Midfielders:’’Tomas Galasek (Nuremberg), David Jarolim (Hamburg), Marek Matejovsky (Reading), Jaroslav Plasil (Osasuna), Rudolf Skacel (Hertha Berlin), Jan Polak (Anderlecht), Libor Sionko (Copenhagen), Stanisla Vlcek (Anderlecht).


 * ’’Forwards:’’Milan Baros (Portsmouth), Martin Fenin (Frankfurt), Jan Koller (Nuremberg), Vaclav Sverkos (Banik Ostrava).

‘’’Players To Watch’’’

Jan Koller standing 2.02 meters tall 6'7" has the most goals scored with Czech before and after its separation, is a killer in the air and is exceptionally good with his feet.