UEFA Euro 2012

wow, i have to admit i feel a bit bad for Italy. 4-0 scoreline is harsh all things considered

Eurocup 2012. Spain Winner!

Well, scratch 2 goals!

I feel bad for Italy too, but I wanted Spain to win!

And poor Torres' reputation got saved a little

This was the Spain that we all associated when we think of Spain, not those incarnations from earlier in the tournament. They had some lulls in the game but overall this was the Spain we've come to know. so past 2 Euro championships and last World Cup, greatest team? or at least one of them.

and i know wijn who would have thought TORRES would get the golden boot.

Taylor Twellman (one of our analysis) is an idiot <_< he just completely dismisses the added factor of playing in Brazil for the next world cup and how difficult it'll be for them. Not to mention they'll have to face the South American teams like Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay and the first two will most definitely be stronger in two years. hate that guy -.-

Well-deserved for Spain, but the margin was a bit cruel on Italy.

Of Italy I just feel sad for Buffon.

Congratulations for Spain

Felicidades España/ Gratzie Italia

Spain - S = PAIN!

An awesome (if somewhat overdue) display of incisive passing from the Spanish, but by no means were Italy disgraced. I thought they were still in with an outside chance until they lost Motta, even at 2-0 down.

So, best international side ever?

Congratulations to Spain!!!

excuse my ignorance again, but can someone explain to me why Torres is taken for of a joke? Not in this tournament but in general as a player.

excuse my ignorance again, but can someone explain to me why Torres is taken for of a joke? Not in this tournament but in general as a player.

I think it's not Torres himself, but people just need someone to make fun of.

I mean- just search 9gag, and you're busy for hours!

Ok i don't like Spain but Congratulations for Spain

excuse my ignorance again, but can someone explain to me why Torres is taken for of a joke? Not in this tournament but in general as a player.

It only really happened about 18 months ago but I guess in truth, Torres had been underperforming for a lot longer. He was dogged by all manner of knee injuries towards the end of his time at Liverpool and was well short of fitness at the 2010 World Cup, where David Villa took over as Spain's main striker. By the time he arrived at Chelsea, he looked slow, low on confidence and just generally incapable of recreating his best form. Consequently, his goalscoring prowess pretty much went down the toilet and the jokes started. These days you can see signs of improvement, though the recovery still looks far from complete. I suspect a move away from Chelsea would help no end.

So, best international side ever?

As an Italy fan, I still have to say yes, even those old Brazil teams.

It's a difficult thing to try and judge, I guess. Apart from anything else, the advantage of television nowadays means that almost no-one on Earth would have seen as much of Brazil 1970 as this generation has of the current Spain side. At the very least though, they deserve comparison with the greats of the past, which is rather awesome praise in itself.

UEFA do something stupid and pointless, rest of world unsurprised...

UEFA under fire for faking ‘crying fan’ footage

European football's governing body UEFA has sparked outrage after it emerged that they manipulated footage of fans during the Euro 2012 semi-finals. People across the world were touched when cameras zoomed in on a German fan in the crowd crying after Mario Balotelli put Italy two goals ahead in the first half of their match last week.

ESPN commentator Adrian Healey even referred to the woman as he covered the game for American TV, saying it was "too early for tears" since there was the best part of an hour left in which the sparky Germans could fight their way back into the match. There was just one problem: the woman - a fan from Dusseldorf called Andrea - hadn't started crying at all, and was stunned to receive text messages from friends back home asking why she was blubbing with so much football left to play.

It turns out that Andrea had actually been overcome by emotion during the singing of the German national anthem before the match. The footage was recorded, then cut into the live feed sent to broadcasters around the world after the Italians went 2-0 up. Broadcasters claim to have been oblivious to what was going on, with German TV stations in particular furious with the way the pictures had been manipulated.

UEFA later issued a statement to the Associated Press in which, like a surly teenager, it mixed an unconvincing explanation with a half-hearted apology. The organisation claims it was trying to show "the human story of the game... to translate the emotion and tension of German fans", but had now issued instructions "not to use these reactions again directly in a chain of replays of live action, to avoid any misleading understanding".

excuse my ignorance again, but can someone explain to me why Torres is taken for of a joke? Not in this tournament but in general as a player.

It only really happened about 18 months ago but I guess in truth, Torres had been underperforming for a lot longer. He was dogged by all manner of knee injuries towards the end of his time at Liverpool and was well short of fitness at the 2010 World Cup, where David Villa took over as Spain's main striker. By the time he arrived at Chelsea, he looked slow, low on confidence and just generally incapable of recreating his best form. Consequently, his goalscoring prowess pretty much went down the toilet and the jokes started. These days you can see signs of improvement, though the recovery still looks far from complete. I suspect a move away from Chelsea would help no end.

excuse my ignorance again, but can someone explain to me why Torres is taken for of a joke? Not in this tournament but in general as a player.

It only really happened about 18 months ago but I guess in truth, Torres had been underperforming for a lot longer. He was dogged by all manner of knee injuries towards the end of his time at Liverpool and was well short of fitness at the 2010 World Cup, where David Villa took over as Spain's main striker. By the time he arrived at Chelsea, he looked slow, low on confidence and just generally incapable of recreating his best form. Consequently, his goalscoring prowess pretty much went down the toilet and the jokes started. These days you can see signs of improvement, though the recovery still looks far from complete. I suspect a move away from Chelsea would help no end.

I guess like any high-profile figure who's been knocking about for what seems like forever, Beckham provokes extreme opinions like nobody's business. He's also quite often used as a media tool to get non-fans interested in the game, so much so that people have started to see him as a sort of footballer for people who don't like football, if that makes any sense whatsoever. But if there's one thing he does have going for him, it's an incredible knack of being able to maximise what he's got, be it his relatively limited gifts on the pitch or his marketability off it.

Yeah I guess the more famous you are the more "haters" you get. but are you saying he was never that good?

Only in the sense that he was never blessed with the natural technique of a Messi or the pace and raw athleticism of a Ronaldo. His success on the pitch was always more of an advert for spirit, dedication and hard work than extravagant gifts. Will I remember Beckham as one of the true all-time greats? Probably not. As one of the best of his generation? Without a doubt. You certainly wouldn't play for United, Madrid and Milan if you were average, and the sheer volume of goals and general chaos his crossing provided from that right wing was just incredible.