The time is almost here for the 2012 European Championships in Poland and Ukraine with 16 teams looking to the lift the famous Henri Delaunay trophy. It looks to be an intriguing tournament with plenty of the world’s best players on display. The 23 day long competition will see whether Spain will be able to defend their European Championship crown or whether there will be a different name engraved on the trophy.
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| CHAMPIONS: Iker Casillas lifts the Henri Delaunay trophy as Spain were crowned Euro 2008 winners. |
With five days to go before the first match of the tournament between Poland and Greece, there has been a lot of controversial issues in regards to the co-hosts, most notably the coverage of racism and anti-semitism. The general public were shocked and disgusted at the images that they saw on the BBC Panorama programme and the Special Report made by Sky Sports in the past month. After both programmes were shown, UEFA have been facing a lot of criticism in the choosing of giving Poland and Ukraine the chance to host Euro 2012 where Italy were also involved in the bidding process. Nazi salutes, racist chants towards black players, anti-semitist chants and crowd violence were the main focus points in both programmes and they are now huge fears for the fans of the other 14 countries travelling to the Euros especially of those from ethnic minority groups. Former England international Sol Campbell saw the incidents and stated that everybody should stay at home to watch the football. It is not everyone wanted to see on the eve of a big tournament and it is not surprising to see that the teams will leave the pitch if any racist chants take place in any of the matches.
Despite this dreadful reality, what will happen on the pitch is most likely to be the main talking point with some interesting matches taking place which you can find on the 'Fixtures/Results' tab at the top of the page. I think Euro 2012 will be a great tournament with some fantastic matches in store and maybe a few surprises along the way as well! The stadia in Poland and Ukraine are spectacular with some having been built especially for the tournament including the National Stadiums in Warsaw and Kiev.
It's always difficult to pick an outright winner for the tournament as there are so many top quality teams on show. Starting with the current European and World champions Spain, we all know that they have a very talented team who has a particular style in terms of keeping the ball for as long as possible along with some flair. It was no surprise that the Spanish won all eight of their group games with the likes of Scotland, Lithuania and Liechtenstein in their group. The loss of main striker David Villa is a massive blow for 'La Roja' who is out with a broken leg, however with the two Fernandos (Llorente and Torres) and David Silva in the attack, they will be a massive threat for any defence in Euro 2012. Will Spain captain Iker Casillas be lifting the trophy again in Kiev on July 1st? Possibly.
Germany are one of the best forces in European football history with a record three European Championship crowns to their name as they look to go one better this year after losing the 2008 final to Spain in Vienna. The Germans have a fairly young squad with tremendous talent on show including the likes of Mario Gomez, Bastian Schwiensteiger and Mesut Özil. I expect the Germans to reach the semi-finals at least and the squad, especially the Bayern Munich-based players, will be looking to claim their fourth European title.
The Netherlands are definitely a team on the up after finishing as runners up at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa and are hoping to win their first tournament since 1988 which saw them claim the European Championship in Germany. There is no doubt the the Dutch will be a threat in Poland and Ukraine with outstanding individual players including Robin Van Persie and Klass Jan Huntelarr. They play some tremendous football who have goals galore in the whole squad which gives coach Bert van Marwijk the headache of choosing his best eleven. For me, I feel the 'Oranje' can get to the semi-finals, possibly the final if they can stick together as a unit.
After the disaster at the 2010 World Cup, France have turned to former Bordeaux coach Laurent Blanc to take charge and he has managed to keep the squad together and qualify top of their qualifying group despite facing some stiff competition from Bosnia and Herzegovina. 'Les Blues' will be looking to qualify from Group D as they aim to put things right to replace the forgettable experience in South Africa. France do have some quality players including Franck Ribéry and Karim Benzema however it's the unity of the squad which will be the key along with the performances. The class of 2000 has long gone however can the 2012 generation go a long way in Poland and Ukraine? Only time will tell.
As for England, it has been an eventful two years to say the least! An abysmal World Cup campaign after so much expectation, qualifying for Euro 2012, the resignation of Fabio Capello and the appointment of Roy Hodgson, a month before the tournament. With their star player Wayne Rooney suspended for the games against France and Sweden, Hodgson has been looking to decide at his attacking options ahead of the first group game against France in Donetsk. From Hodgson's first two matches, they haven't been entertaining however the main factor is the organisation of the squad with a solid 4-4-2 and hard to break down. The main cause for concern is the amount of injuries that the Three Lions have suffered with the likes of Frank Lampard, Gareth Barry, Jack Wilshire and most recently Gary Cahill all ruled out of the tournament. The expectations for England are really low with a young squad and the amount of injuries they have suffered. Despite this, if they can perform like they have in the past two matches, then I'm confident then can qualify for the quarter-finals but no further.
Despite this dreadful reality, what will happen on the pitch is most likely to be the main talking point with some interesting matches taking place which you can find on the 'Fixtures/Results' tab at the top of the page. I think Euro 2012 will be a great tournament with some fantastic matches in store and maybe a few surprises along the way as well! The stadia in Poland and Ukraine are spectacular with some having been built especially for the tournament including the National Stadiums in Warsaw and Kiev.
Winner?
It's always difficult to pick an outright winner for the tournament as there are so many top quality teams on show. Starting with the current European and World champions Spain, we all know that they have a very talented team who has a particular style in terms of keeping the ball for as long as possible along with some flair. It was no surprise that the Spanish won all eight of their group games with the likes of Scotland, Lithuania and Liechtenstein in their group. The loss of main striker David Villa is a massive blow for 'La Roja' who is out with a broken leg, however with the two Fernandos (Llorente and Torres) and David Silva in the attack, they will be a massive threat for any defence in Euro 2012. Will Spain captain Iker Casillas be lifting the trophy again in Kiev on July 1st? Possibly.
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| DESTINATION KIEV: Spain look to retain their European title at the incredible National Stadium in Kiev. |
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| PLAYMAKER: Mesut Özil |
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| RELIANT ROBIN: Robin Van-Persie |
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| DANGER MAN: Franck Ribéry |
As for England, it has been an eventful two years to say the least! An abysmal World Cup campaign after so much expectation, qualifying for Euro 2012, the resignation of Fabio Capello and the appointment of Roy Hodgson, a month before the tournament. With their star player Wayne Rooney suspended for the games against France and Sweden, Hodgson has been looking to decide at his attacking options ahead of the first group game against France in Donetsk. From Hodgson's first two matches, they haven't been entertaining however the main factor is the organisation of the squad with a solid 4-4-2 and hard to break down. The main cause for concern is the amount of injuries that the Three Lions have suffered with the likes of Frank Lampard, Gareth Barry, Jack Wilshire and most recently Gary Cahill all ruled out of the tournament. The expectations for England are really low with a young squad and the amount of injuries they have suffered. Despite this, if they can perform like they have in the past two matches, then I'm confident then can qualify for the quarter-finals but no further.
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| Can Roy Hodgson lead England to success at Euro 2012? |
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