The beautiful game reigned supreme at Euro 2008 while the spoilers and trench diggers were left to lick their wounds.
An enticing and thrilling Spanish side were deservedly crowned European Champions, flying the flag for the football purists who wanted to see the beautiful game live up to its tagline.
'Style Over Substance for the Spanish'
The Spanish played in a style that echoed the total football of the Dutch and the swagger of the great Brazilian sides. “Pass and move” football with intelligent positioning and overlapping that left the German defence baffled.
Having witnessed a defensive minded Italian team win the World Cup it was refreshing and exciting to see a winning side playing with a creative mindset and focus to win in style.
It is not to say that the Spanish were not strong defensively. The back four were imperious only conceding three goals in the tournament. They defended well as a team because they kept the ball expertly providing a base to attack from.
"Xavi Was A Genius"
Xavi was a worthy winner of player of the tournament, to my recollection I don’t remember him being dispossessed once. He always had a desire to want the ball and was always available for a pass. Watching him was a showcase on how to be the heartbeat of a side.
The German side were very fortunate to have made it to the final as their centre back pairing were more suited to the circus than Euro 2008. Christopher Metzelder, usually a consistent performer was substandard and Per Mertesacker looked inebriated for the majority of the tournament. They couldn’t cope with the movement and precision passing of Spain’s forward line and the Spanish should have won more convincingly.
"Attacking Endeavour Won Through"
The teams that were successful in Austria played attacking possession football built on solid foundations. The likes of Holland, Russia and Turkey played with a will to win, keeping the ball efficiently looking to cut open defences but with solid defensive units behind them.
And for once the teams that struggled were poorly organised resorting to stifling oppositions rather than outplaying their opponents. France were a prime example of a side that was badly organised with no platform or base to go forward from. The German’s played well in patches in the tournament but teams should have penetrated their leaky defence. It was a shame we didn’t get to see a Holland vs Spain final. I think that would have done the tournament justice.
Euro 2008 will be remembered for the right football reasons. Exciting play, freedom of expression and most importantly lots of high calibre goals. It is testament to how strong European football is at the moment, particularly as you had three English teams in the Champions League Semi-Finals and England didn’t even qualify for the Euros. It proves how competitive and how high the quality is among European players.
"Russia Deserve Respect"
Another example of this is the emergence of a team from the eastern front. The Russian resurrection has been fascinating. They have cemented themselves as a new force in European football at Euro 2008. Following Zenit St Petersburg’s triumph in the Uefa Cup final Russian football is now firmly at the forefront of the modern game. The re-birth of a team with a new reputation of being well organised but most importantly exciting to watch.
Now that Euro 2008 is over the transfer merry-go-round will begin. From July 1st expect a frantic dash from Europe’s top clubs to nail their targets. This transfer window is certain to provide a lot of movement amongst the top clubs as well as some high-end transfer fees. I hope for the sake of the premiership Manchester United hold on to Cristiano Ronaldo, it would be huge blow to lose him but I fear he has engineered this move as far back as Christmas. Only time will tell…