Euro2008

It’s the big one alright, the one we’ve all been waiting for, the one that the previous 30 games have all been about. It’s the game when the great and the good of World football and politics (well, Platini and Angela Merkel anyway) are bound to be in the stands. Predicted by Castrol way back in May, the Spain/Germany final is the match that most neutrals would have thought would be the ultimate game. Unless they were Italian. Or French. Or Dutch.

According to the Edmonton Sun, though, Germany’s talismanic captain and most hard-working player throughout the whole tournament might not be available due to a mystery calf injury. They quote coach Joachim Loew as saying ‘We don’t know how he got injured’, but here at Euro2008statistics, we’d say it has something to do with the massive distances he has been covering every game.

The Castrol Index boys have pulled out some fascinating stats in the lead up to this clash, including the fact that Schweinsteiger’s two goals since coming back from his suspension have both been from Podolski crosses played from virtually the exact same blade of grass.

They also highlight the fact that the finalists didn’t get there by fluke, scoring 11 (Spain) and 10 (Germany) goals. There is a difference in how they got them, though, with Spain taking 83 shots on goal (at a conversion rate of 13.25%) and the German side netting theirs from 53 shots – at a higher rate of success (18.52%). So while Spain go for a shoot on sight approach, the Germans seem more clinical as to when they choose to pull the trigger.

So let’s see what tonight brings. Hopefully it won’t be a cagey 0-0 and Spain’s more balls-out attacking approach will force the Germans to play a more open game. What price penalties, then?

It’s all about Cesc today, with bloggers falling over each other to come up with the most sickeningly sycophantic headline – the favourite being ‘The Joy of Cesc’. Oh those witty, witty sub-editors. In proper blogging, 4thegame provide a look at what happened in the match, and whilst they do pay homage to old Fabber - saying he ‘dictated the game’ - they don’t go overboard extolling Cesc’s virtues with fancy wordplay. See? It’s easy to say someone’s good without drooling.

Possibly one excuse for the Russian team not turning up last night was the promise of ‘socialite’ (whatever one of those is, I want to be one!) Pyotr Listerman to provide the team two girls each for every goal they scored as reported by John Williams from Buzzin Football. With minds probably in the gutter, there was no way they were going to make a decent fist of taking Spain apart, and they were split wide open by a thrusting Iberian team. It’s common knowledge that pimpin’ ain’t easy (especially when you look like a sweaty 14-year old boy like Arshavin), so with such a lacklustre display Russia saved old Pyotr a tough task.

Nick from the Russian page of the World Cup Blog site reckons the team can hold their heads up high and be proud of what they achieved. He mentions that the ‘midfield and attacking line did not hold up’ as well the defence did, and he says that without Iganashevich and V. Beresutski Spain could have had a whole lot more joy in front of goal.

…and to round things off, some photos like the one below of last night’s game from Who Ate All The Pies.

Well you can’t argue with 7 goals in 2 games, and once again the Spanish showed their class in clinically dispatching a side who knew their footballing beans… But were no match for Aragones and his lads, who may well go into Sunday’s finals as slight favourites against the Germans.

We shall see - but in the mean time, just take a look at the Castrol Index statistics from tonight, and make up your own mind who deserved to win.

Oh – how this blog’s been unbiased since the start, and but for a brief dalliance extolling the virtues of the Netherlands, and a slightly more extended stint claiming that Slaven Bilic was the greatest man to walk the earth since our ancestors crawled from the sea, dragging their underbellies across baking prehistoric sands – we have remained impartial.

All that, however, is about to change as Jack, at least, throws his not inconsiderable weight behind the Russians… Considered tournament also-rans from the very beginning of the show, they have continually confounded expectations – and with Palyuchenko and Arshavin on fine form, this could just be the upset of the tournament thus far.

It’s all looking fairly even thus far on the CPI – so keep an eye on the stats, and Russia….Indulge me!

The scene in the Porterhouse, Covent Garden

OK, so we’ve moved from Paris to London, but here we are in the Porterhouse in Covent Garden for the Russia v Spain semi final, and we promise you live video and photos, plus some interviews (possibly) with the many revellers who are packing this Irish/English place out.

We’ve pitted two of the bloggers who have contributed to our sites in Spain and Russia against each other, challenging them to tell us how their team is going to progress to the final.

First up was Zhenya, who reckons that although his beloved Russian players aren’t (as well known as Spain’s as they are mainly based in the Russian leagues), they have put themselves in the shop window and players like Arshavin can now pick which European giant they want to play for. He dismisses the 4-1 defeat in the group stages, saying Arshavin wasn’t there to make the difference before going on to extol the virtues of several players, including the young goalkeeper Akinfeev.

Miguel from Diarios de Futbol begins his repost by attacking the Russian defence, much like he hopes his countrymen will tonight, saying that in their last game Ignasevich was ‘horrible’. He goes on to question the tactics of Aragones in implying he won’t play Villa, but reckons it is intended to keep the competitive spirit in the camp.

Zhenya comes back saying the main aim of the Russians will be to block Spain’s attacking threat of Villa and Torres (who he kindly points out didn’t have great games in the quarter final). He also points out that this will be a ‘battle of the coaches’, with Hiddink already having got the better of van Basten.

Thanks lads, and we look forward to seeing who is right and who triumphs in tonight’s match.

He’s having the tournament of his life, and Yuri Zhirkov needs to stamp his authority on the game against Spain tonight in order to establish Russia’s dominance. Zhirkov is so far 4^th in the ‘ground covered’ standings (over 47km), has clocked the fastest time of anyone at 31.3km/h and has the most touches per match of any player at an average of 95. Patrolling the left wing with almost military precision, Zhirkov might want to maintain a position slightly closer to the box against Spain, who were mighty on the counter when they destroyed the Russians in their group game. A look at his Castrol Index heat map shows that spending too much of his time nearer the half way line could be costly.

Whoever is the victor in tonight’s game, we’re guaranteed a tremendous number of shots on goal as the two teams top the charts in terms of numbers (if not necessarily accuracy). Racking up an impressive 134 shots between them so far, there are bound to be bagsful tonight as both teams strive to find the back of the net and progress to the final on Sunday.

Hopefully tonight will hold another game like the first semi, which can only be described as a thrills and spills roller coaster ride. I’m gunning for Spain to win 3-1 (I have them in a sweepstake, so I’m naturally biased).

Jack reckons the Russians will triumph 2-1, with Cameron Diaz netting a brace.

Stats provided by Castrolindex.com