Euro 2012

GothicGothicness said:
I just can't believe Portugals mistake, I've never seen the wrong person go to take a penalty before, poor Bruno…. the person who sent him towards the spot at the wrong time most really be unhappy now.
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Huh? Just bad luck if you ask me - Portugal's and Spain's last penaltys both hit wood, just Spain's jumped to the inside. Penalties are basically a lottery, just a little more exiting than throwing a coin...
That was an awful game. There came NOTHING from the Spaniards until the last 5 minutes of overtime. Portugal at least with some nice counter attacks, but very imprecise in the shots on goal.

Now, let's get those Italians out of the way ;)
 
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It was certainly a difficult match for Spain as Portugal managed to destabilise Spain by pressuring the Spanish midfield thus not allowing them to play their typical game of ball possession. In many occasions Spain was unusually sloppy while passing the ball.

There was no clear superiority from either side in the first 90 minutes. But of course, eventually, the Portuguese pressure takes its toll making them physically more tired and in overtime it was clear that Spain got a more dominant role with some good actions.

Penalties are indeed a lottery and even the best of the best are not immune to the psychological pressure.

Let's see if Italy will allow Germany to take revenge in the final :).
 
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Yes you have to follow the list you've supplied earlier so Bruno was fourth but someone told him he was third. That's why Nani had to run and stop him. I can only imagine how tense Bruno was when he had to walk to the spot for the second time.
 
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I don't see why you guys think it is luck ...
These people train 6 days a week for hours to get their balls to shoot straight where they want it to be. Then you have some people who know how to keep their cool in front of thousands of people. The people who can combine both usually get their shots in. If that's luck then you can say everything is luck. The carpenter who makes his furniture look amazing is all luck, it has nothing to do with the fact that he's been doing this every day of his life for the past 15 years or so...

Putting the ball further would only change the time it takes for the ball to reach the goal, which means the goalkeeper will have more of a "say" in what would happen.

Still, it's skill. If I was the one shooting in front of 40000 people, I would miss every single time. Already to get the ball in from 16 meters is hard for me to do every time. Add that pressure and I would lie down there with my fingers in my ears in a fetal position :p
 
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Pladio said:
I don't see why you guys think it is luck …
These people train 6 days a week for hours to get their balls to shoot straight where they want it to be. Then you have some people who know how to keep their cool in front of thousands of people. The people who can combine both usually get their shots in. If that's luck then you can say everything is luck. The carpenter who makes his furniture look amazing is all luck, it has nothing to do with the fact that he's been doing this every day of his life for the past 15 years or so…

Putting the ball further would only change the time it takes for the ball to reach the goal, which means the goalkeeper will have more of a "say" in what would happen.

Still, it's skill. If I was the one shooting in front of 40000 people, I would miss every single time. Already to get the ball in from 16 meters is hard for me to do every time. Add that pressure and I would lie down there with my fingers in my ears in a fetal position :p
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Many professionals have repeatedly stated that the psychological factor is often the most decisive factor. You can train for as long as you want to improve your technique at shooting penalties but you simply cannot simulate the pressure during big events like e.g the World cup.

There have been many players who literally cried like little babies after losing the World cup final. This alone indicates the psychological and emotional impact of such an event.
 
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Damn, damn, damn! Congrats Italy!
:sad Panda:
 
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Now that was unexpected.

I felt the popularity around here immediately drop after the second goal for Italy.
 
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Wow, the Italians pulverized the Germans !
I was expecting a close win for Germany, but not something like this. Italy went on full force. Germany did much better in the second half with lots of chances, but they couldn't do anything with them.

JDR: Yeah, something like that :D
 
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I'm not sure how you can say Germany was pulverized in a game they lost 2-1, but I admit I didn't watch it.

Personally, I was hoping for a Germany-Spain final. I guess I'll root for Italy now.
 
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I didn't expect last nights result.

I guess i'll be completely neutral at the final.
 
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It wasn't a complete shock that Italy beat Germany, but I was hoping for a Germany-Spain final. I told you I suck at predictions. Gotta root for Italy now. Will be a lot easier to stomach the loss if it was to the champions. Sad to see it over. When does the Barclays Premier League start? August?
 
Italy is always the favourite against Germany during tournaments. So it was no surprise at all.

Correct result. Löw lost this game in the first half. His starting team was the wrong choice. He corrected this for the 2nd half and Germany started to play well. But it's simply not possible to repair a 0-2 against Italy in 45 minutes.
 
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I don't believe much in these series to be honest. But it's clear that Italy is often a great tournament team, getting stronger the further they get.

When I looked at the two teams during the anthems I started to get a bad feeling. The italians were *there*, enthusiastic, singing with all their hearts. Germans looked like it was any other game.
Agree that Löws strategy was wrong, specifically Podolski has not been playing so well the entire tournament - but always easy to say that after the fact. If that first big chance by Hummels (4th minute) had gone in (and it HAD to be Pirlo that cleared it on the line), I'd wager the game would have gone completely different. Well, that's soccer.
 
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I had the feeling as if they had too many breaches / problems in the defense line.
 
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JDR13 said:
I'm not sure how you can say Germany was pulverized in a game they lost 2-1, but I admit I didn't watch it.

Personally, I was hoping for a Germany-Spain final. I guess I'll root for Italy now.
Click to expand...

They only got that goal on a penalty shoot and the match was clearly in Italy's favour...
 
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Germany had a dozen chances, especially very early and in the last 20 minutes - but no luck at all. Corners was like 10 - 0 for Germany. The goal for Germany was more than deserved. 2 - 1 was the correct result. Italy was much better in the first half. There was no reason for them to do much after that.
 
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