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Euro 2008

They’ve All Played One

June 10th, 2008 | By: Ian Rose | 13 Comments »

Now that we have seen all sixteen teams play one match each at Euro 2008, here’s a short breakdown of some of the stats and facts (and of course a bit of opinion) from the first round of play.

The Sweaty Boot Goes To : According to the fine people over at the Castrol Performance Index, who track stats throughout Euro 2008, Romania’s Banel Nicolita is the player with the most miles on his boots. He ran over 12,000 meters in the draw with France, 2 kilometers more than anyone in the French midfield. That’s what I call work rate.

And the Winged Boot? : Sticking with the Castrol Index, the award for the round’s fastest player goes to Turkish lone striker Nihat Kahveci, who reached a top speed of 31.11 kilometers per hour on his way to scoring exactly no goals against Portugal.

Biggest Surprise: No question, the one result that almost no one predicted was Holland’s 3-0 dismantling of Italy. The Netherlands at the top of group C, with Romania tied for second. Who saw that coming?

Biggest Yawner: I have to make it a draw between France-Romania and the first half of Greece-Sweden. France-Romania wins for finishing in a 0-0, but I have to say that the first half of today’s late game felt longer than the entirety of the France one. Just slow, slow stuff.

The Neutral Sympathy Awards : The sympathies and best wishes of neutrals go to both of the hosts of Euro 2008, after good performances finished in 1-0 losses. The Swiss outplayed the Czechs and gave up only one shot on goal, which just happened to go in. Austria played better than anyone expected, but similarly went down to what seemed like a very beatable Croatia on the strength of an early penalty. Better luck next time to both.
Honorary mention to Alex Frei. Get better soon.

First Hat Trick Since Patrick : David Villa’s hat trick against Russia was the first in the competition since Patrick Kluivert netted three for Netherlands in their 6-1 demolition of Yugoslavia in the Euro 2000 quarterfinals. That tournament also featured a group stage hat trick, from the unlikely source of Portugal’s Sérgio Conceição. That one match included 1/4 of Conceição’s career 12 international goals.

The First Euro Rematch : The first rematch of a Euro 2004 match to be played at Euro 2008 was today’s meeting of Spain and Russia, who also played their first group stage match against each other in Portugal. Last time was 1-0 to Spain, this time 4-1. If these trends continue … whoa.

What do you think are the take-home important points of the first round of Euro 2008 matches? Let us know in the comments. The current standings for all of the Euro 2008 groups are available now and throughout the tournament at: Euro 2008 Standings.

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Comments

By corvallissoccer | June 10th, 2008 at 4:40 pm

What did I take from Round 1?
1. I miss Zidane badly but not as much as the Frenchies do.
2. It is more fun watching the Italians get hammered than I had imagined.
3. Its stupid to ever count the Czechs out. Even if they still use Koller.
4. Austria didn’t suck as bad as I expected. They can be proud.
5. Turkey doesnt know how to spell their name correctly.
6. Nani-schmani. Where the heck is Ricardo Quaresma?
7. The Russians won the UEFA right?
8. Its important to respect your roots. Podolski is a class act.
9. Dumbest opening ceremony ever. Box hats?
10. Did I mention how fun it is to hate Italy?

Posted from United States

By Babyshoes | June 10th, 2008 at 4:50 pm

1. The French may miss Zidane, but not as much as we miss Sukur.
2. Maybe the Czechs aren’t as scary as I thought.
3. Maybe the Russians aren’t as good as I thought.
4. Van der Sar is truly a force of nature.
5. It really _is_ fun to watch the Italians get hammered!

Posted from United States

By Michael | June 10th, 2008 at 4:54 pm

Did i mention how many trophies Italy has won? Donadoni and the rest of the azzurri needed this wakeup call. They will come back and spank romania and france respectively.

Posted from United States

By anonymous | June 10th, 2008 at 5:09 pm

1. It sure is fun to see Holland hammer anyone, whether it’s Italy or not.
2. David Villa is awesome.
3. Russia’s case of invisibility really wasn’t helped by their white kits. I mean, plain ol’ eggshell vs LA FURIA ROJA?? C’mon. No chance.
4. Since Spain and Holland were so amazing, neither will make the final.
5. I can’t believe I almost forgot to mention how wonderful it is to watch EUROPEAN SOCCER!! on ESPN!! and to top it off, to open up the Washington Post Sports section and see a huge–COLOR–picture of the Oranje. !! What has happened to my homeland the USA???

By Sammy | June 10th, 2008 at 5:27 pm

10) Henry looked more dangerous on the bench then any french striker on the field
9) Romania may try to go nil-nil in the whole toruney
Austria is not the worst team in Euro 2008
7) The italians have a very ugly team
6) Spain looks strong in the beginning, AGAIN. aka 4-0 vs Ukraine in 06
5) C ROnaldo has long legs like a chick. He is probably gay.
4) Koller is no longer useful
3) Germany will fly through to the semi’s.
2) The Orange are everyone’s 2nd fav team now.
1) Italia is a lonely place in 2008.

Posted from Canada

By corvallissoccer | June 10th, 2008 at 5:37 pm

For a gay dude, Ronaldo has a very sexy girlfriend. See http://nullchance.com/d/3579-2/Gemma+Atkinson.jpg. Safe for work, but not safe for wife.

Posted from United States

By Gary | June 10th, 2008 at 5:46 pm

“Turkish lone striker Nihat Kahveci, who reached a top speed of 31.11 kilometers per hour”. Really? That equates to just over 19 miles per hour which would make him about 3 minute miler. Probably not…….

By Andrei | June 10th, 2008 at 6:09 pm

10)The black panther (bafemi gomis) is very overhyped…
9) … like many young french players.
Netherlands spanking Italy was fun to watch
7)… please Oranje Clockwork, spare Romania!
6)… but spank France really hard!
5) The Red Fury scare the hell out of me.
4) Villa is a beast and a half.
3) Poland and Russia are the most overhyped teams in the tournament.
2) Croatia and Czech Rep are lucky to come out unstained and they truly suck.
1) Donadoni and Domenech will lose their jobs while during the tourney.

By Ian Rose | June 10th, 2008 at 6:25 pm

Gary – TOP speed. Top is the key word. A 3-minute mile pace for a short sprint really isn’t unheard of at all.

By barista | June 10th, 2008 at 7:17 pm

when will Spain learn not to score all their goals in their first 3 games?

Posted from Canada

By munichsoul | June 10th, 2008 at 8:48 pm

1.) I hope Switzerland make it to the quarters. The Czechs were a pain to watch (without Rosicky and Nedved??? no color)
2.) Germany are winning style points. Not just for their football, I mean the whole package.
3.) Lukas Podolski will get a starting place at Bayern next season.
4.) Luka Modric should show mroe of himself. He may be overhyped after a 1-0 squeaker like that.
5.) I just don’t get it, but France do play boring football.
6.) Holland justifies the term “Dutch treat”. Can they do a “Double Dutch” against France? I think so.
7.) Italy will do something they should have done: Start Del Piero and De Rossi.
8.) Spain are tempting us into their perennial “great start-bad finish” show.
9.) Arshavin will have to pull off a Messianic performance to lift the mother country.
10.) otto Rehaggel does more than his players do.

Posted from Philippines