Spain
Spain played arguably their best game in last 4 years . According to me in recent times in a major tournament only their performance in the demolition of Russia in Euro 2008 semi (where they won 3-0) comes closer to the last night display of free flowing football .


As far as Fantasy league concerned, finished 2nd in classic league ,11 points behind yahooo. Congrats to him for winning the league ...


Head to Head - Finally i have won my first league in soccer fantasy and with this i have completed my hattrick of PG fantasy leagues Titles (they are represented by the 3 stars below my username )

2010- T20 cricket WC fantasy league
2011 - ICC cricket WC fantasy league
2012- UEFA Euro12 fantasy league

Though team name this time was different - Believerspool


Thanks to everyone who was part of this thread... Hope to catch you guys again

To everyone on this thread, I enjoyed every moment of sharing your (and my) views and predictions during the Euros :D. Hope to catch up wid all of you on the Football Club thread.

SPAIN all the Way!!

Euro 2012 turned out to be a great tournament. A few upsets here n there a bit a crowd favorite Giant kills competitive tournament overall (Exclude the Finals Please)

Yet again Torres proved to be the Lucky charm winning the Golden Boot from nowhere
Only Disappointment was I thought Pirlo should have won Golden Ball for his heroics but anyways congratulations to Andres Iniesta

Played Fantasy Football for 1st time and am really glad to have played it, It was real fun, A thankful hug to all Footie puys

In PG classic I managed a Champions league Qualifying position 4 after being in Midtable for long :splat: Yahoo was too good Congrats

PG h2h I won it all finished 2nd (Lucky) but again congos to Believerspool

disappointed and heartbroken as my dark horses end up being runner up..however Italy has all my respect for reaching the finals when many thought that they won't be able to pass the group stage also..but i believe Italy shouldn't have changed their formation suddenly in the finals...they should have carried on with the formation they used in the earlier matches..but no point whining over these issues now..what's gone is gone..lets all wait for the 2014 WC ...although too early to say,but i believe Germany will be the winner of 2014 WC and Spain will leave the tournament in the group stage ..;) (consolation )

I wanted Italy to win this one as spain looked rusty whole tournament .Italy played very well and liked the way they went for goals (unlike Italian side of past where they are happy with tight defence) . But when it mattered, Spain made it big Now its gonna be tough to halt their dominance at least till 2014 WC.

I guess Spanish loves 1 and 4. They win all their big matches in major tournament scoring 1 goal and 4 goals

Euro 2008 vs Russia - 4 - 1
Euro 2008 QF vs Italy - 4 penalty
Euro 2008 final vs Germans - 1 -0


WC 2010 group match vs Swiss 1-0
WC 2010 round of 16 vs portugal 1-0
WC 2010 QF vs Paraguay 1-0
WC 2010 SF vs Germans 1-0
WC 2010 Final vs Dutch 1-0

Euro 2012 vs Italy - 1-1
Euro 2012 vs Croatia - 1-0
Euro 2012 vs Ireland - 4 -0
Euro 2012 SF vs Portugal- 4 penalty
Euro 2012 final vs Italy - 4 -0

ps : I wanted Gomez to win the golden boot as he was the best striker whole of this tournament. The only player who was close to him was CR but then he looked very rusty before the Dutch match .. But Torres came from no where in second in 2nd half and grabbed it from Gomez

Jumped some 13 ranks to finish 28th in the league thanks to a 28 from my captain Jordi Alba :)

and thanks to euro cup, now I know the names of most of the players

Italy were unlucky that their sub, Thiago Motta, got injured, as soon as he had come on and they had to play with 10 men for 30 minutes against the Spanish juggernaut. However, the match was all but over even before the injury to Motta. But, it took the juice out of the game.

The age of the Spanish Armada continues!!! Thoroughly ruthless and professional performance from La Furia Roja. Most 1-sided final ever in any Euro or World Cup. I still feel had Germany been in the final instead of Italy, the result might have been different. If wishes were horses...

Probably the lamest finals I have watched in recent times.

"Once Spain start winning, they'll never stop" - the prophetic Zinedine Zidane had said. How true he was.

Spain 4 - 0 Italy
But am also an Italian fan but then am more Spanish and even more Brazilian

I would love Spain to win..who knows this may be Xavi's last chance to play a major final..as far as someone commented that they will be stopped by brazil in 2014..none of it..not by brazil but by someone (messi) or some team ( germany )

thats for later lets focus on this final
Spain should win it..but with italians u never know
their 1st match ended in a draw i wouldnt be surprised if this one goes to extra time or even penalties and anyone could come out on top..
heart for spain but head says maybe not

2006 italy(WC),2008 spain(Euro), 2010 spain (WC)..so let italy close the loop this time by winning euro


waise its strange how come italy is coming into fray time and again and if they will win tonight it will be awesome!!!

LA FURIA ROJA>>>THE FURIOUS REDS>>>GO SPAIN GO....


sorry for the font size n colour...just supporting my favourite team..hope to see EL NINO FERNANDO TORRES play..wasnt he the one who scored in EURO08 final....

Bas I Had umpteen number of wrong predictions!!
One last time and my prediction goes like
Spain 1- 0 Italy

I just hope that Spain leave out their False 9 and play with a striker...Go Spain Go

My prediction for the final:

Italy 1 Spain 2 (Spain to win its 3rd consecutive major tournament).

I pray your prediction goes wrong and Italy comes out winning..

5th in classic and 7th in h2h,wild card activated buffon or casillas ,whom to take ??
2 1/2 hours left for the mega final.
Captain,whom to make??

My prediction for the final:

Italy 1 Spain 2 (Spain to win its 3rd consecutive major tournament).

I still feel Spain are the favourites, due to the players they have and more importantly, the big-game experience of these players. However, the X-factor in the finals will be the relative performance of both goalkeepers - Buffon and Casillas - who also happen to be the team's captains. Both have been instrumental in their teams getting this far (Refer to Buffon vs Germany and Casillas vs Croatia).

final day !


advantage italy has is they have a gud forward ! balotelli in starting line up who is better than "forced forwards" of spain

but still even with pirlo in opp spain will domainate midfield as usual;), i hope bosque brings pedro in bit early ! he has added thrust to spanish attack whenever he has come in .............

me with spaniards for iniesta i fee lthis generation deserves more:d and they will be stopped by brazil in 2014 ...........

ps: pirlo passes may be cut off today :d

In my opinion Azzurri will start as favorite in todays final. They have been more organized and unlike Italian teams of past they are not about just defending till death. Pirlo, Super Mario and Cassano all have been in great form.

I dont think Italy are the favorites. Spain are the definite favorites and they are current Euro and World champs.

However I reckon it will be a close match. Just like the match in group stages or when they met in Euro 2008.

In my opinion Azzurri will start as favorite in todays final. They have been more organized and unlike Italian teams of past they are not about just defending till death. Pirlo, Super Mario and Cassano all have been in great form.

Spain despite having too many good players in their squad have found it difficult to find the net. They are missing David Villa big time.

As far as Fantasy league concerned ,I am just a win away from clinching the title .

man_05 Says

With his performance in the semifinals, Balotelli has proven himself to be the real Super Mario, unlike Gomez, who had to be subbed at half-time itself.

Balotelli is definitely more talented than Gomez. The only problem is his temparment. Since he has already played the game of his life in the last match, I doubt if will repeat it again the finals.

The Euros has again proved that to win a championship you need a strong defense. Defensively these were the best two sides along with Portugal. Germany might have been the best in attack but their defense made 1-2 silly mistakes which brought their downfall.

man_05 Says

I agree with @rahulrevenger. Spain's pass only style has become quite boring and has limited effectiveness. Besides, they have the option of using Fernando Llorente as a target man, but for some reason, have'nt done so yet. He'll give them more of a cutting edge in attack, than what they are getting from their false number 9.

Forget all of 'em!!! Where is Roberto Soldado!!! :w00t:

Even my lame eyes can tell that Soldado would have been the best target man that Spain could have fielded!! He, in all ways, is a perfect new generation (he ain't that young, but still his late inclusion into the team makes him one) striker after Raul and David Villa. Torres is not effective anymore, as his lack of confidence has dented his precision rate. :nono:

Why on Earth was he not included in the squad seems to be a mystery to me.

Italy wins unless Del Bosque plays a striker upfront and refrains from the Headless chicken type passing Football, where they pass pass pass and pass
.
.
But where are the Goals Spain??:sneaky:

I agree with @rahulrevenger. Spain's pass only style has become quite boring and has limited effectiveness. Besides, they have the option of using Fernando Llorente as a target man, but for some reason, have'nt done so yet. He'll give them more of a cutting edge in attack, than what they are getting from their false number 9.

With his performance in the semifinals, Balotelli has proven himself to be the real Super Mario, unlike Gomez, who had to be subbed at half-time itself.

Italy wins unless Del Bosque plays a striker upfront and refrains from the Headless chicken type passing Football, where they pass pass pass and pass
.
.
But where are the Goals Spain??:sneaky:

:nono: it was bound to happen ...........only 2 team can play finals ............


"BAKAR BAKAR KE bakar ko Samjho,
BAKAR karna bhi ek kala hai,
BAKAR ko jo Samajh na paaya,
Maan ke chalo ke wo ek naye type ki BAKAR hai." :splat:

it was bound to happen ...........only 2 team can play finals ............


"BAKAR BAKAR KE bakar ko Samjho,
BAKAR karna bhi ek kala hai,
BAKAR ko jo Samajh na paaya,
Maan ke chalo ke wo ek naye type ki BAKAR hai."

Did anyone of you notice that out of the 100 people who voted, only 29 + 7 remain in the contention! Rest all voted for an ousted team.

saurabh100 Says

ITALY :sneaky:

It has to be Italy!

I love Italy as much as I hate Spain. Pirlo and Co. (sans that idiot Mario) deserves it!!

ITALY

kapil.viit Says

It will be spain again

History in the last few tournaments has shown that the team defeating Germany goes on to win the cup. So although my support will be for Spain, I think Italy will win it.

It will be spain again

Super Mario shows just why he is regarded as one of the best strikers in the game today. He missed a couple of chances in the England game, but yesterday he was deadly. The second goal is extra special because, after getting the pass from Montolivo, he just zipped and then thumped it, no time at all for the defenders or the keeper.

Heart breaking day for all Germany fans including myself...i think Germany was psychologically in a pressure situation given their past records against Italy...but still happy though not euphoric as my dark horses have reached the finals,but my favourites have lost out..now i want Italy to lift the cup...

So this is it guys...
Euro '12 Final will be a contest between

Spain v/s Italy

it is always difficult to come behind from 2 goals down , philip lahm did a mistake in last euro tournament which let torres to score in the final ,

this time its balotelli's muscles which overcame lahm.........

still i rate him high like roberto carlos he is one kind of defenders who are great in opposition half rather than in their own half............

germans had the team to lift the cup it was not to be fate above football skils:(

Once again, we are deprived of seeing the ultimate contest between the Spanish and German styles of football. Germany continue to choke at both club and international level. Joachim Low's tactics were not upto scratch either.

German loses against Italy.......Heartbreak

Only thing consolable was Rafa losing his match in Wimbeldon

italians seem to play with extra spirit whenever there is corruption charges on them...happened in 2006 n happening now...lets hope pirlo n co puts an end to spains domination:)