Post by JamesB on Jun 7, 2012 14:37:33 GMT
Group A kicks off Euro 2012 tomorrow at 5 pm BST, and includes some of the tournament outsiders, who all somehow managed to avoid the big teams and end up drawn into a group where they now have a realistic chance of making the knockout stages, when otherwise they would have been unlikely to do so
Having said that, though, that doesn't mean these teams aren't totally useless. It includes the hosts, former winners Greece, former runners-up the Czech Republic and perennial dark horses Russia - all are perfectly capable of springing surprises, which is what makes this the most open group in the tournament, although with some defensive teams, it could also be the most boring to watch:
Czech Republic
The golden era of Czech football, when they could call upon the talents of Jan Koller, Karel Poborsky, Patrik Berger and Pavel Nedved, is now a distant memory, with only remnants of that side remaining. A great side though it was, it persistently underachieved in the big tournaments - for some reason, the Czechs have been consistent qualifiers for the Euros, and indeed came close to winning Euro 96 (and were unfortunate to miss out in the semi-finals of Euro 2004 to their group rivals Greece), but have only once qualified for the World Cup (in 2006) since the split. The Czechs qualified for this tournament via a play-off with Montenegro, after finishing 2nd behind Spain in a group that also included Scotland
Nonetheless, the squad still contains a number of talented players, most notably scrum cap-wearing safe hands Petr Cech, who played an important role in winning the Champions League for Chelsea this season. The other names familiar to English fans will be Arsenal's Tomas Rosicky and former Liverpool and Villa striker Milan Baros, now of Galatasaray. Generally, though, it is an inexperienced team - though most of the players aren't young, they don't have a huge number of caps, presumably because the previous generation were relied upon so heavily that they never got a chance. They may also struggle for goals - their top scorer in qualifying was defender (and penalty-taker) Michal Kadlec
Greece
It is now compulsory to refer to Euro 2004 when talking about the Greek national team. After all, they don't really have much else to shout about, having qualified for only 2 World Cups and 3 European Championships. There is a reason why they were given odds as far out as 150-1 to win that tournament. It is arguably the greatest upset in modern football history - most people still couldn't name you the players that played in that side
Talking of which, there are very few survivors of that team remaining. The most well-known is the captain of the current side, Giorgos Karagounis, the Panathinaikos midfielder who scored the first goal of that tournament. The 35 year old could equal or surpass Theo Zagorakis' national caps record at the tournament. His club mate Kostas Katsouranis also featured, while Kostas Chalkias was in the squad. The current team, though, now revolves around the post-2004 generation of youngsters, including Celtic's Giorgos Samaras. Though you wouldn't necessarily expect them to be contenders, they went through qualifying unbeaten, so don't rule them out
Poland
Expect the usual clichés about the hosts carrying the hopes of a nation, but realistically, don't expect a huge amount from them. Earlier this year, Poland were at their lowest FIFA Ranking yet at 75th. Like Austria in 2008, this is an average side that has qualified solely because they are hosts - 2010 World Cup qualifying suggests they would have struggled to make their way in that way for this tournament
However, the squad itself has a few talented faces, which suggests potential. Wojciech Szczesny is probably the most familiar, the Arsenal keeper quickly developing into one of the best in the Premier League. Up front is in-form striker Robert Lewandowski, who, along with captain Jakub Blaszczykowski (or Kuba for short) and full-back Lucasz Piszczek, was a key figure in Borussia Dortmund's back-to-back Bundesliga victories. The trio bring a talented, successful core to this side based around the right flank, but I'm not convinced the rest of the side is as strong. It is plausible that they could make it out of the group, especially as it is this group in particular, but I have my doubts
Russia
The Russians edged out the Republic of Ireland in what was one of the weaker qualifying group, but they go into Euro 2012 with another kind draw and are favourites to top the group, with the possibility of progressing further into the competition. Coached by former Rangers boss Dick Advocaat, it is certainly a talented squad, based around the successful CSKA Moscow and Zenit St Petersburg sides - Yuri Zhirkov, the former Chelsea left back/winger who now plays for Anzhi, is the only player in the expected starting XI from outside these two clubs. Spain have used such a formula to perfection in recent years, basing themselves around the players of Barcelona and Real Madrid
The key man is captain Andrei Arshavin, who lit up Euro 2008 after returning from suspension - without him in that tournament, they looked a far weaker side. But defensively they are strong - Igor Akinfeev, the first choice keeper if he has recovered from injury, is highly-rated, and Ignashevich and Berezutski make a strong centre-back pairing for CSKA and country. Up front, Advocaat has plenty of options - he is expected to go with Aleksandr Kerzhakov, but could also go for Fulham's Pavel Pogrebnyak or ex-Spurs striker Roman Pavlyuchenko if he wants to go more direct. They are likely to be the most attacking team in the group, which could play into their hands. But having played a very long season that has lasted a year and a half, fatigue could be an issue
For more info, I recommend Zonal Marking's analysis of the teams
Czech Republic: www.zonalmarking.net/2012/06/05/euro-2012-preview-czech-republic/
Greece: www.zonalmarking.net/2012/06/05/euro-2012-preview-greece/
Poland: www.zonalmarking.net/2012/06/05/euro-2012-preview-poland/
Russia: www.zonalmarking.net/2012/06/05/euro-2012-preview-russia/
Having said that, though, that doesn't mean these teams aren't totally useless. It includes the hosts, former winners Greece, former runners-up the Czech Republic and perennial dark horses Russia - all are perfectly capable of springing surprises, which is what makes this the most open group in the tournament, although with some defensive teams, it could also be the most boring to watch:
Czech Republic
The golden era of Czech football, when they could call upon the talents of Jan Koller, Karel Poborsky, Patrik Berger and Pavel Nedved, is now a distant memory, with only remnants of that side remaining. A great side though it was, it persistently underachieved in the big tournaments - for some reason, the Czechs have been consistent qualifiers for the Euros, and indeed came close to winning Euro 96 (and were unfortunate to miss out in the semi-finals of Euro 2004 to their group rivals Greece), but have only once qualified for the World Cup (in 2006) since the split. The Czechs qualified for this tournament via a play-off with Montenegro, after finishing 2nd behind Spain in a group that also included Scotland
Nonetheless, the squad still contains a number of talented players, most notably scrum cap-wearing safe hands Petr Cech, who played an important role in winning the Champions League for Chelsea this season. The other names familiar to English fans will be Arsenal's Tomas Rosicky and former Liverpool and Villa striker Milan Baros, now of Galatasaray. Generally, though, it is an inexperienced team - though most of the players aren't young, they don't have a huge number of caps, presumably because the previous generation were relied upon so heavily that they never got a chance. They may also struggle for goals - their top scorer in qualifying was defender (and penalty-taker) Michal Kadlec
Greece
It is now compulsory to refer to Euro 2004 when talking about the Greek national team. After all, they don't really have much else to shout about, having qualified for only 2 World Cups and 3 European Championships. There is a reason why they were given odds as far out as 150-1 to win that tournament. It is arguably the greatest upset in modern football history - most people still couldn't name you the players that played in that side
Talking of which, there are very few survivors of that team remaining. The most well-known is the captain of the current side, Giorgos Karagounis, the Panathinaikos midfielder who scored the first goal of that tournament. The 35 year old could equal or surpass Theo Zagorakis' national caps record at the tournament. His club mate Kostas Katsouranis also featured, while Kostas Chalkias was in the squad. The current team, though, now revolves around the post-2004 generation of youngsters, including Celtic's Giorgos Samaras. Though you wouldn't necessarily expect them to be contenders, they went through qualifying unbeaten, so don't rule them out
Poland
Expect the usual clichés about the hosts carrying the hopes of a nation, but realistically, don't expect a huge amount from them. Earlier this year, Poland were at their lowest FIFA Ranking yet at 75th. Like Austria in 2008, this is an average side that has qualified solely because they are hosts - 2010 World Cup qualifying suggests they would have struggled to make their way in that way for this tournament
However, the squad itself has a few talented faces, which suggests potential. Wojciech Szczesny is probably the most familiar, the Arsenal keeper quickly developing into one of the best in the Premier League. Up front is in-form striker Robert Lewandowski, who, along with captain Jakub Blaszczykowski (or Kuba for short) and full-back Lucasz Piszczek, was a key figure in Borussia Dortmund's back-to-back Bundesliga victories. The trio bring a talented, successful core to this side based around the right flank, but I'm not convinced the rest of the side is as strong. It is plausible that they could make it out of the group, especially as it is this group in particular, but I have my doubts
Russia
The Russians edged out the Republic of Ireland in what was one of the weaker qualifying group, but they go into Euro 2012 with another kind draw and are favourites to top the group, with the possibility of progressing further into the competition. Coached by former Rangers boss Dick Advocaat, it is certainly a talented squad, based around the successful CSKA Moscow and Zenit St Petersburg sides - Yuri Zhirkov, the former Chelsea left back/winger who now plays for Anzhi, is the only player in the expected starting XI from outside these two clubs. Spain have used such a formula to perfection in recent years, basing themselves around the players of Barcelona and Real Madrid
The key man is captain Andrei Arshavin, who lit up Euro 2008 after returning from suspension - without him in that tournament, they looked a far weaker side. But defensively they are strong - Igor Akinfeev, the first choice keeper if he has recovered from injury, is highly-rated, and Ignashevich and Berezutski make a strong centre-back pairing for CSKA and country. Up front, Advocaat has plenty of options - he is expected to go with Aleksandr Kerzhakov, but could also go for Fulham's Pavel Pogrebnyak or ex-Spurs striker Roman Pavlyuchenko if he wants to go more direct. They are likely to be the most attacking team in the group, which could play into their hands. But having played a very long season that has lasted a year and a half, fatigue could be an issue
For more info, I recommend Zonal Marking's analysis of the teams
Czech Republic: www.zonalmarking.net/2012/06/05/euro-2012-preview-czech-republic/
Greece: www.zonalmarking.net/2012/06/05/euro-2012-preview-greece/
Poland: www.zonalmarking.net/2012/06/05/euro-2012-preview-poland/
Russia: www.zonalmarking.net/2012/06/05/euro-2012-preview-russia/
