EURO 2012 Unbiased Match Reports - Wednesday 27th June – 1st Semi-final
Portugal 0 Spain 0 AET
(2-4 on Penalties)
Donetsk
Euro 2012 is following the traditional pattern for football competitions. The early stages throw up mismatches – OK, they are not as extreme as those we get in World Cup groups but they are there just the same. Mismatches mean goals and all 24 group games and 3 of the ¼ finals all produced goals this summer.
But as the competition progresses the better teams are left - stakes are higher, fear of mistakes grows. Sides take fewer risks and decide that surviving 120 minutes of football and the lottery of penalties represents their best chance of going further.
It happened on Sunday. England clung on for 120 minutes only to be outgunned from the spot. Yesterday’s match was technically better with Portugal bossing some bits of the game but as they tired they too opted for the safety of a clean sheet and a shootout. They achieved the same result and the same score.
This first semi-final was the final match played in the fabulous Donbass Arena. The stadium looks brilliant and the playing surface has survived everything thrown at it by the competition and the weather – how they got the France v Ukraine match played after that fantastic electrical storm I’ll never know. Will be a good away visit when Saints are in the Champions League.
This match was a special “Respect” event so each captain was required to read out some words about “inclusion” and such. An old cynic like me might believe they were actually praising Continental tyres or Adidas boots but in fact Euro 2012 has done much to promote diversity in Poland and Ukraine.
In multicultural Britain the issue of colour and race has a very high profile. Eastern European countries never had empires and consequently there are very few people there with a different coloured skin. They pre-tournament racism scares have proved to be a load of rubbish. Fans of every colour have been well received and well treated at Euro 2012. Eastern Europe is learning to accept people who don’t look like them – just as we had to.
But in predominantly white societies, inclusion tends to focus on the disabled. Lots has gone on behind the scenes in Poland and Ukraine to improve their lives but this, of course, goes unreported. I bet you didn’t know that before the France v Spain ¼ final, the Donbass hosted a match between teams whose players all suffer from hearing difficulties. Thought not – nobody is interested in good news.
Readers of my unbiased reports will have sussed I don’t much care for UEFA as a guardian of our game but in the wider political arena they do good stuff. Taking the Euros out east was a good move. I doubt that France 2016 will come close in terms of social impact and the quality of football will be diluted. Guess more mismatches may deliver more goals and that’ll at least keep the punters happy!
Teams :
Portugal
Rui Patricio, Bruno Alves, Pepe, Coentrao, Joao Pereira, Veloso, Moutinho, Meireles, Nani, Ronaldo and Almeida. Subs: Oliveira (for Almeida – 81), Custodio (for Veloso – 106) and Varela (for Meireles – 112).
Spain
Casillas, Arbeloa, Pique, Ramos, Alba, Xavi, Busquets, Alonso, Silva, Negredo and Iniesta. Subs: Fabregas (for Negredo – 54), Navas (for Silva – 60) and Pedro (for Xavi – 87).
Match Report :
Both sides brought in a different striker for this game. Almeida played upfront for Portugal replacing the injured Postiga and Spain gave Negredo his first start, dropping Fabregas to the bench.
Portugal were out of the traps first. Veloso had a shot deflected for a corner. He took it himself, swung it under the cross bar forcing Casillas to tip it behind. The keeper came and held the next one.
Portugal continued to press. Their midfield harried the Spanish so much that their first attack was a long hoof downfield for Silva to chase. On 10 minutes they finally got a passing move going. Arbeloa was sent into the box but his shot went high.
Ronaldo burst into the game on 13 minutes. Veloso sent him off down the right and he outpaced his markers before swinging an excellent cross towards Almeida. Casillas launched himself to punch it clear. Ronaldo next tried his luck on the left and was fouled by Arbeloa. His free kick didn’t beat Spain’s wall.
On 21 minutes Nani cut in from his wing and was body-checked by Alba. The Turkish referee thought that was a fair tackle – in Turkey, perhaps….
Spain then had a period of possession. They held the ball without trying to venture forward and the Ukrainians booed them. Portugal began to hunt them down, led by the superb Moutinho, and they started to win the ball back deep in Spain’s half. Portugal were encouraged to try some flicks and back-heels. Meireles swung a ball into the area which Ramos fell on and Portugal said it was handball. It appeared to bounce off his chin.
On the half hour I was discussing with Drew whether or not Negredo had touched the ball. Suddenly he was involved. The ball was played down the right side of the box. The big forward held it up well and found finding Silva with his pass. The ball went left to Iniesta whose shot curled just over, rippling the netting as it passed.
On 32 minutes Portugal again took the ball off Spain and sent Ronaldo away. His low shot went past Casillas’ dive but just past the near post too.
Spain were starting to make mistakes. Their usual neat passing was going astray, Silva being the main culprit. On 43 minutes Pepe launched a long ball towards Ronaldo but Ramos got there first. Instead of clearing the ball, he let it bounce through to Casillas, unaware that Almeida had run in behind and should have done much better with the gift. At half time it remained 0-0.
It was another hot, humid night in Ukraine and the second period began at a somewhat more sedate place. Both teams enjoyed periods of possession and both continued to work at getting it back. Portugal had the better moves, winning a corner at one point but Alonso blasted the ball at an opponent and won a goal kick.
On 54 minutes Negredo was off and Fabregas came on. I’m convinced Del Bosque does this to wind up the media: “Look – no strikers!”
Portugal were still going forward. Nani was having a better game and Ronaldo remained a constant threat. Yet most chances came the way of Almeida and, frankly, he was not very good. On 57 minutes, with his mates both well placed he chose to try his luck from 25 yards and sent it wide. On the hour Jesus Navas replaced the strangely ineffective Silva.
Players were tiring, tackles were getting sloppier and tempers frayed. The Ref responded by dishing out yellow cards. The fouls kept coming and on 64 minutes Pereira was embarrassed by a neat one-two by Fabregas and Alonso. He dragged the former Arsenal man down in a dangerous area.
Xavi fired in an excellent cross but it was Pepe who got his head on it and knocked it for a corner. On 68 minutes, Spain again got forward, Xavi driving on with options either side but he chose to shoot - hard, true but straight into Patricio’s midriff. We were in the final quarter and that was the first shot either keeper had needed to save!
Within 5 minutes Portugal won a free kick in Ronaldo range. He went through his routine, beat the wall but it went high. The game was being played at a noticeably slower pace but both sides still went forward when able. Veloso tried to catch out Casillas with a quickly taken free kick. He didn’t.
Oliveira came on for Almeida on 81 minutes. Then Ronaldo won a couple of quick free-kicks – Arbeloa handled the first so the second was closer. This time Ronaldo put it over the bar. You began to think this might not be his night…….
Xavi came off on 87 minutes replaced by Pedro. He went wide left and Iniesta dropped into midfield. (Incidentally, more astute observers will have noticed Iniesta wears 8 for Barca but 6 for Spain. Xavi wears 8 for Spain and 6 for Barca. I understand this is because they both prefer to wear #8 and came to this compromise so they’d each get to wear their preferred number every so often).
With 90 minutes up, Portugal defend an Alonso free kick and suddenly have four breaking downfield with just two Spaniards defending. Meireles, who’d had one of his better games, carried the ball and fed Ronaldo wide left. It was a decent chance. Ronaldo must’ve scored plenty of times from this sort of position. This time he hit it wide and we were going to extra time.
With both sets of players looking shagged-out and a fair few of them on yellow cards these looked a reasonable chance of an extra-time winner. The substitutes looked most likely to achieve something. Pedro was flying down the wing every chance he could. On 95 minutes he was stopped by a magnificent Pereira tackle.
Ronaldo briefly threatened to get down the right but Pique dealt with the threat. Then it was Pedro again, linking with Alonso, breaking into the box. You could sense the joy felt by Real Madrid defender Pepe as he cleaned out the Barca player and cleared.
But inexorably, Spain were starting to dominate possession and the effort Portugal had expended in the early stages were taking their toll. As we passed the 100 minute mark Spain saw more of the ball and further down the park. Navas’ shot bounced away for a corner.
Portugal cleared that but Ramos soon won the ball back. Navas was sent down the right but played a strange ball across (was it a shot?) that Pedro retrieved by the opposite corner flag. His neat pass to Alba was played into Iniesta whose shot was well saved by Patricio . That was his second save of the night and that required a good dive to turn it around the post.
In the extra minute of injury time, Spain won a free kick about 30 yards out. Up strode Ramos and fired a great strike just over the top – closer than any of Ronaldo’s efforts. Still 0-0 and just 15 minutes remaining.
Spain were looking the most likely and on 110 minutes Navas drew another fine save from Patricio with a hard, low shot. The keeper grabbed it at the second go, with protection from Pepe as Spain closed in. Varela was introduced on 112 minutes, Meireles hardly able to drag himself off the park.
On 115 minutes Bruno Alves made a timely intervention to deny Pedro. Portugal were hanging on and in the dying seconds Pedro again burst into the box but it was Moutinho who stopped him this time. And 120 minutes was up. Penalties (again)!
Penalties
Again ….
Alonso Saved - good penalty, but a great dive by Patricio - 0-0
Moutinho Saved - too close to Casillas - 0-0
Iniesta Scored - Sent keeper the wrong way - 0-1 Spain
Pepe Scored - Great shot into the corner - 1-1
Pique Scored - Repeat of Pepe’s, tucked in the corner - 1-2
At this point Bruno Alves came forward, but Nani ran up and sent him back!
Nani Scored - Blasted into the roof of the net - 2-2
Ramos Scored - Chips it over the keeper’s dive - 2-3
Alves Missed - Crashed against the bar - and rebounds - 2-3
Fabregas Scored - Struck against the post - and in …. - 2-4 Spain
Ronaldo - Still waiting. If he’d studied stats he’d know it is always the 4th penalty that matters - not the 5th
In his mind’s eye Ronaldo must have seen that 5th penalty carrying Portugal into Sunday’s final and him receiving the plaudits of the football family - and the Balon d’Or to boot. When he gets a bit older he’ll realise fate doesn’t like stories that end like that. Instead he had to stand watching Spain celebrate reaching a third international final on the trot.
This was perhaps a game for the purists. There certainly wasn’t enough goalmouth action to keep the casual viewer entertained but Portugal showed that Spain can be got at. Their tactics were good – indeed they are a good side. Unfortunately they are not an excellent side – they lack quality in some areas and could not convert their good work into a lead they might protect.
As Portugal tired Spain began to boss the game. Towards the end of normal time and throughout extra-time they tried to get a winning goal that would save them from penalties. But when penalties arrived, it was Spain whose nerve held and Spain who will contest Sunday’s final.
MOM: Moutinho (Portugal) - despite the penalty miss
EURO 2012 Unbiased Match Reports - Thursday 28th June – 2nd Semi-final
Germany 1 Italy 2
Warsaw
Warsaw is rather younger than other Euro 2012 host cities. No records of it exist until after 1300 when a settlement was established on the banks of the River Vistula, midway between the Baltic to the north and the Carpathians to the south. But sat, as it is, on the route between Berlin and Moscow, Warsaw has seen an awful lot of history in the intervening 700 years.
It became prominent when the Polish court moved here from Krakow in 1596. Warsaw was besieged many times during the European wars of the next 150 years but during the relatively peaceful reign of Stanislaw II (late 18th century) many fine buildings were erected here, earning Warsaw the nickname “Paris of the East”.
In 1795 Warsaw was annexed by Prussia, then freed by Napoleon but by 1815 was in the clutches of the Russian Empire. It was the centre of various Polish uprisings in the mid-1800s, each put down with considerable violence. During the more enlightened reign of Tsar Alexander II, Warsaw enjoyed considerable development – piped water, gas, sewerage, street lighting and trams were all introduced. By 1900 it was the 3rd city of the Russian Empire after only Moscow and St Petersburg.
Occupied by Germany in WW1, Warsaw became the capital of independent Poland in 1918. Two years later the Russians tried to reclaim it but the Red Army was defeated in the outskirts of Warsaw and Poland stayed free – until 1939 at least.
Under Nazi occupation Warsaw suffered gross acts of cruelty but also saw quite unbelievable bravery. If you’ve never seen Polanski’s triple-Oscar winning war movie “The Pianist” do so – soon. It is about the Warsaw ghetto, the deportations to Treblinka death camp and the 1943 Jewish uprising. To Nazis, Slavs were little better than Jews so Poles were also killed in huge numbers (probably 200,000 in Warsaw). Such a high number is indicative that this was one city in occupied Europe that was never entirely conquered.
Armed resistance continued intermittently until August 1944 when a full scale uprising was initiated by the Polish government in exile. They wanted Warsaw liberated by Poles but the uprising was defeated, fighters imprisoned in Germany and civilians driven from their homes. A few miles eastward, the Red Army sat and watched. Stalin had no intention of helping Poles liberate their capital. The Germans then razed the city to the ground.
Russians finally entered the ruined capital in January 1945 and another period of occupation began. Under communism, Warsaw was rebuilt. In the early years, prefabs and concrete tower blocks provided housing but Poles were determined to restore their capital’s ancient heart. So successful were they that in 1980 UNESCO named it a World Heritage site.
Work on Poland’s 58,500 seater National Stadium was completed last November. It will host both international football and other sporting and cultural events. It was the scene of the opening ceremony of Euro 2012 just 3 short weeks ago. It played host to 4 other matches prior to the second semi-final – the last match on Polish soil and, I’ll hazard, the best match of the whole tournament!
I guess members of the England squad will have watched this match on a giant screen in the comfort of their homes or in some posh holiday hotel somewhere. Perhaps they’ll now derive some comfort from holding Italy to a draw last Sunday – Spain are the only other side to have managed that. Four nights on that same Italy side made the Germans look bad!
Teams :
Germany
Neuer, Boateng, Hummels, Badstuber, Lahm, Khedira, Schweinsteiger, Ozil, Croos, Podolski and Gomez. Subs: Reus (for Podolski – 46), Klose (for Gomez – 46) and Mueller (for Boateng – 71).
Italy
Buffon, Balzaretti, Bonucci, Barzagli, Chiellini, Marchisio, Pirlo, De Rossi, Montolivo, Cassano and Balotelli. Subs: Diamanti (for Cassano – 58), Motta (for Montolivo – 63) and Di Natale (for Balotelli – 69).
Match Report :
Germany selected a different front 3 – out went Schurrle, Reus and Klose; in came Podolski, Gomez and Croos. Abate’s injury forced Italy to move Balzaretti to right back with fit again Chiellini coming in on the left.
From kick off this was an open game. Both sides aimed to get down the flanks but were met with resolute defending at both ends of the park. On 6 minutes Buffon came to collect a corner but dropped it and needed Pirlo to save his blushes.
Italy’s first opportunity came when Bonucci hit a long ball forward for Balotelli but Hummels robbed him and came away with the ball. The next German attack saw Croos cross (try saying that quickly) and the surprisingly nervous Buffon pushed the ball against a defender. It rebounded just outside the post with Khedira closing in.
Italy seemed content to hit long passes towards Balotelli but in the early stages Badstuber and Hummels were able to prevent their arrival. Then on 18 minutes Cassano and Montolivo joined the attack. The latter hit a dipping shot, well saved by Neuer.
With their next attack Italy scored. A long ball down the left was controlled by Cassano. He turned Hummels and lofted a sweet cross to the near post where Balotelli out-jumped Badstuber and powered his header past Neuer. 0-1.
I suppose I shouldn’t have been surprised. I’ve watched international football for half a century and it is an indisputable fact that once an Italian side negotiate the group stages they tend to get better and better. Down the years they’ve defeated so many tournament favourites, I’ve lost count. Here they were – at it again.
Boateng created Germany’s next chance crossing for Gomez but his header drifted way beyond the back post. On 27 minutes Gomez did rather better, holding off Barzagli and laying the ball back to Ozil. The shot went straight to Buffon who collected it calmly. His early jitters seemed to have passed. Next Croos took a shot from outside the box but sent it high and wide.
Pirlo and De Rossi were starting to ping the ball around in midfield but Germany still posed a threat when in possession. Italy’s traditional defending skills were on display too – on 34 minutes another Boateng pass found Podolski at the back stick but a superb tackle by Balzaretti sent the ball out for a corner.
On 35 minutes another long ball was beautifully controlled by Cassano who played in Marchisio. The midfielder tried to side-step a defender but was tackled and the chance was gone.
Germany moved forward again but lost possession. Montolivo looked up and from deep in his own half saw Balotelli breaking into a gap in the German defence. When his lofted pass arrived the big striker was beyond his markers. He had time to control the ball and take a couple of strides towards goal before unleashing a powerful drive past the helpless Neuer. 0-2. Balotelli celebrated by removing his shirt and collecting a yellow card!
Italy are tough to get at defending a solitary goal but now they had two and Germany began to look dispirited. They kept plugging away but Italy seemed content to see out the half defending the lead. Balls were humped into their box but whatever Buffon didn’t catch, his defenders headed away. Half time 0-2.
Gomez and Podolski were sacrificed as Coach Low sought a foothold in the match. Reus and Klose were the replacements. Reus almost made an immediate difference. He cut in from the left and fired a firm shot which Buffon saved. Then Croos and Lahm made an opening which saw the German captain shoot over.
Germany continued to get forward. Ozil and Khedira began to link up but the Italian back line seemed to be enjoying the challenge. They defended resolutely, cutting out passes and heading away crosses. It was going to take something special to get past them and so far Germany had not found an answer. Then when Klose finally saw the whites of the goalposts, Bonucci slid in and whisked the ball away.
On 58 minutes, Cassano came off and Diamanti took the field. Balotelli was on a hat-trick and not minded to pass when a shooting opportunity arose. You forget what a big, powerful bloke he is but the way he eased past Lahm on the hour was frightening.
Germany had a free kick on 62 minutes. Four of them surrounded the ball but it was Reus who hit it, drawing a great save from Buffon who tipped it onto the bar and over. Italy then replaced the excellent Montolivo with Thiago Motta.
As Germany pressed more players upfield spaces began to appear at the back. Italy exploited these and should have killed the game on 67 minutes. Diamanti set up Marchisio but his shot flew the wrong side of the post. Three minutes later Balotelli went down with cramp. With one eye on Sunday’s final, Prandelli immediately took the striker off sending on Di Natale in his place.
Germany then brought on Mueller for Boateng and dropped Schweinsteiger to right back. On 75 minutes a lofted cross from Khedira seemed to be sailing into touch. Buffon let it go, only to see the outstretched boot of Klose hook the ball back into play. The keeper reacted quickly, grabbing the dropping ball before Reus could get there.
Italy went straight down the other end and missed another great chance. Marchisio was again the culprit, going past the prone Badstuber and curling a shot beyond the far post. Pirlo was now running the game and as Germany faltered Italy missed two more good chances to kill them off. First Di Natale broke beyond the back line and ran at goal. When he eventually shot he put it wide. Then Balzaretti did find the net but had run offside before doing so.
The last 5 minutes saw Germany camped around the Italian box but Italy held firm. Balzaretti punched the air with joy when his fine tackle disposed Reus in front of goal. Then Hummels had a great chance but Bonucci took the sting off his shot. Buffon stopped but failed to hold it – Bonucci simply back-heeled it out for a corner!
Half way through 4 minutes of injury time, Balzaretti chested a ball down in his box. The Germans claimed handball and the ref obliged. Ozil scored from the spot. 1-2.
The magnificent Bonucci was obliged to make one last clearance before the final whistle. 1-2 and Italy were off to Kiev for another match with Spain. Italy are the only side to have scored against Spain out here. They’ll need to do so again if they are to unseat the current champions.
Germany looked strangely out of sorts. Their attack was blunt, their defenders looked vulnerable and their stars failed to shine. Perhaps this was a tournament too soon for this young squad. Chances are they’ll be back in Brazil with a decent shout.
MOM: Balotelli (Italy)
