Euro 2008 Afterthoughts

Spain Dancing in the Rain: Spain, the eventual winner of Euro 2008, appeared to be always playing in the rain during the tournament. But the slippery surface never hampered their fluid style of play as the brilliant Andres Iniesta and Xavi thoroughly controlled the midfield, while the formidable duo of Fernando Torres and David Villa gave the opposing defence all sorts of trouble. The remarkable Iker Casillas was their hero when they beat Italy in the quarter-final on penalties, and Sergio Ramos, despite a nervy start, gradually improved his play and became a reliable stalwart in the end. A thoroughly-deserved win for them, after a wait of 44 frustrating years.

Sacrificial Lahm: There have been talks, before the tournament started, that linked German defender Philipp Lahm to a big-money move to Manchester United. But thanks to his poor play in the semi-final (although he did score the game-winning goal, he was the culprit which allowed Turkey to equalize at 2-2 just minutes earlier) and in the final (he poorly misjudged Fernando Torres' pace and allowed him to slip through for the championship-winning goal), chances are that move will more than likely fall through.

Two is Not Better Than One: UEFA had better stop allowing countries to co-host the European Championship in future. I agree that the host country (or countries) should be allowed direct entry to the finals without the need for a qualifying campaign. But co-hosting means that two (or possibly more) countries will take up places belonging to other more-deserving countries. While Switzerland did pick up a (meaningless) win in the group stage, one point and a single goal were all Austria could muster in three group matches. Many fans would prefer having England, Denmark or even Ukraine in the finals instead, even though there is no guarantee that they would have done any better.

A Lesson for All: For teams which have won their first two group matches and have secured a quarter-final berth, bear this in mind: Never ever ease up on the final group match by resting your regulars and sending in your reserves. Netherlands and Portugal were victims of their complacency and duly went out in the quarter-final, while Spain survived thanks to the heroics of Iker Casillas.