FOOTBALL!

[Tommy BOO]

BU LGAR IA 0 - 2 DEN M ARK
0-1 Tomasson - 41 min.
0-2 Grønkjær - 90 + 2 min.

Bulgaria really are the weakest team in this tournament. Denmark didn't really have any trouble in this boring match.



IT A LY 1 - 1 SW ED EN
1-0 Cassano - 37 min.
1-1 Ibrahimovic - 85 min.

Probably the best match of the tournament so far. Especially Italy surprised me with their relatively attacking style of play - usually they're just boring boring boring. Sweden tried to be just as attackive as against Bulgaria earlier this week but it was much harder this time of course.
The match started with Italy's total domination, but Sweden managed to create some really good fast counter-attacks. Italy's Christian Vieri missed a lot of chances in the match, mainly headers that he could have turned into goals. Alessandro Del Piero was quite a positive surprise too, he really showed different kind of commitment after the awful Denmark match, just like the whole Italy team really. Francesco Totti's absence is probably just a good thing for Italy, but there are still a couple of egocentric individuals and complainers who really are poor team players.
Italy's goal was hanging in the air (not literally, of course) but Sweden managed to create a couple of good chances mainly through the Arsenal star Freddie Ljungberg. Zlatan Ibrahimovich missed two good chances on the first half.
Italy's finally scored their first goal of the tournament on the 37th minute. Christian Panucci got the ball on the right wing, proceeded to the corner flag, turned past sliding Ljungberg, crossed a low ball in the middle and Antonio Cassano who had been left unmarked headed the ball into the goal.
Italy changed their tactics to more defensive style after a very good first half. Maybe that was a mistake, because Sweden soon gained the control of the game. Kim Källström and Mattias Jonson were both really good substitutions and Jonson was unlucky not to score just before Sweden's equaliser. He got an excellent through ball from Henrik Larsson and shot the ball with a lot of power towards the goal, but Gianluigi Buffon who was already going to the wrong direction still somehow managed to save it with his right hand. A great shot but even better save.
Sweden controlled the ball in Italy's defense area and again the goal was hanging in the air (still not literally), this time for Sweden. Sweden was finally rewarded for their great battle on the 85th minute, when Ibrahimovic somehow got the ball just in front of the goal, in the middle of 5 Italian defenders, but he was facing to the wrong direction. Still he managed to flip the ball with his backheel over all those defenders and Buffon, over the head of Vieri on the line and into the top left corner of the goal with only five minutes remaining. A great goal and probably one of the strangest I've ever seen. Very acrobatic.
Italy gained the control again after that when they desperately tried to score another goal. Vieri missed another two headers and Panucci missed a sitter, and when Italy got a corner kick on the injury time, the poor Swedish manager looked like he nearly got a heart attack! Haha... I hope he didn't though because he has done a great job for Sweden so far.
When the referee Urs Meier finally blowed the final whistle, I was a happy bunny. 1-1 was a very fair result in my opinion.
It was great to see Sweden getting the equaliser so late in the game, after such a battle. When they scored the goal their celebrations were mad and they were really happy about it, unlike the Italians who still seem to have some problem with their attitude.
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"Tommy Boo has played a pivotal role in my life. I've looked up to him since I was a kid and he has inspired every note of music I have ever written. The man is a fucking genius" -BC

[Setareh Juventina]

No it wasn't great seeing Sweden score the equalizer, the only consolation was that Zlatan did it, he's funny.

If Sweden don't beat Denmark I am not responsible for my actions.

Love and Peace...and ggggrrrrr

P.S. I love Trap, as a Juventina, you have to, but he's just losing it. Not only did he ultra-defend but he took out all the best forwards and left the least efficient one, Vieri, on...what's wrong with him?!
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Man is the only animal clever enough to build The Empire State Building and stupid enough to jump from it.

[John Mc]

That Ibrahimovic goal was amazing, possibly the best bit of skill in the tournament so far if he meant it. But Zidanes backheel flick from a corner against Croatia was also very good.

The Italians need to work on their heading, they should have won that game easily, they had enough chances. Its odd that none of the big name strikers in the tournament have performed so far - Henry, Raul, Vieri, Owen.

[Setareh Juventina]

He meant it. Totally. And it's Zlatan!

Latvia and Germany just drew...woooohoooo!

Amor y Paz
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Man is the only animal clever enough to build The Empire State Building and stupid enough to jump from it.

[Tommy BOO]

LA TV IA 0 - 0 GE RMA NY

What an excellent match and a great result for Latvia!
Germany controlled the ball most of the time (about 66% possession!) but didn't manage to create any dangerous chances. Latvia's defense was very solid and they had some really good counter-attacks as well. In fact Latvia should have won the match. Maris Verpakovskis, who in my opinion was definitely the man of the match, was brought down twice inside the penalty area, and the referee Mike Riley should have awarded a penalty kick for Latvia, at least from the first one. Verpakovskis who had lots of pace constantly caused trouble in the slow German defense, and he had an excellent chance to score at the end of the first half when he was one-on-one with Kahn, but Kahn made an excellent save.
Latvia's goalkeeper Aleksandrs Kolinko had a brilliant match as well, he seemed to be very reliable and strong.
With all that possession Germany really should have won, but Latvia battled bravely and in my opinion deserved that point. When the referee blowed the final whistle, Latvians were celebrating the draw like they had just won the tournament, even though they don't really have a chance anymore! That was the best moment of the day and the director also found the crazy Latvian girl in the crowd who was first cheering for the Latvians in their match against Czech Republic and then crying a bit later when they were losing.
Probably the biggest surprise in the tournament so far, an a very very good match for a goalless draw!
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"Tommy Boo has played a pivotal role in my life. I've looked up to him since I was a kid and he has inspired every note of music I have ever written. The man is a fucking genius" -BC

[Tommy BOO]

FULL TIME:

HO LLA ND 2 - 3 CZEC H REP UBLIC
1-0 Bouma - 4 min.
2-0 van Nistelrooy - 19 min.
2-1 Koller - 23 min.
2-2 Baros - 71 min.
2-3 Smicer - 88 min.
Heitinga sent off 75 min.

FIRST HALF:
Why on earth the referee didn't disallow Holland's second goal?! Ruud van Nistelrooy was at least ten meters offside when the ball was passed to Robben on the left wing, and he did gain advantage of it. If he hadn't been up there, the defenders would have got the ball before van Nistelrooy, but now there was no chance really.
Wasn't this really an offside according to the new offside rules? Unbelievable.

Anyway, Holland's first goal was quite nice, an accurate free kick from the right to the far post where Bouma was waiting for the cross and he headed the ball past the Czech keeper and scored his first goal for Holland ever, on the 6th minute of the game.
Van Nistelrooy scored the offside goal on the 19th minute, but soon after that the Czechs scored their first. Milan Baros snatched a horrible back pass by Phillip Cocu and broke through the Dutch defense, past big and slow Jaap Stam, but his way was blocked by another defender and Stam was still just behind his back. Baros turned fast with the ball just in front of the goal and passed it to Jan Koller who made no mistake and put the ball into the back of the net.
Clarence Seedorf of Holland also had an excellent shot that went only inches away, and Edgar Davids's powerful shot hit the post. A very enjoyable game so far.

SECOND HALF:
What a match. Probably one of the best I've ever seen, very enjoyable all the time, there was no boring moment in the game. Holland weren't passionate enough after getting their two-goal lead, and Czechs punished them for that. A superb goal by Milan Baros on the second half, Jan Koller dropped the ball perfectly for Baros and he shot the ball to the roof of the goal. Perhaps the finest goal of the tournament so far.
Czechs were controlling the game on the second half and created many dangerous chances. Pavel Nedved who played a great game almost scored with a magnificent shot from about 25 meters, but his shot hit the crossbar.
Smicer scored the winning goal on the 88th minute of the game and Holland were beaten. Fantastic football and a deserved victory for the Czechs.
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"Tommy Boo has played a pivotal role in my life. I've looked up to him since I was a kid and he has inspired every note of music I have ever written. The man is a fucking genius" -BC

[Setareh Juventina]

Yes, the Czech-Holland game was amazing...a thought just hit me, is someone giving the coaches idiot pills? Yesterday the substitutions of Italy were strange, many of you complained of England's first game substitutions and today Dick A took out Robben and the Czechs substituted Jan Kohler (it ended well but still, would you trade such a useful guy?)...I realize in their place I wouldn't do that much better but crazy decisions seem to be the in thing.

Love and Peace
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Man is the only animal clever enough to build The Empire State Building and stupid enough to jump from it.

[Tommy BOO]

Robben's substitution was a bit surprising, yes, but Jan Koller seemed to be very tired. And I don't wonder why, because he worked his socks off today, he was very active in the attack but also took part in their defense. But both Robben and Koller were replaced by players with just as much skill, so I don't think that the manager(s) made any bad changes today. Holland probably should have been a bit more attackive though, because their defense seemed to be quite vulnerable, and attack is often the best form of defense.
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"Tommy Boo has played a pivotal role in my life. I've looked up to him since I was a kid and he has inspired every note of music I have ever written. The man is a fucking genius" -BC

[John Mc]

Thats how all international games should be, it was a great game to watch. If Nedved's effort from 40 yards in the last 10 minutes had gone in then it would have been the goal of the tournament. Smicer and Baros always look great for their country, if Baros can stay injury free next season then hopefully he'll be able to reproduce that sort of form for Liverpool.

[Tommy BOO]

Holland's second goal tonight, surely it should have been an offside?!
OK, the new rules are quite confusing, but Van Nistelrooy did interfere with play. The new rule is just bloody stupid.
As Bill Shankly once said - "If a player isn't interfering with play, what is he doing on the pitch?"

I was just thinking of a new winning play system... I could be the new England manager after this tournament when Sven-Göran gets sacked, because this idea is revolutionary. (Sven-Göran is the best paid international manager out there)

It's called Tommy Boo's absolutely idiotic offside attacking football.

Every team should have a player who stays in front of the opposite team's goal all the time. The whole thing works like this:

Player A passes the ball to the left wing to Player B who isn't in an offside position. However, Player C is 30 meters behind the defense line at the same time, in front of opposite team's goal, but he doesn't take part in the game... yet.
Player B then takes a sprint on the left wing and leaves the defenders behind him, so that he can pass the ball to Player C and the offside rule doesn't apply anymore.
Player C gets the ball and scores a goal.

Would this actually work then?! Will I be the new football manager hero of the 21st century?
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"Tommy Boo has played a pivotal role in my life. I've looked up to him since I was a kid and he has inspired every note of music I have ever written. The man is a fucking genius" -BC

[Melz]

[Tommy BOO]

Melz, the picture doesn't work. Angelfire doesn't allow direct linking.
Try uploading it to www.jpegwizard.com for example.
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"Tommy Boo has played a pivotal role in my life. I've looked up to him since I was a kid and he has inspired every note of music I have ever written. The man is a fucking genius" -BC

[Tommy BOO]

RU SS IA 2 - 1 GR EE CE
1-0 Kirichenko - 2 min.
2-0 Boulykin - 17 min.
2-1 Vryzas - 44 min

I didn't see this match because I decided to watch the other one instead. I would watch it now if I didn't have to go to work again tomorrow morning, but according to what I've read, it was an entertaining match. Russians didn't have to go back home with no points, good for them. Greeks are also celebrating today, they got the second place in the group so they're through to the quarter finals.


S PAI N 0 - 1 POR TU GAL
Nuno Gomes - 57 min.

The standard of football in this tournament has really improved, again this was quite a good match! Not a classic match like Holland Vs Czech Rep. yesterday, but still quite decent... Spain were impressive on the first half but they couldn't create any good chances. Portugal and especially C. Ronaldo flashed his skills, and although they couldn't really create anything either, it was still quite nice to watch.
On the second half Portugal was much better though, and on 57th minute of the game, Nuno Gomes got a good backpass from Luis Figo, he shot a powerful low shot towards the down left corner of the goal, and Iker Casillas didn't have a chance. A good goal and well deserved.
I didn't like Portugal's style and their players' attitudes in the previous matches, but today they impressed me. Spain spent too much time making little fouls and complaining about referee's decisions. The referee Anders Frisk (SWE) was excellent today, by the way, he kept the match under control all the time.
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"Tommy Boo has played a pivotal role in my life. I've looked up to him since I was a kid and he has inspired every note of music I have ever written. The man is a fucking genius" -BC

[Tommy BOO]

FULL TIME SCORES:

CR O A T IA 2 - 4 EN GLA ND
1-0 Kovac - 6 min.
1-1 Scholes - 40 min.
1-2 Rooney - 45 + 1 min.
1-3 Rooney - 68 min.
2-3 Tudor - 74 min.
2-4 Lampard - 79 min.

Six goals, but many goals don't always mean the same as an entertaining game. Croatian defense was awful today, the defenders and defensive midfielders can only blame themselves for the loss today. England's attackive play was much more positive today as well, Portugal will have to work a lot to win England in the quarter finals.
A big thumbs up for Croatia and Croatian fans - my first impression in the tournament of Croatia was that their players are cheating thugs and fans annoying whiners, but that's not right (maybe my views earlier were a bit biased), the players were very professional today and the fans supported the teams until the very end. In previous tournaments Croatian players have almost always got frustrated when losing and then they've got stupid red cards. But today they should have been awarded some kind of a fair play award at least.


SWIT ZER LAND 1 - 3 FR AN CE
[i]0-1 Zidane - 20 min.
1-1 Vonlanthen - 26 min.
1-2 Henry - 76 min.
1-3 Henry - 84 min.

France wins the Group B and England gets the other ticket to the quarter finals. Goodbye to Croatia and Switzerland, who both could have got qualified with a little luck.
Johan Vonlanthen who scored for Switzerland today is even younger than Wayne Rooney, by the way, so Vonlanthen is now the youngest player ever to score in the European Championships.
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"Tommy Boo has played a pivotal role in my life. I've looked up to him since I was a kid and he has inspired every note of music I have ever written. The man is a fucking genius" -BC

[John Mc]

You get your reports on here really quickly Tommy, its very impressive. Inspite of what the papers will say tomorrow I didn't think England were that good tonight. Rooney looks really sharp and scoring 4 goals is always good but they'll struggle against France, the Czechs, Holland or the Germans.

The new offside rule is wank, I don't think anyone had a problem with the old rule. It will end up with 11 players stood in each penalty area and then each kicking the ball to each other and not bothering with midfielders. If this happens then England need to get Graham Taylor back in charge.