The Netherlands

[Bluto10]

anyone see their game with finland the other night.

 

great goal from young psv guy called strootman.

came from an awsome pass from sneijder.

 

they're looking good again, but i suspect they have missed their chance for a 2nd major trophy in the last world cup or the euro08, where to me they were the best side there.

european football is quite good at the moment, exciting teams like germany, holland and spain. should make for a good euros in 10 months time.

[Dynamo]

Saw they gubbed San Marino 11-0. There're no easy games in international football San Marino have a -49 goal difference. 49 conceded, 0 scored. Sucks to be them.

 

Holland are a cracking side, Spain and Germany and the Dutch are head and shoulders aboe everyone else. Italy are beggining to come good again and the Frogs are the same.

 

For the first major championships in a while, i'm not concerened one bit that the guffs will even get a sniff of it - well since Euro 2008

[Sonoftherock]

For me, Germany, Spain and Holland are out on there own at the moment. The others are chasing.

 

Then you've got a group of teams including Italy, England and France, who have enough talent in their squads that they could potentially cause an upset.

 

Euro 2012 has the potential to be a classic!

[Chrisyboy81]

Germany are looking scarily good. The Spanish team aren't getting any younger either, with young players like G

[Maguire89]

I agree that Spain, the Netherlands and us (Germany) look to be a different class just now. However no one knows what will happen at the Euro, when you've got to be 110 % concentrated and in form to get far.

 

There are some Cons against all three teams: Spain have got - with all respect to our beloved Scotland - a quite easy qualification group, while they lost most of their friendlies since the last World Cup. Of course a friendly is completely different from a Euro game, but it can still damage the confidence as the past has shown often enough. Then, as Chrisyboy said, apart from Pedro or Thiago Alcantara, there are not too many big Spanish talents right now, and the ones they have are all playing in midfield.

 

Considering the Dutch, they have often been accused of playing only effective but no nice football, as it happened at the last World Cup as well. In their qualifying matches against the likes of Moldova or San Marino, it was different of course, but the fluctuation in the squad is much higher than the one of Spain's for example as well, and some older, experienced players like Van Bronckhorst or Van der Saar have retired and experience is always a major factor at the big tournaments.

 

For Germany the young players could also turn out to be a problem because of the just mentioned lack of experience. Also, players like G

[Foster14]

Euro 2012 has the potential to be a classic!

 

Not too sure on that like. Groups might be interesting, but main worry for me it will be shut up shop like the last world cup come group stages time. What little entertainment there was in the last World Cup mainly came from non-European teams.

[Chrisyboy81]

I agree that Spain, the Netherlands and us (Germany) look to be a different class just now. However no one knows what will happen at the Euro, when you've got to be 110 % concentrated and in form to get far.

 

There are some Cons against all three teams: Spain have got - with all respect to our beloved Scotland - a quite easy qualification group, while they lost most of their friendlies since the last World Cup. Of course a friendly is completely different from a Euro game, but it can still damage the confidence as the past has shown often enough. Then, as Chrisyboy said, apart from Pedro or Thiago Alcantara, there are not too many big Spanish talents right now, and the ones they have are all playing in midfield.

 

Considering the Dutch, they have often been accused of playing only effective but no nice football, as it happened at the last World Cup as well. In their qualifying matches against the likes of Moldova or San Marino, it was different of course, but the fluctuation in the squad is much higher than the one of Spain's for example as well, and some older, experienced players like Van Bronckhorst or Van der Saar have retired and experience is always a major factor at the big tournaments.

 

For Germany the young players could also turn out to be a problem because of the just mentioned lack of experience. Also, players like G

[Bluto10]

Some excellent points, I seen G

[Henry]

The next few years will be very interesting for Germany and Europe in general.

 

That's what they said in 1933. And look where that got them.

[Chrisyboy81]

Lots of american movies.

[Maguire89]

this is what i find hilarius when it comes to spain (and barcalona).

 

we hear so much abnout iniesta and xavi. rightfully so , but i find them overrated - not because they arent good players but cause folk are so easily carried away with the barca hype.

messi on the otherhand is clearly something special. but with x an a.i. its like we have never seen good technical midfielders before.

 

there are plenty around at the moment so spain might not necessarily continue their domination. esp if they play like they did at the world cup.

 

bus as i tried, in vain, to argue on another thread - with barcalona its different, cause they have messi.

 

True, you can see with Argentina though, that its not only Messi and not only Xavi/Iniesta that makes the team so good, because for Argentina Messi can't do what he does for Barca. One of them alone won't make the difference, only all of them together make a team almost unbeatable.

 

@ Chrisyboy81

 

Thanks, I agree that G

[Bluto10]

True, you can see with Argentina though, that its not only Messi and not only Xavi/Iniesta that makes the team so good, because for Argentina Messi can't do what he does for Barca. One of them alone won't make the difference, only all of them together make a team almost unbeatable.

 

i can see where youre coming from, but my opinion of argentina as a team is pretty low down.

they are essentially an international joke.

for messi to thrive in that environment canna be easy so thats is why, in my mind, i excuse his failings at international level

[Quagmire]

this is what i find hilarius when it comes to spain (and barcalona).

 

we hear so much abnout iniesta and xavi. rightfully so , but i find them overrated - not because they arent good players but cause folk are so easily carried away with the barca hype.

messi on the otherhand is clearly something special. but with x an a.i. its like we have never seen good technical midfielders before.

 

there are plenty around at the moment so spain might not necessarily continue their domination. esp if they play like they did at the world cup.

 

bus as i tried, in vain, to argue on another thread - with barcalona its different, cause they have messi.

 

Yawn. How about you go find Xavi or Iniesta and ask them to show you their World Cup Winners Medal, European Championshop Medal, Champions League Winners Medals or La Ligas Medals then you'll maybe stop going on about how you think they're 'over-rated'. You seem to be bitter that they're simply a step up from ANYTHING at Man Utd. Your beloved Rooney would give his right nut to achieve what those two have.

[Bluto10]

Yawn. How about you go find Xavi or Iniesta and ask them to show you their World Cup Winners Medal, European Championshop Medal, Champions League Winners Medals or La Ligas Medals then you'll maybe stop going on about how you think they're 'over-rated'. You seem to be bitter that they're simply a step up from ANYTHING at Man Utd. Your beloved Rooney would give his right nut to achieve what those two have.

 

 

touchy, arent we.

 

''Champions League Winners Medals or La Ligas Medals ''

you are aware that Xavi & Iniesta arent the first people ever to win these medals, yeah?

nor the world cup and euro champs either for that matter.

 

its my opinion, you dont have to like it.

[Quagmire]

You spout out the same old shit every other week about Barca, making yourself look a completely clueless twat in doing so.

 

Xavi and Iniesta have won everything possible for them to win in the game. How anyone can have the opinion they're over-rated after doing so shows a lack of knowledge about football and common sense in general.

 

If you're going to make such bold statements on an open forum expect to be shown up for the fool that you are

[Bluto10]

You spout out the same old shit every other week about Barca, making yourself look a completely clueless twat in doing so.

 

Xavi and Iniesta have won everything possible for them to win in the game. How anyone can have the opinion they're over-rated after doing so shows a lack of knowledge about football and common sense in general.

 

If you're going to make such bold statements on an open forum expect to be shown up for the fool that you are

 

 

christ on a bike, youre nae in a good mood are you.

 

my point still stands.

folk like you and the media build these two up like they are the first ever decent midfielders.

no mention of other skilled players around.

 

they are held up to be di stefano and cruyff.

are they bollox. there are many really good midfielders around currnetly, and there hanve been plenty before these two came on the scene.

 

i suppose essentially thats my point.

perhaps 'over rated' is the wrong term to use.

it just bugs me that folk forget the brilliant players from the recent past and get a bit too excited about what we see on a weekly basis.

[Maguire89]

i can see where youre coming from, but my opinion of argentina as a team is pretty low down.

they are essentially an international joke.

for messi to thrive in that environment canna be easy so thats is why, in my mind, i excuse his failings at international level

 

I can also see your point and it's true that Argentina are not really succesful as a team. But you can't deny that they have a very strong squad with a lot of players under contract with international top clubs. So it's pretty much the case that the whole team underperforms, and maybe most Argentinians are just no good team players or not fitting together- at Barca, on the other side, thats the case and it makes Messi the extraordinary player he is, so basically that proves my point

 

To your other discussion:

 

The thing is, that the Spanish national team have acquired really the same way of playing football like Barca, which also means their form a unit, a real team, other than Argentina. So we can't see how Xavi or Iniesta will work in a worse/less united team and they rarely play bad fitba.

But I see your point, bluto, about all these footballers in the past or even the present, just think of Zidane.