Tuesday 30 November 2010

EURO STORIES: OTTO REHHAGEL'S GREEK MIRACLE

German coach Otto Rehhagel took over as coach of the Greek national team in 2001, in time for the team's final two qualifying matches for the 2002 World Cup.

Monday 22 November 2010

COUNTRY FOCUS: GREECE

Greece stunned the world in 2004 when they won the European Championships.

Monday 15 November 2010

CLASSIC EURO ENCOUNTERS

Portugal v England 2004, Quarter-Final (Lisbon)


Friday 5 November 2010

TOP FIVE ..... EURO GOALS

My picks, in ascending order:

5. Maniche Portugal v Holland Euro 2004 Semi-final



This incredible strike in the 58th minute put Portugal 2-0 ahead in the semi-final against Holland and had the host nation dreaming of European glory on home soil. Although they held out to beat the Dutch, they lost the Final to rank outsiders Greece in probably the biggest shock in the competition's history.

4. Poborsky Czech Republic v Portugal Euro 96 Quarter-final



Poborsky's lob against Portugal in the quarter-final of Euro 96 was his first international goal. It was innovative, technically brilliant, and stunned everbody watching. It also won the match.

3. Van Basten Holland v USSR European Championships 1988 Final



When Arnold Muhren lofted a high ball to the far side of the penalty area the world waited for it to drop at Van Basten's feet. Instead, the striker never let the ball touch the ground, implementing an audacious volley on goal from the tightest of angles. A stunning strike from which the USSR never recovered, sealing the Euro Title for Holland.

2. Gascoigne England v Scotland Euro 96 Second Group match



Few players have the ingenuity to conceive a manoeuvre like this, let alone possess the ability to execute it. Perhaps the two things go hand-in-hand; the hallmark of genius. Gascoigne's greatest goal resurrected England's tournament after a disappointing start, and they went on to reach the semi-finals.

1. Panenka Czechoslovakia v West Germany European Championships 1976 Final


How on earth can I choose a penalty as my pick for the greatest goal ever scored in European Championship history? Simply because of what was at stake. Panenka took a gamble that was unthinkable; one that he knew could make or break the rest of his life. The ultimate element of surprise gave Czechoslovakia their finest hour.

Tuesday 2 November 2010

TRIVIA ANSWERS

ANSWERS TO YESTERDAY'S TRIVIA

1. Spain and Russia, who finished 3rd and 4th in the group respectively. Spain beat Russia, drew with Greece and lost to Portugal, while Russia were the only team in the tournament to inflict a defeat on Greece in the final round of group matches, having lost their first two games.

2. David Beckham. England were already a goal to the good and looking to bury the game, but Fabian Barthez beat Beckham's penalty away and France went on to snatch a highly unlikely and dramatic victory with two injury-time goals from Zinedine Zidane.

3. Milan Baros of the Czech Republic was the top scorer at Euro 2004 with five goals; three in the group stages and two more in a 3-0 quarter-final victory against Denmark. Defeat against Greece in the semi-final followed.

4. Seven. In the opening match Greece beat Portugal 2-1. In every subsequent match they scored one goal, securing a draw with Spain in their second match before losing 2-1 to Russia in their final group game. They then won each of their three knock-out ties - against France, the Czech Republic and Portugal - courtesy of a single goal.

5. England and Sweden, both in the quarter-finals. England were beaten 6-5 on penalties by Portugal following a 2-2 draw, whilst Sweden lost 5-4 in their shootout against the Dutch after a goalless 120 minutes. The winners met each other in the semi-final, with hosts Portugal emerging victorious.

6. Latvia. Euro 2004 was the first major tournament that the Baltic Republic had qualified for, and although they finished bottom in their group, they secured a creditable 0-0 draw against Germany and only lost narrowly (2-1) to the group winners the Czech Republic.

7. Angelos Charisteas. His header in the 57th minute of the Final became the most important goal ever scored in the history of Greek football as it was enough to secure the European Championship for his country. It was Charisteas's third goal of the tournament.

8. England and Sweden both notched up eight goals in their three group games. England beat Croatia 4-2 in their final group game to secure qualification and Sweden's tally was helped by a 5-0 thrashing of Bulgaria in their opening game.

9. The Czech Republic won all three of their group matches. They opened with a 2-1 success against Euro debutants Latvia before impressively overcoming Holland (3-2) and Germany (2-1) to top the group and qualify in style.

10. Portuguese goalkeeper Ricardo was the hero in the penalty competition against England. With the score locked at 5-5, the shootout went into sudden death. Ricardo saved a weak effort from the English substitute Darius Vassell and then buried his own shot in the corner to send the hosts through to the last four.

Monday 1 November 2010

EURO TRIVIA

TEN QUESTIONS ON .... EURO 2004

1. Portugal and Greece played the opening match and met again in the Final. Who were the other two teams - who failed to qualify for the knock-out stages - in Group A?

2. Who missed a penalty for England in their group match against France?

3. Who was the tournament's top scorer and how many goals did he score?

4. How many goals did eventual winners Greece score in the tournament?

5. Which two sides exited the tournament on penalties?

6. Group D was considered the 'group of death', containing Germany, Holland, the Czech Republic and which other team?

7. Who scored the winning goal for Greece in the Final against the hosts and favourites Portugal?

8. Which two sides top-scored in the group stages with eight goals apiece?


9. Only one team qualified from the group stages with the maximum nine points. Who were they?

10. Which goalkeeper scored the winning penalty in a quarter-final shootout?