unprepared part 2

So I actually had two ideas to write about, this one I am even more unprepared for, and I did intend it to be my second post. I had originally planned to launch this yesterday (seriously, these things take like 5 minutes to set up), published with the "bump" article. Therefore the article for Wednesday would have been about an event which happened Wednesday, and if I had watched the whole thing, would have been able to write better about.

here I go anyway

Turkey 2-3 Germany

I have been following the Euro 2008 tournament quite closely. In fact, I almost wish I had been writing this a week or so earlier so I could talk about Christiano Ronaldo's huge defensive error which cost Portugal the game against Germany the round previous. A side note -- a friend of mine is quite crestfallen at his seemingly complete transfer to Real Madrid.

In any case, Turkey v Germany.

You would think, my name being Knuttel, and how I often go by the moniker -- Lothiar Matteus (after German football great Lothar Matthaus) -- I would want Germany to win. For the most part this is incorrect. Now that Turkey has lost, I want Germany to win, but I was pulling for Turkey, I guess it must be that underdog thing. Also, over the course of the year, I became enthralled by the play of Fehnerbace in the Champions League (how fitting if they had beaten Chelsea) and by the play of the Altintop twins, Hamit and Halil. Hamit is a midfielder and plays for Bayern Munchen; Halil is a forward/winger and plays for FC Shalke 04, both were born in Germany and play in the German Bundesliga. I don't know why Halil was left off the Turkey roster for the tournament, and perhaps it is something I missed entirely, but I really feel if he had been on the team, Turkey would have been in a lot better shape.

The first goal by Turkey seemed more accidental than anything else, though in today's game, you must get every goal which may come your way. Some call them garbage goals, others call them hustle goals. Being a Philadelphia Flyers fan, I really don't care how it gets in the net, and if the goalie plays it poorly, the forward has every right to get in his face and make him look like a fool. But from the goalie side of this, Jens Lehman really baffles me. Most goalies get on hot and cold streaks, but they last games each. Jens seems to make an awful play and give up an easy goal one minute and then fly to the opposite side of the net to rob a sure goal the next. His streaks last minutes, perhaps hours most of the time.

The first goal by Germany showed great tactical maturity by the coaches. The 4-4-2 is an outdated formation, I think, at least when all lines are flat. While Germany has 4 midfielders and 2 forwards of starting quality, you'd think they might use that, as in 06 i believe. Instead, they use a 4-2-3-1, like France used to get to the WC finals in 06, and Roma has used of late. They moved Lucas Podolski to the left wing, and in this first goal, he played it like a true winger. He had an amazing cross to Bastian Schweinstagger, who rushed in from the right wing and hammered it in, echoing a goal of his against Portugal in the prior game.

Ballack played the CAM/CF position, the one Zinedine Zidane held, and if anyone in the game out there is to continue his legacy, it is Ballack. My heart wants me to say it is Karim Benzema of OL/France who will continue his legacy, but being an OL fan, I know he is best as a pure striker, and as a second option on the wing. The 08 tournament, I think, proved he is a hesitant CF, and is more comfortable getting open and finishing off plays than setting up others. His current ability is staggering, and his potential signals only improvement. Perhaps someday he can be a CF, but for now, he would do better as a pure striker.

Now for the unpreparedness, I did not get to see much of the rest of the game, including no other goals (I know, Lahm scored in the 90th to win it, so dramatic, like Degrassi dramatic), but the lightning flashed a light so we could see the fallacies of ESPN, conspirators against sports not names Football, Basketball, Baseball, Nascar, Poker, and Bowling. Yes, I know the last three aren't sports, but don't tell ESPN that, at least there's some variety. But here is what the lightning showed - THE ANNOUNCERS FOR THE GAME WEREN'T EVEN THERE. They were in America, probably ESPN headquarters/legion of doom -- Bristol, Connecticut. ESPN, for shame. You are the world's largest sports channel, and you can't even ship your announcers overseas for the biggest sport in the world? Are you that oblivious?

As for what I saw, besides the goals, it looked as if Germany was going to win it anyway, just from a possession standpoint in the first half, but when Turkey got in the penalty box area, they harrassed them. Germany's defense gets points here for not letting up too many good shots, but bad points for not being able to clear it well enough and steal possession away in your own territory. My guess is the game turned into a midfield battle, with Germany's overwhelming midfield talent just overwhelming them. Just a thought, but Podolski rushing up to a forward position with Lahm filling in the left wing, backs centering up, seems like a real good strategy. Maybe I'll add more insight after I watch the game fully, though it is more likely I will move onto a different topic entirely.

-Knuttel