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What's up. My name is Amir, I love sports, A HUGE fan. My Passion and Soul is in Footbal "Soccer", I know mostly everything there is about it. I also love Baseball, Basketball and American Football, in that order. I do my best not to be biased to one team, or any for that matter. I am a huge Real Madrid fan, but I give credit where credit is due. So if Barcelona, Valencia or any other team for that matter, I will not bash them because I can. I love sports and it's fans because for me it is a intoxicating drug that gives me something to do. The only thing I hate are fans who have some narrow minded opinion on something. It is a right for everyone to have a say but please make an educated and reasonable opinion or point of view.More By A QQ
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Euro 2008 Group B Review...
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Group B:
-Austria
-Germany
-Croatia
-Poland
Here’s the second group in the Euros under review. Again I would like to point out that I am not going to predict the standings of this group; it’s just my opinion.
Austria
Another hosting country, with a really, and I mean REALLY, short track record. They are not well known, and I can’t really tell you that much about them, but they did beat Malta 5-1 in a pre-tournament match. The only reason I believe they are in this Cup is because they are hosting it, but I don’t know if they have what it takes to take on their opponents in this group. However, they are at home, and that could be a key factor for the outcome of their games, as they will not make a fool out of themselves in front of their fans.
Austria’s 23 Man Squad:
Goalkeepers:
Alexander Manninger (AC Siena)
Juergen Macho (AEK Athens)
Ramazan Ozcan (TSG 1899 Hoffenheim)
Defenders:
Gyorgy Garics (Napoli)
Ronald Gercaliu (Austria Vienna)
Martin Hiden (Kaernten)
Markus Katzer (Rapid Vienna)
Juergen Patocka (Rapid Vienna)
Emmanuel Pogatetz (Middlesbrough)
Sebastian Proedl (Sturm Graz)
Martin Stranzl (Spartak Moscow)
Midfielders:
Rene Aufhauser (Salzburg)
Christian Fuchs (Mattersburg)
Andreas Ivanschitz (Panathinaikos)
Umit Korkmaz (Rapid Vienna)
Christoph Leitgeb (Salzburg)
Juergen Saeumel (Sturm Graz)
Joachim Standfest (Austria Vienna)
Ivica Vastic (Linz)
Forwards:
Erwin Hoffer (Rapid Vienna)
Roman Kienast (Ham-Kam)
Roland Linz (Braga)
Martin Harnik (Werder Bremen)
Players to Watch
Alexander Manninger and Martin Harnik
Germany
Now here’s a team that is favored to go all the way. Germany has an amazing team, with an excellent history to back it up as well. They are very talented and have a balance between veterans and youg players with a lot of potential. They are known for depending on their defense through there matches, but that has changed a bit in recent years, as they were 3rd place in the World Cup 2006 and runners up in 2002. They dipped in form between 2003-2005, unable to move pass the Group stages in Euro 2004 while facing Portugal. But this time around, they will most probably want to show that the titans might fall, but definitely not beaten.
On a side note, Bernd Schneider was injured a couple of weeks before so he had to be replaced.
Germany’s 23 Man Squad:
Goalkeepers:
Jens Lehmann (VfB Stuttgart)
Robert Enke (Hanover 96)
Rene Adler (Bayer Leverkusen)
Defenders:
Christoph Metzelder (Real Madrid)
Per Mertesacker (Werder Bremen)
Philipp Lahm (Bayern Munich)
Arne Friedrich (Hertha Berlin)
Marcell Jansen (Bayern Munich)
Clemens Fritz (Werder Bremen)
Heiko Westermann (Schalke 04)
Midfielders:
Michael Ballack (Chelsea)
Thomas Hitzlsperger (VfB Stuttgart)
Simon Rolfes (Bayer Leverkusen)
Torsten Frings (Werder Bremen)
Bastian Schweinsteiger (Bayern Munich)
Piotr Trochowski (Hamburg SV)
Tim Borowski (Werder Bremen)
Forwards:
David Odonkor (Real Betis)
Miroslav Klose (Bayern Munich)
Lukas Podolski (Bayern Munich)
Mario Gomez (VfB Stuttgart)
Kevin Kuranyi (Schalke 04)
Oliver Neuville (Borussia Moenchengladbach)
Players to Watch
Michael Ballack had an amazing second half of the season with Chelsea. He showed that he can lead Germany in a pre-tournament match against Slovakia assisting a goal and scoring the second to come from behind and beat Slovakia 2-1.
Other Players on this team include Marcell Jensen, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Christoph Metzelder and Lukas Podolski
Croatia
There is a lot to say about Croatia. They denied England a place in the Euro’s, and they were first in their group qualifiers as well. However, that doesn't necessarily mean that they have what it takes either. They have shown great skill and stamina in some games I have watched, but they lack the star in the midfield, which is the difference between them and opponents like Germany.
They are definitely not an easy team to beat though, and it will be thrilling to watch them take on Germany later on.
Croatia’s 23 Man Squad:
Goalkeepers:
Stipe Pletikosa (Spartak Moscow)
Vedran Runje (Lens)
Mario Galinovic (Panathinaikos)
Defenders:
Vedran Corluka (Manchester City)
Dario Simic (AC Milan)
Robert Kovac (Borussia Dortmund)
Josip Simunic (Hertha Berlin)
Dario Knezevic (Livorno)
Hrvoje Vejic (Tomsk)
Danijel Pranjic (Heerenveen)
Midfielders:
Darijo Srna (Shakhtar Donetsk)
Niko Kovac (Red Bull Salzburg)
Luka Modric (Tottenham)
Niko Kranjcar (Portsmouth)
Jerko Leko (AS Monaco)
Ivan Rakitic (Schalke)
Ognjen Vukojevic (Dinamo Bucharest)
Nikola Pokrivac (AS Monaco)
Forwards:
Mladen Petric (Borussia Dortmund)
Ivica Olic (Hamburger SV)
Ivan Klasnic (Werder Bremen)
Igor Budan (Parma)
Nikola Kalinic (Hajduk Split)
Players to Watch
Ivan Klasnic, Ivica Olic, Luka Madric and Dario Simic
Poland
I have been amazed by Poland’s form in the Qualifiers because not only were they first in their group, but they also outplayed Portugal in both games. They won the first one, and held Portugal to a draw in the second. However, this a different place and a different time, so only time can tell how well they do when it all matters.
Poland’s 23 Man Squad:
Goalkeepers:
Artur Boruc (Celtic)
Tomasz Kuszczak (Manchester United)
Lukasz Fabianski (Arsenal)
Defenders:
Marcin Wasilewski (Anderlecht)
Pawel Golanski (Steaua Bukarest)
Mariusz Jop (FC Moscow)
Jacek Bak (Austria Vienna)
Michal Zewlakow (Olympiakos)
Adam Kokoszka (Wisla Krakow)
Jakub Wawrzyniak (Legia Warsaw)
Dariusz Dudka (Wisla Krakow)
Michal Pazdan (Gornik Zabrze)
Midfielders:
Mariusz Lewandowski (Shakhtar Donetsk)
Jakub Blaszczykowski (Borussia Dortmund)
Rafal Murawski (Lech Poznan)
Lukasz Gargula (GKS Belchatow)
Jacek Krzynowek (VfL Wolfsburg)
Roger Guerreiro (Legia Warsaw)
Wojciech Lobodzinski (Wisla Krakow)
Forwards:
Euzebiusz Smolarek (Racing Santander)
Maciej Zurawski (Larissa)
Marek Saganowski (Southampton)
Tomasz Zahorski (Gornik Zabrze)
Players to Watch
I am not to sure who to choose out of this bunch, as I don't know much about them. But whatever... My picks are…
Euzebiusz Smolarek and Jakub Blaszczykowski
