Mini-Coverage: The Final

Who else thought that the final of Euro 2008 was particularly dull? Yes, it had some highlights (er, which I can't think of right now...) but on the whole it was pretty, well, boring wasn't it? Perhaps the most exciting parts were the goal, scored by Fernando Torres after 33 minutes, and Michael Ballack's eye injury.

Spain dominated just about the whole match and while Germany were not without their chances, after a while you just couldn't see them doing much damage. Despite the fact that Germany have had goals in their artillery throughout the tournament, they only came close to scoring once or twice and very rarely showed any really flair. Maybe it was something to do with the fact that they so clearly celebrated and performed their lap of honour in the semi-finals....

Still, congratulations to Spain are champions for the first time in over forty years!

Mini-Coverage: Semi-Final Time

Ooh, Spain are through to the semi-finals after beating Italy last night on penalties - woo! There are a lot of people out there who think that the Spanish are all style and no substance and yeah, the team they had out last night probably proved that point. What the heck was Aragones thinking when he put Fabregas and Guiza on instead of putting Xabi Alonso on and leaving Fernando Torres on the field of play? This was a baffling decision, although they still won which is all the really matters... The Italians had a good go of it in extra time although they never really looked like threatening.

Thank you 5 Live for making the match hilarious as well - your descriptions of "sweaty Vienna", "long straggly hair" and "long legs" alongside describing Italian coach Donadoni as "hip" and "cool", with absolutely no sarcasm, made my night (er, aside from the result). And they say there's no homo-eroticism in football... Special mention to Italian midfielder De Rossi as well, whose massive oversized shorts were described lovingly by a friend as being like "bed-linen". Surely these baggy clown shorts are what caused him to miss his pen.

Also through are Russia, who beat the Netherlands in extra time. There isn't really much to say about this match except for the fact that when Dmitri Torbinski scored, he was well and truly crushed under his Russian team-mates. When he got up, he was invisible from the side. Seriously, he looked in real pain underneath the pile of bodies. This game wasn't as exciting as it had been anticipated although you wouldn't know it from Clive Tyldesley's screaming, especially when Wesley Sneijder had a go on goal. Germany will appear in the first semi-final against Turkey, although I can't really say much about the Germans because, quite simply, I haven't seen them play. However, Turkey are making a claim to be this tournament's Greece after their exhilirating game against Croatia (and this definitely isn't a hyperbolic statement!). Who would've thought that they would come from behind to win the game 3-1 on penalties? It really was gripping and even though they're going to come up against stiff opposition in Germany on Wednesday, I think they could go all the way.

Mini-Coverage: Spain v Russia

Despite what Faizal might say, this was a less than exhilarating game. Spain won the game 4-1 with a hat-trick from David Villa and a diving header from Cesc Fabregas sealed the victory against a very ordinary Russian side who looked as if they just couldn't be bothered to play. The Russian goal was scored by Roman Pavluchenko. Don't get me wrong, I am pleased that Spain have won but...

The goals really mask that this was a game where a good side played against a very average side who were having a very bad day. Seriously, the BBC commentators made out as if the Spanish were world beaters and although I too would like to think that, I found little happiness watching my team maul the Russians. As good as Holland v Italy? About the same - again, Italy refused to turn up and it became an easy victory for Holland as a result. This competition will be more interesting when the teams play each other in the quarter-finals.

Right now, even Luis Arangones (Spain manager) is admitting that they were lucky to win 4-1 against such a physical side - we'll see how lucky they get against some tougher opposition. For the Russians though it seems as if the Hiddink Touch is wearing off; he is no longer getting the luck that he gained with South Korea in 2002 (where they beat the Spanish to go through to the semi-finals) or with Australia a couple of years ago. Chelsea calls...

Euro 2008 Coverage

Here starts the mini-coverage of Euro 2008, held this year by Austria and Switzerland. There's no England (good, at least we won't have the constant references to home players and what threat the other team poses) so the BBC and ITV are literally forcing people to pick a team to support.

My money, as ever, is on Spain. Okay, they've flopped in the past but this year I think they've really got their act together. Italy could do something as well, since they've won the World Cup and are probably hungry for another trophy. I doubt there's going to be a big surprise this year like there was in 2004. I just can't see someone like Greece winning it again (although you could get 40-1 on Romania to win, despite the fact that they're in the proverbial "Group of Death").

So far we've seen the Czech Repulic win 1-0 over Switzerland, Portugal win 2-0 over Turkey, Austria lose 1-0 against Croatia and Germany beat Poland by 2 goals. Speaking of Portugal, what the heck was going on with Clive Tyldesley's (I don't think I've spelt his name right, sorry) commentary on the match. He might as well have been bowing down to a golden statue of Ronaldo since his coverage was so unbelievably sycophantic! I hope this kind of commentary doesn't continue - I want a nice, rounded tounament. I think I'm asking for a bit too much though, aren't I?

Kudos, though, to the extremely funny 5 Live commentary on Switzerland v Czech Republic. It was hilarious! I feel incredibly sorry for poor old Sebastien Frei though - it must be terrible to go all the way to the tounament, captain your team and then end up injured for the rest of the competition. The poor man was in tears....

Well it's Holland v Italy tonight which should be very interesting. I think whoever wins Group C has a good chance of winning the overall competition!