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German Fandemonium

Euro 2008 Grand Final

This weekend sees the final of Euro 2008 and the first team has already booked their place in Sundays showcase final. Germany are one of the most consistent footballing nations in Europe and they entered the tournament as the bookie favourites for the trophy. At times they have struggled, notably when Croatia defeated them in the second group game but the football world knows not to write off the Germans.

The first half of the Germany and Turkey semi final was a fascinating watch and to most pundit’s surprise, Turkey were by far the dominant force.

The team in red had already cracked the cross bar twice and forced some saves out of Jens Lehmann before they deservedly took the lead. With all the late winners they have struck in the tournament so far, Turkey have not held a lead for too long and so it proved again in the first half. In virtually their first proper move of the half, Germany swept up the left hand side and fashioned a chance for Schweinsteiger who finished deftly. At half-time, the score stood at 1-1 with a lot to play and a lot for the second half to live up to.

An Explosive Second Half
It took a while for the second half to come to life but when Miroslav Klose leaped ahead of Rustu to give the Germans a 2-1 lead, some believed that the Turkish expedition had came to an end but anyone who thought that has obviously not saw many of their games in the tournament. And so it was when Turkey made it 2-2 with Jens Lehmann blundering again with 4 minutes to go.

In a normal game, extra time would have loomed but tell that to Philipp Lahm as the full back strode into the Turkish box in the 90th minute and rammed the ball home to place Germany into Sunday's final. Over the game Turkey were the better team but with three goals scored, Germany will point to the goals scored and that is all that really matters. Semi-finals are normally cagey and forgettable affairs but this one will live long in the memory of those who witnessed the events, particularly those of the last 15 minutes. With two 3-2 triumphs in the knock out stages, there is no doubting that the Germans have the goal threat but there must be concern about the amount of goals they give away cheaply and this will give belief to their opposition.

So the final of Euro 2008 will feature Germany, the team who last won the competition in 1996 when the final was held at Wembley in London. Who they face in the final was still to be decided on Thursday night but no doubt Spain and Russia will have high hopes and belief of being in the final on Sunday night.

Group Game Mauling for Russia
Spain have been carried on a wave of optimism and positive feeling and a lot of this stems from the start they made against Russia. David Villa got his campaign off to a fantastic start and his hat-trick announced that he and Spain were to be taken seriously on the big stage.

Russia did manage a late counter from Roman Pavlyuchenko but Spain merely waltzed up the park and added another goal for good measure. A 4-1 result had most people tipping Spain for glory and Russia for the first flight home but there have been a few changes since then.

If you were told after the opening game of Group D that both Spain and Russia were going to meet in the semi-final the smart money would have been on Spain progressing to the final but that was all before the return of Andrei Arshavin.

Arshavin is the Russian Ring-Master
Russia laboured to a victory over Greece whilst the diminutive star sat out his last match of a 2 game suspension but he was restored to the starting line-up for the must win match versus Sweden. Sweden are strong and tough opponents for any team but Russia were almost toying with them and their fast free flowing passing in the final third was cutting open the normally tight Swedish back line with will.

The quarter final saw Russia pitted against one of the best teams of the group stages in Holland but the Dutch coach smiling at the end of the night was Gus Hiddink, residing over the Russians. Holland never really got started as the Russians outplayed them and if the truth be told, Holland were lucky to snatch a draw near the end. This may have rattled many teams who had been dominating only to lose a late equaliser but Russia quickly regrouped and two goals in the second period of extra time saw them deservedly sail into the semi-finals.

The Spanish Overcome Their Quarter-Final Hoodoo
For all the talk of the Russian revival, many people will still fancy Spain and after getting past Italy in the quarter finals there is no reason to doubt their chances. To be fair the game against Italy was a terrible spectacle ruined by Italy's defensive stance and not helped by Spain’s inability to take the game to Italy. Penalties were no surprise and in the end it was Spain who held their nerve to make it through to the semi-final.

The Spanish have yet to play with the vigour and excitement that the managed in their opening match but knowing that they have demolished Russia before may give them the confidence to take the game to their opponents.

It would be just like international football if Russia bounced back from their opening day mauling to exact revenge on the Spaniards but the semi-final could genuinely go either way.

Whoever makes it through to the final on Sunday to face Germany will know they have a strong chance of making a bit of history and be crowned champions of Europe 2008. Whatever happens in the rest of this week, Euro 2008 will be remembered as one of the best tournaments of the modern era and as the summer when a few new players came to prominence on the major stage.

for The Silver Circle at www.footballtip.co.uk

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