UEFA Euro 2004

[Albert Schweitzer 10]

honestly... I prepared well for germanies failure. I think I will go to bed early tonight. I will look at the pictures of my family to make me happy. I will eat some toasts with butter, drink a pure glass of warm water and pitty myself. Then I will write a book about the sadness in life and tomorrow morning jump from a church tower.

[SgtBarnes 0]

I almost feel sorry for their team. As Italians by default expect them to win every tournament and they take the sport seriously, they're not very kind to losers.

Personally I would have rather had the Italians in the quarters than the Danish..but hey, that's life.

The Italians can take confort in that they can now fully enjoy the sport rather than worrying about their own team.

But did you see how many empty seats there were in the stadium? Italy are one of Europes footballing superpowers, yet their fans can't be bothered to go an watch them play?

Sweden and Denmark are comparitively small countries, yet their fans filled the ground and made a great atmosphere.

The Italian fans (and team?) have become complacent. I think this kick in the arse will do them good  

[JdB 151]

Incorrect WHOCARES. The opposite will happen. The second brigade of the Czechs will try to show what they are able to do in order to get a better status in the national team. And they will risk injuries since they are mainly substitute players. And the czecks are still dangerous.

Only once has an already placed team lost it's last match, despite of loads of substitutions

And the fact that Germany hasn't won any match on the European Championship since 1996 still offers hope for the Netherlands.

[denoir 0]

honestly... I prepared well for germanies failure. I think I will go to bed early tonight. I will look at the pictures of my family to make me happy. I will eat some toasts with butter, drink a pure glass of warm water and pitty myself. Then I will write a book about the sadness in life and tomorrow morning jump from a church tower.    

LOL. Well, the last time you met in Euro 1996 (finals) you won. But then again you had Bierhoff and his magic head. The Czech on the other hand seem to be in form.

Quote[/b] ]But did you see how many empty seats there were in the stadium?

It was raining. There were a lot of empty seats in the Sweden-Denmark game as well.

[Shashman 0]

There were actually more spectators at the Italy game

[denoir 0]

The Italian torment and anguish is what makes it all soo enjoyable

Italians fret over exit [bBC Sport]

Quote[/b] ]

It was the perfect result for conspiracy theorists - but shattered Italy's dreams of Euro 2004 glory.

Sweden's 2-2 draw with Denmark ensured that both teams progressed from Group C - but will take Italian angst to a whole new level.

After Giovanni Trapattoni's team were dumped out of the 2002 World Cup by some contentious refereeing decisions, Italy, not to put too fine a point on it, went berserk. Perugia's maverick president Luciano Gaucci sacked his South Korean striker Ahn Jung-Hwan, who scored the golden goal winner against the Italians.

The nation went into a state of mourning and it took a long time for a raw wound to heal.

Euro 2004 was supposed to be the tournament that finally put paid to the pain of the last World Cup, but instead events at Estadio do Bessa on Tuesday will ensure Italian people continue to feel the world is against them.

A 2-2 draw is an unlikely score in any match, especially when one of the teams has yet to concede in the competition. But in Porto on Tuesday no one was talking about anything else.

Supporters from both teams were interviewed on Portuguese television. None of them gave any credence to the ridiculous theories that the match had been fixed - but all wanted the game to finish with Italy on their way home.

One Danish photographer, who has been following the national team for 27 years, said: "I have seen just about everything in that time but tonight I think I will see something new."

Italian television requested seven extra camera positions in the hope they could analyse every possible angle for evidence of foul play - in the end they were granted two.

And Italians would have been apoplectic at the scenes an hour before kick off when these two friendliest of neighbours made their way onto the pitch to get a feel for the stadium.

Several Swedes and Danes are team-mates at club level and mingled together, catching up and exchanging jokes.

But once the action started, there can be no suggestion that the match was anything other than a genuine battle for ascendancy in Scandinavian football.

At one point, with Denmark clearly on top, Freddie Ljungberg and Olof Mellberg engaged in a frank exchange of opinion as to what was going wrong. Denmark had the better of the match and, leading 2-1, had numerous opportunities to kill off the contest.

With full-time looming some of the Swedish fans had fallen quiet, but some stuck to the belief that a 2-2 draw had been cast by the gods. And sure enough Denmark goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen, superb throughout the tournament, failed to hold Christian Wilhelmsson's regulation cross in the 89th minute and Mattias Jonson hooked the ball home to spark scenes of mass celebration in the Swedish camp.

The last minute of the game passed in surreal fashion, with the ball played between the Swedish defenders while the Danish stayed up field, a good 30 metres away. It was torrid viewing for all Italian supporters.

But afterwards talk of a conspiracy was quickly shot down. Sorensen said: "Anyone who saw the game can be in no doubt that both teams tried to win it."

And he highlighted the conditions for his mistake.

"It was very hard and the ball was very slippery, for both the keepers it was very difficult."

Sweden midfielder Freddie Ljungberg told BBC Sport any talk of a fix was ludicrous.

"If it was 0-0 or something maybe you could say we planned it but to score four goals is very difficult to plan and Denmark's goal to go 2-1 up was a bit of a fluke so you can't plan that."

Just try telling that to an Italian nation that woke up on Wednesday to realise another nightmare had come true.

Now I want the English (in the match after the one with Protugal) to sweat. They take football way to seriously too

Germany could use a kick in the nuts as well. Don't let me get started on France. Not to mention Denmark, Portugal, Holland the Czechs etc.. in short everybody who is not Sweden

[Status_cz 0]

Well,we don´t need a victory in this game vs. Germany,even if we lose wa´re on 1st place anyway...,so we economize our good players on Danish

[Monkey Lib Front 10]

The Italian torment and anguish is what makes it all soo enjoyable

Italians fret over exit [bBC Sport]

Quote[/b] ]

It was the perfect result for conspiracy theorists - but shattered Italy's dreams of Euro 2004 glory.

Sweden's 2-2 draw with Denmark ensured that both teams progressed from Group C - but will take Italian angst to a whole new level.

After Giovanni Trapattoni's team were dumped out of the 2002 World Cup by some contentious refereeing decisions, Italy, not to put too fine a point on it, went berserk. Perugia's maverick president Luciano Gaucci sacked his South Korean striker Ahn Jung-Hwan, who scored the golden goal winner against the Italians.

The nation went into a state of mourning and it took a long time for a raw wound to heal.

Euro 2004 was supposed to be the tournament that finally put paid to the pain of the last World Cup, but instead events at Estadio do Bessa on Tuesday will ensure Italian people continue to feel the world is against them.

A 2-2 draw is an unlikely score in any match, especially when one of the teams has yet to concede in the competition. But in Porto on Tuesday no one was talking about anything else.

Supporters from both teams were interviewed on Portuguese television. None of them gave any credence to the ridiculous theories that the match had been fixed - but all wanted the game to finish with Italy on their way home.

One Danish photographer, who has been following the national team for 27 years, said: "I have seen just about everything in that time but tonight I think I will see something new."

Italian television requested seven extra camera positions in the hope they could analyse every possible angle for evidence of foul play - in the end they were granted two.

And Italians would have been apoplectic at the scenes an hour before kick off when these two friendliest of neighbours made their way onto the pitch to get a feel for the stadium.

Several Swedes and Danes are team-mates at club level and mingled together, catching up and exchanging jokes.

But once the action started, there can be no suggestion that the match was anything other than a genuine battle for ascendancy in Scandinavian football.

At one point, with Denmark clearly on top, Freddie Ljungberg and Olof Mellberg engaged in a frank exchange of opinion as to what was going wrong. Denmark had the better of the match and, leading 2-1, had numerous opportunities to kill off the contest.

With full-time looming some of the Swedish fans had fallen quiet, but some stuck to the belief that a 2-2 draw had been cast by the gods. And sure enough Denmark goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen, superb throughout the tournament, failed to hold Christian Wilhelmsson's regulation cross in the 89th minute and Mattias Jonson hooked the ball home to spark scenes of mass celebration in the Swedish camp.

The last minute of the game passed in surreal fashion, with the ball played between the Swedish defenders while the Danish stayed up field, a good 30 metres away. It was torrid viewing for all Italian supporters.

But afterwards talk of a conspiracy was quickly shot down. Sorensen said: "Anyone who saw the game can be in no doubt that both teams tried to win it."

And he highlighted the conditions for his mistake.

"It was very hard and the ball was very slippery, for both the keepers it was very difficult."

Sweden midfielder Freddie Ljungberg told BBC Sport any talk of a fix was ludicrous.

"If it was 0-0 or something maybe you could say we planned it but to score four goals is very difficult to plan and Denmark's goal to go 2-1 up was a bit of a fluke so you can't plan that."

Just try telling that to an Italian nation that woke up on Wednesday to realise another nightmare had come true.

Now I want the English (in the match after the one with Protugal) to sweat. They take football way to seriously too  

Germany could use a kick in the nuts as well. Don't let me get started on France. Not to mention Denmark, Portugal, Holland the Czechs etc.. in short everybody who is not Sweden

I don't think we take it tooo seriously, we just get very enthusiastic about it, seeing as its the summer its usually just a chance to get patriotic and get pissed, if we loose we will feel gutted but life goes on after the game unlike the Italians, the only thing the brits do is build ourselves up to much.

[NeMeSiS 11]

Schade Holland, alles ist vorbei, alles ist vorbei, alles ist vorbei...

yes it is

[Munk 0]

if we loose we will feel gutted but life goes on after the game

and its normally another excuse to get pissed

[raedor 8]

germany 1-3 czech rep.

netherlands 2-0- latvia

[Ex-RoNiN 0]

Germany playing rubbish, with an odd 3-6-1 Doomed to fail with that, methinks.

[Ex-RoNiN 0]

Sweet goal by Ballack :/

[Munk 0]

You thinks wrong, 1-0 to Germany!

[Status_cz 0]

1-1!

Marek Heinz

[Ex-RoNiN 0]

One of the sweetest free kicks I have seen in this tournament Great goal by Heinz, 1-1 now. Holland winning 1-0 and thus going through.

[Munk 0]

1-1!

Stupid ITV and thier crappy annoying commentators

[Ex-RoNiN 0]

Horseface makes it 2-0 to Holland

[kevbaz 0]

Quote[/b] ]Horseface makes it 2-0 to Holland

or Van Nistlehorse as we call him, or simply Ed the horse

[der bastler 0]

Nicht auf diese Weise! Bye bye Germany.

They are still not playing as one team. No powerplay. Sad...

[Ex-RoNiN 0]

LMAO, Czech, Dutch and English supporters were singing "Auf Wiedersehen" for a while

[-SWAF-Stolz 0]

no way to win for german tonight

CZECH CZECH WE LOVE YOU ALL

[Donnervogel 0]

well the Germans are very close to scoring again.

EDIT: I didn't say that

[Status_cz 0]

GOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAL

Milan Baroš

[-SWAF-Stolz 0]

so why is it 2:1 for czech now ?