>>DIE SPANIARDS AND ITALIANS AND GERMANS!!  X( rawr<<

that's crazy talk!  Or 1930s Red propaganda! or both!!!

More talk from that wacky American lawyer who likes global soccer

"Soccer is famous for producing 0-0, 1-0, and 1-1 results. But If one checks the scores from World Cup and European club championship finals in the 1950s and early 1960s, one finds no shortage of high scoring matches (e.g., Real Madrid 4 - Reims 3; Real Madrid 7 - Frankfurt 3; Benefica 5 - Real Madrid 3; West Germany 3 - Hungary 2; Brazil 5- Sweden 2).

The low scoring affair gradually came into vogue in the 1960s, I think. By the late 1970s when I was watching lots of soccer, defenses were so far on top that the game's popularity and prospects for expansion were in jeopardy.

The biggest problem was that teams were killing off games after about 60 or 70 minutes through stalling. Specifically, a team with a lead (or with a draw, if that's all it wanted) would pass the ball back to the goalkeeper, who would then pick it up throw it to a defender, receive it back, etc. The latter stage of a match was often no more than a successful version of this kind of keep-away.

This ended when the rules were changed to prohibit the goalkeeper from handling a back pass. Defenders could still knock the ball back to the keeper, but he had to play it, rather than pick it up. The idea was to gave the opposition a fighting chance of gaining possession. It actually did more. With most keepers electing to play it safe by kicking the ball long, the defense which is facing the keeper, is able to win possession more often than not.

At this point, another great rule kicks into play -- the rule limiting teams to only three substitutions. By the 70th minute, most players have run about six miles. With fatigue setting in, and the major stalling tactic unavailable, soccer now produces a good number of dramatic finishes.

Which brings me to the subject of Euro 2008, and especially Turkey. In its past three matches, the Turks have produced (1) a goal in the 90th minute to defeat Switzerland, (2) three goals in the final 15 minutes, including two in the final five, to defeat the Czechs, and (3) a goal in the final seconds of "stoppage" time to tie Croatia, which itself had scored in stoppage time, to tie the match (Turkey then proceeded to win on penalty kicks).

Today's stunning 3-1 upset victory by Russia over the Netherlands is another case in point. Russia held a 1-0 lead with less than five minutes left. In the bad old days, the Russians almost surely would have been able to run out the clock. But today, Holland (through the great Van Nistlerooy) produced an equalizer in the 86th minute.

But the rule works both ways. By the second 15 minute overtime period, the Dutch were exhausted (they had expended much energy getting back into the match, were playing a young opponent, and had used all three substitutes). In the bad old days, Holland might have been able to hang on, assuming it could have won a little bit of possession. Today, Russia launched repeated blitzes down the left flank, one of which produced a goal. Then, with Holland deflated and completely out of gas, Russia got a third.

I feet bad for the Dutch -- their great wild-card winger Robben was unavailable and their starting right back (who lost his prematurely born daughter on Thursday) was taken off in the second half due to injury. But the Russians clearly deserved their victory and, from the neutral point of view, the real winner was soccer.

UPDATE: Actually, I'm just assuming Robben was unavailable. All I know for sure is that he didn't play."

"In European soccer, steel usually prevails over silk, and that was the case in Thursday

i wonder why you are all sad and surprised..
Isn

Guus' pre-tournament boot-camps always give his players the edge. He runs them like dogs so their physically superior come game time. Plus he is too familiar with how the dutch players play, especially van der Vaart who he closed down well. If a team was to beat the Oranje, it had to be Guus

Sad to see the Dutch go; as a neutral observer, these European Championships always piss me off because the teams that play better for more of the tournament almost never win, while a few teams get really lucky when it counts and play like shit at other times and end up winning it all in boring fashion (*cough* Turkey, Germany, Russia *cough*). The Dutch were scintillating against both '06 World Cup finalists (an amazing feat in itself, there) and if anyone should've gone farther in this tournament, it was them.

"Sad to see the Dutch go; as a neutral observer, these European Championships always piss me off because the teams that play better for more of the tournament almost never win, while a few teams get really lucky when it counts and play like shit at other times and end up winning it all in boring fashion (*cough* Turkey, Germany, Russia *cough*). The Dutch were scintillating against both '06 World Cup finalists (an amazing feat in itself, there) and if anyone should've gone farther in this tournament, it was them."

C'MON orange, are you kidding me?
you can't win champion ships by winning the previous game you have to win the game that is on that day...and none of the teams that faced of have played each other so how can you judge which team should be better and should have won?

the fact is the team that played better than night..deserved it and all the games it was awarded...so far
A Team and B Team does not matter, as long as you pull out with wins it does not  matter
take turkey for example, they deserved it the most, they always come back and win it, they have the dedication and determaination
same with germany and russia, russia lost 4-1 in the first game, they pulled their act together, netherlands was prlly getting  a little cocky too, and russia played to win and they deserved it and they got it

the teams that lost, it's only their fault that they lost, if they were truly good they wouldn't have lost to the "lucky" teams

Deus Vult

bern just likes them for the money they bring nah, they are kewl

Guus all the way!

i think Italy is going to beat Spain and eventually beat Russia. but loose to Turkey in the finals.

i sincerely doubt turkey is gonna beat germany

they have to play their 3rd goalie as a striker cause they don't have other players left

I hope Spain wins against Italy.I dont want them to get another title.

even if it's against Turkey