July 2008

Euro 2008 is over, pre season transfers have begun in earnest, and as the footballing brains of Europe settle down to the domestic season, and the distant thoughts of qualifying for World Cup 2010, it is with some reluctance we leave behind the fervour of the last few weeks. We’ve seen some magnificent football, skills that would befit any of the world’s great stages, and some truly breathtaking solo performances. 

One can only relent that the fluid, free-flowing football of the Dutch was cut short in the Quarter Finals, but who could deny the plucky Russians their dues. Turkey summed up the spirit of do-or-die heroic comebacks, and Spain led from first to last with a sublime team of precociously talented individuals.

It’s been hectic, but on behalf of myself and Tom, I can thoroughly say we’ve enjoyed every minute of this tournament. We’d like to thank you all for getting involved with us over the last few weeks. From the casual reader email, to the comment hungry amongst you, those who have posted about us, or simply downloaded the wall-chart – thanks! 

And for anyone pining for an excellent way to fill the next few weeks before the domestic season kicks off again, why not get involved in Ole Ole’s exciting new development. Starting the week of 21 July, their Fantasy Football game features 6 different leagues including an exclusive European Super League that combines all the top European leagues in one game so you can pick players from any of the top clubs in Europe and put them in a single team. Fans have the opportunity to manage a team of players from the 2008/09 Bundesliga, English Premier League, La Liga, Ligue 1 and Serie A.

Awesome – oh and it’s free, it’s fun, and it’s competitive (with prizes to be won)… So sign up now, and we’ll see you soon.

Sayonara!

Jack and Tom

It’s always nice to feel a little loved, and it was with much joy that we came across this belated post on hypernarrative.com – which has only just appeared due to temporarily being lost in the drafts section on this rather super site. Extolling the virtues of the abundance of statistics in the game (and notably the Castrol Performance Index), see what Wilbert had to say over here – or in this small snippet.

“I can see that players that should be attacking spend most of their time on the wrong part of the field. This information adds context to the video footage, and it is context only interactive media can add. I don’t have to see this data all the time, I can just open it when I’m interested in how the players are doing. I don’t know if this is what interactive television should be, but I really like how this is adding an extra dimension to live footage.”

There’s more discussion on Xavi too, with those at http://r1ooooo.blogspot.com, keen to point out the benefits of the player of the tournament, as voted by the public on the Castrol Performance Index. Suggesting he was “key for La Furia Roja thanks to his superb short passing game and ability to break down opposition attacks”, he goes on with further praise. “His ability to dictate the pace of the game from midfield was extremely influential. The 28-year-old started in five matches and scored once, against Russia in the semi-final. He also created the goal for Fernando Torres in the final.”

Finally, there is plenty of food for thought over on the Sowetan blog, with a very relevant point for managers looking at picking up a bevy of hard-working journeymen on free transfers this summer. “According to the Castrol performance index website, in the group stage alone, the Romanians were the most energetic, covering 341.6 kilometres on average in three games. Powerful running is obviously not the key to winning however, as neither team made it past the group stage.”

True that!

Xavi may have been player of the tournament, but plenty of other Spaniards (and other nationalities indeed) have acquitted themselves particularly well during Euro 2008 – not many more so than Arsenal’s playmaker and inspiration – Cesc Fabregas. Just look at this post on soccerpulse.com to see what I mean. “His passes are out of this world…the best playmaker in the world without doubt” gushes ‘Execute’. ‘mohamedzxcvbnm’ agrees - “2 classy assists. That’s a brilliant player we have. Simply a GOD”.

Meanwhile over at keeper-skool.com, anyone interested in the art of keeping balls out of the onion bag will be delighted to find a whole wealth of information about the best goalies at Euro 2008. Featuring Casillas vs. Lehmann information (guess who came out better there), there is also commentary from a whole lot of experts, including this rather insightful nugget of thought from Miguel Aviles on the big Spanish number 1! – “He’s got sensational reflexes, is wonderful on one on one situations as he rarely, if ever, commits too early, he controls the penalty area well and most importantly is a team leader even though he plays as a goalkeeper.”

Meanwhile, goal.com have glanced at the information from the Castrol Performance Index, and named the top list of 23 players named as the Team of the Tournament. Tranquilo Barnetta seems to be one notable absentee, but other than that it seems really rather difficult to argue with! Cheers chaps.

Euro 2008 may feel long gone for most of Europe now, but one can bet that the celebrations are still reverberating around Spain like the proverbial bull in a 5-a-side court… and it is our good pal ‘beano’ at ‘beano blog’ who has ‘been’ in touch with this rather incredible video he took in the Plaza Zorrila in Valladolid as Spain won the Euro 2008 championships…. In his words “the whole place went bananas.” He’s not wrong… Turn your speakers down for this one!

Meanwhile, 101 Great Goals have been analyzing the statistics that we have been spitting at them throughout the tournament (not literally of course) suggesting that “it will come as no surprise to many who keep a keen eye on tactics, but Euro 2008 seemed to cast another nail in the coffin of playing two up front.” Que que? You may ask – but think about it. Putting in several references to our good selves, our former blog of the day, go on to explain their further theory, utilizing plenty of information from the CPI while they’re there.

“As a result most teams are now playing five in midfield and the key to success is having players that can cover the most ground. In the final last night, Xavi, today voted as player of the tournament, ran more than any other player (11,446 m). Alongside the Barcelona midfielder, Marcos Senna (10,036m), Andres Iniesta (9,595m) and Cesc Fabregas (8006m), who was only on the pitch for 63 minutes, were also key to the Spanish victory.” For more information pop along over here.

And finally for today, but do come back tomorrow because by goodness there will be more, let’s push over to footy-boots.com, who have gone-a-furrowing amongst the Castrol stats to answer the age old tournament questions. Which player is the quickest? Who covered the most ground during a match? Who’s our player of the tournament so far? I could give you the answers, but far more fun to pop over there right now and find out for yourself.