EURO 2004 PREVIEW


Bill Hedrick

I would be willing to bet that many of you were beginning to think that there would be no championship preview as there normally is. Well, just because it is a little later than usual does not mean there won't be one…as you can tell by what you are reading now. Once again I will preview each of the groups, team by team and give a definitive assessment of each team's chances for Euro 2004 glory. Judging by my past performances you might want to use this guide to do exactly the opposite of what I predict! At the end of the preview I will predict the last eight, last 4, the finalists and finally the team who my head, not my heart, says will win the tournament. So, let's get this preview underway because at the time of writing there were only 12 days until the start of the biggest tournament since the 2002 World Cup.

GROUP A

PORTUGAL: This Portugal side is in the same class as that of Spain, another combatant in this group, in as far as the talent is there but there is usually no end product. I, however, feel this Portuguese team has just the right mix to cause some serious damage in this tournament. Led by the irrepressible Figo and backed up by the lightning quick Rui Costa, this team can score goals with the best of them and they have a very good chance of winning this extremely tough group. On the defensive side of the ball there is Fernando Couto who, along with Figo and Costa, has been a regular in side for the past few years and has the experience to keep a cool head and lead from the front. Head coach Luiz Felipe Scolari, the World Cup winning Brazil coach from the 2002 World Cup, knows what it takes to win the big games and he will have his charges ready to sweat blood for the home fans. I think this side is more talented than the side that reached the semi-finals in Euro 2000 and is my pick to win the group.

SPAIN: It is 40 years since the Spanish last won a major tournament and I am afraid that their wait for another success will continue because I think that the best they will do is a quarter-final place. Yes, I know they were very unlucky in Euro 96 and Euro 2000, but when you look at the talent they possess they should have been able to over come "bad" luck. The main reason the Spaniards tend to fail is their temperament…the fiery Spanish let themselves down when they most need to be calm, cool and collected. The talent is unquestioned when you look at players such as Real Madrid's Raul, goal keeper Casillas and midfield maestro Baraja. The back four are very strong, led by the central defensive partnership of Puyol and Helguera, but despite these "star" names I just don't think the team, just over the border from Portugal, will keep their heads when they really need to. Second place in the group will see them to the quarters but, as I said earlier, that is as far as they will go.

RUSSIA: It is questionable whether the Russians should even be in this tournament after Yegor Titov failed a drugs test, my personal feeling is there is no place in sport for drugs and they should have been to at least replay the Millenium Stadium tie. Midfielder Alexie Smertin is the key to the Russian's style of play and if the Chelsea reject is on song then he could possibly help them to nick second spot from the Spanish…I seriously doubt that will happen as he and Alexsandre Mostovoi are the only real class players in the side. Head coach Georgi Yartsev must be given immense credit for lifting them from a poor start in the qualifying campaign to actual qualification for the championship. If the Spaniards play to their capabilities they won't have to worry about losing second spot.

GREECE: The Greeks surprised all the experts by finishing top of Group 6, ahead of teams like their championship Group rivals Spain. I personally think it was a fluke and that they will have an absolute 'mare in this tournament. The defence is suspect and is led by former New Castle and now relegated Leicester Foxes Nikos Dabizas…that in itself should tell you all you need to know about their chances! The only other Premiership player on the Greek side is Bolton's Stylianos Giannakopoulos who has perfomed well in the past, being named Greek Player of the year while at Olympiakos in 2003. German gaffer Otto Rehhagel, who coached Werder Bremen to two Bundasliga titles took charge of Greece in 2001 and was struggling until the qualifying stages of this tournament. It would be a surprise if they took second spot.

GROUP B

ENGLAND: I don't know about you but I am absolutely fired up about this championship! I think this is the best chance England have had to win a tournament for at least 10 years, if not more. I have to be careful not to let my emotions go overboard while writing this because I want to be kind of impartial and give each team the same amount of coverage…but, when you think of the midfield with the likes of Gerrard, who is finally fit and playing world class football, Lampard, the Chelsea stalwart and of course Captain David Beckham, you can't help but go overboard! Not only that but despite the absence of Rio (I forgot to take a mandatory drugs test now I am banned for 8 months) Ferdinand the defence is in great shape because another Chelsea's John Terry slots in alongside Sol Campbell just beautifully. I really think that the Owen and Rooney partnership will be a major success and lead us to the top of the group and maybe even the…

FRANCE: After the debacle of the 2002 World Cup the French have much to prove and I think offensively they will. How can they not when players like the Premiership Player's Player of the Year Thierry Henry, Arsenal team mate Robert Pires, David Trezaguet of Juventus are filling the attacking options. Don't forget to add Patrick Vieira, and the unbelievable Zinedine Zidane who can both add to the French attacking flare. The main problem I see is in the defence…Fabian Barthez is in his mid thirties and not nearly the keeper he once was and the central defender and Captain Marcel Desailly has had a poor season and is also in the twilight of his career. Make no mistake, if one team scores 5 you can be sure the French are still capable of winning the game. It is because of the their defensive frailties that I think they will finish second in the group but because of their offensive fire power they could still go on to win Euro 2004…but they won't.

CROATIA: The Croats are capable of finishing second in any other group but the one they are currently in. The only player who would make it in to some of the stronger teams in the tournament is Monaco's Dado Prso…I would love to have him at Tottenham! He is an old fashioned rugged centre forward who has good ball skills and can score goals. Apart from Prso, the team who finished second in qualifying to Bulgaria, can boast a moderately strong midfield with Rosso and Babic and Simic in defence. I think their coach Otto Baric, who won trophies in four other countries and who took over from legendary coach Miroslav Glazevic, has a very astute football mind and with a few more quality players would be able to snatch second place from France, unfortunately he only has the players he selected and I am afraid they will not be good enough.

SWITZERLAND: The Swiss finished top of their qualifying group, ahead of Russia and more surprisingly to me, the Republic of Ireland. I really think they are one of the weakest teams in the tournament because of their lack of attacking options and their defensive frailties. Hakan Yakin is the only midfielder with any pedigree and the only real threat from that portion of the pitch. At the ripe old age of 35, Stephen Henchoz is the only recognized quality defender but since he is in his mid thirties he could be caught out for pace and striker Stephane Chapuisat is losing the ability to take control of the game as he did in previous years,especially Euro '96. Alexander Frei showed during the qualifiers he can score but he is not good enough to build a team around.

GROUP C

ITALY: The Azzuri topped their qualifying group despite losing to Wales in Cardiff. The loss to the Welsh was very unexpected but they turned that result around at home with a convincing 4-0 demolition job. Led upfront by Inter Milan star Christian Vieri and the Roma standout Francesco Totti the Italians can score almost at will…when you add the talents of Del Piero and Zanetti in midfield along with Buffon, one of the best goalkeepers in world football, it is easy to see why they are so highly fancied. The Italians have not won a major tournament since the 1982 World Cup and will be desperate to put that right. One man who has the experience to ensure the Azzuri put that right is the vastly experienced coach Giovanni Trapattoni. He has won silverware every where he has been and because of the team's poor performance at the last World Cup he will be under immense pressure to deliver. Winning Group C is just about the only success the Italians will have.

SWEDEN: To show how important this tournament is to the Swedes you only have to look at the fact that the great (a word bandied about too much but certainly appropriate in this case) Henrik Larsson has come out of international retirement for one last hurrah to try to lead the Scandinavians to the promised land. Sorry Henrik but your team just is not good enough and if you are not careful the Danes may just sneak above you and qualify for the next phase. Aston Villa skipper Olaf Mellberg and Arsenal star Freddie Ljungberg are quality players and provide the only real talent on the team apart from Larsson. Sweden did lose to Latvia late in the qualifying campaign and that defeat will have sent warning bells to the Swedes, letting them know that they cannot afford to take their "foot off the gas" or risk being pushed into third place. This is probably the closest fight for second place in all the groups and I expect Sweden to have just enough to keep the Danes at bay.

DENMARK: The 1992 tournament winners barely came out on top of a very strong qualifying group including Norway and Romania as well as Bosnia-Herzogovina. Denmark showed their true ability at the 2002 World Cup when they made it to the second round but were then thumped by England 3-0. The Danes are very susceptible to a team with pace and that will be the main reason they will not make the qualifying stages. Goalkeeper Tomas Sorenson has made some fantastic saves but can be prone to the odd error and that may be to the Danes cost. Striker Jon Dahl Tomasson has really picked up his career since his disaster at New Castle and is scoring goals at a phenomenal rate…but it won't be enough!

BULGARIA: Celtic midfield dynamo Stilian Petrov is the "star" name among head coach Plamen Markov's charges. The Bulgarian national team is not recognizable from the past big names such as Hristo Stoichkov but the team has been molded into a "give no quarter" outfit and the other group members will know they have been in a fight come the final whistle. The youth policy that Markov installed finally proved worthwhile as the Bulgarians finished top of their qualifying group. Bayer Leverkusen striker Dimitar Berbartov is a quality finisher but unfortunately a team can't win a tournament with only two major players and a load of youngsters. This tournament is just a little to early and if they get through this very tough group it will be a massive surprise.

GROUP D

GERMANY: Rudi Voller is a World Cup winner and his drive and determination will lead this German team which has gone from strength to strength since the final of the 2002 World Cup…it would be no surprise to see them lift the title. The "game of the tournament" will be when Holland come calling. There is no love lost between these two teams and if their battles over the last few tournaments is anything to go by we will be in for a real treat! Oliver Kahn skippers the side and although many people think he is one of the best 'keepers in the World, I disagree. The Bayern Munich stopper, although brilliant in one game, makes a key error in other games as evidenced by his goof against Brazil in the final of the last World Cup. The midfield duo of Michael Ballack and Dietmar Hamann are probably two of the top midfielders in the tournament and will push forward into the box to not only create but also put chances away. The German names don't roll off the tongue as they used to but this team is quality and can go the distance!

HOLLAND: The 1988 tournament winners are full of potential, if not ability and are probably one tournament too early. Old faithful names such as Davids, Stam, Kluivert and Reiziger still fill some of the important positions on the pitch but players the calibre of Ruud Van Nistlerooy, Rafael van der Vaart and Arjen Robben and Andy van der Meyde are the real future and spark of this Dutch team. Head coach Dick Advocaat sensationally axed Ronald de Boer from this squad and that will send a message to the other members of the squad that all positions are up for grabs and that he expects everyone to pull in the same direction. If this team can keep their massive egos in check then they can do some serious damage…they might even kick the Germans off the top spot. In my predictions that are written down and handed in I have Holland in the final, a "heart" choice, but the "head" choice is that they will not get that far.

CZECH REPUBLIC: Many of the old guard from Euro '96 who failed to get to the 2002 World Cup finals has been pushed out by head coach Karel Bruckner and, as the qualifying table shows, it was the right move! This team is very capable of either winning the group or finishing runners up but I personally believe the other two nations are going to be too experienced and just a little too good to allow that to happen. The most famous name on the team sheet is Pavel Nedved and that is a pretty big name! The 31 year old Juventus star is in one of his last major tournaments and will be desperate to prove that age is no boundary. Goal keeper Cech has just signed for Chelsea and will put tremendous pressure on Carlo Cudicini to maintain his high standards. Liverpool's Milan Baros leads the line and could be one of the players of the tournament.

LATVIA: There is only one team in this group without a chance of winning a match, let alone qualifying for the next phase…it happens to be the team I am currently writing about. Southampton's Marion Pahars is the only real recognizable name but even he will struggle because of his lack of playing time this past Premiership season. Former Crystal Palace goal keeper Aleksandrs Kolinko is the Latvian number one and he will have to be at his very best if these guys are to even compete with the other three. This team beat Turkey to qualify for the finals but I never considered the Turks to be a very good team anyway…that means that despite the victory they should not get carried away and think they can play in this exhalant company.

THE LAST EIGHT

GROUP A: WINNER: PORTUGAL
RUNNER-UP: SPAIN

GROUP B: WINNER: ENGLAND
RUNNER-UP: FRANCE

GROUP C: WINNER: ITALY
RUNNER-UP: SWEDEN

GROUP D: WINNER: GERMANY
RUNNER-UP: HOLLAND

THE LAST FOUR

PORTUGAL HOLLAND
ENGLAND GERMANY

THE LAST TWO

ENGLAND V GERMANY

WINNER
GERMANY