Posts Tagged ‘Mario Balotelli’

Euro 2012 Review: Group C

Posted: July 8, 2012 by Salim Masoud Said in Euro 2012
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The SFG team continues its post-mortem of Euro 2012 with a look at Group C, perhaps an understated group pre-tournament,  which eventually involved the two finalists.

Spain

The Good

Spain are champions of Europe once again. By winning Euro 2012, they became the first European side to win three major international championships in a row and will now surely go down as one of the all-time great international sides. Their performance in the final against Italy was the best performance by any team in the whole tournament. They were much more energetic than in previous matches, playing at a tempo that the Italians couldn’t deal with. It was a performance that will be remembered years from now and will likely be the defining result of this Golden Era of Spanish football.

One major positive was the emergence of Jordi Alba on the international stage. Spain, due to their personnel and tactics, naturally lack width in their side so Alba’s role in the side was a huge factor in their success as he was able to stretch their play out wide and provide another attacking outlet. It was only fitting that he picked up a goal (and a superb one at that) in the final. Other standout players included Andres Iniesta, whose dazzling dribbles and uncanny ability to find space was brilliant throughout the tournament.

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Euro 2012 Semi Final: Germany vs Italy – 5 Talking Points

Posted: June 28, 2012 by jameseugene in Euro 2012, Euro 2012 Round-Up
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The second semi-final was the last to be played in Poland, contested in the National Stadium in Warsaw. This game was a hotly-contested game between two powerhouses in the tournament: Italy and Germany. Italy came into the game into the game with an undefeated record against the Germans and planned to continue this outstanding record. Italy extended this record by beating the Germans 2-1, both Italian goals scored by Mario Balotelli and Mesut Ozil scoring a penalty for Germany.

1. Super Mario Shows His Brilliance

Adding to the collection of brilliant Balotelli celebrations

For all the criticism he has received from the pundits and media (I’m looking at you, BBC pundits), not to forget the amount of racial abuse he has received during the tournament. Mario Balotelli’s mission was to not only make it into our Team of the Round, but also to prove all of his critics wrong. That’s what he achieved tonight, scoring both of Italy’s goals. He proved to be a handful for Badstuber and Hummels, both who have had excellent tournaments, by using his pace and knowledge of attacking positions in order to score the goals via a header and beating the offside trap. I told you to look out for him, didn’t I?!

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Euro 2012: Italy vs Republic of Ireland – Five Talking Points

Posted: June 18, 2012 by Sagar in Euro 2012, Euro 2012 Round-Up
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In the final round of Group C games, the Italians took on the Irish in Poznan with the former looking to progress to the quarter-finals with a win. Having already been eliminated from the tournament last week, Republic of Ireland were playing for nothing but pride tonight. Pride; it was a word which resonated with the entire team, perhaps none more so than Damien Duff who was handed the captain’s armband by Robbie Keane to mark his 100th cap.

1. Too little, too late.
Despite being considered an outside bet prior to the tournament, ROI’s qualities were never in doubt. Manager Giovanni Trapattoni shaped his team into a 4-4-2 making them hard to beat, especially with their industrious back-line and midfield. However, in their last two games at the Euros, ROI had conceded goals in the first five minutes of each half. Concentration and positioning brought into question, they needed to make sure there would be no mistakes tonight. Balotelli’s goal, Italy’s second, painted a misleading picture as this was not the Ireland we had seen in the last two games. There was plenty of grit, passion and work rate in tonight’s performance – more so than usual, certainly. Unfortunately for them, it came too late.

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5 Young Players To Watch At Euro 2012

Posted: June 6, 2012 by jameseugene in Euro 2012
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Less than a week to go before the tournament gets underway, fans across Europe are highly anticipating excellent matches from all teams. Participating teams have the opportunity to not only field their most experienced players, but to also provide their young players – the future of national teams – a chance to accumulate valuable international experience. Sandals For Goalposts have compiled a list of the 5 players for you, the reader, to keep a watchful eye on for the duration of the tournament.

5. Andre Schurrle (Germany)

Germany are currently churning out some of the most technically gifted youngsters in Europe (other than Spain) such as Mezut Ozil and Mario Gotze. I suspect that everyone will be keeping a close eye on those players, but they should also look out for Andre Schurrle of Bayer Leverkusen. The winger has 14 caps to his name, amassing 7 international goals in the process. Known for being an engine on the pitch, he has also gained a reputation for destroying full backs and leaving them to watch him straddle along the flanks. Hopefully we will be witnessing some of Schurrle’s impeccable technical ability in the tournament, provided he gets enough playing time.

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