Germany vs Italy - UEFA Euro 2012 Semi final

Highlights of the UEFA Euro 2012 2nd Semi Final: Germany vs Italy

Image courtesy: www.uk.eurosport.yahoo.com

Now how did Schweinsteiger get a nod despite his ankle injury? His diminishing form thanks to his injuries has posed a real threat to his place in the team.

And I expected Marco Reus instead of Toni Kroos. the best feature about Germany is their highly predictable quality of game and highly unpredictable origins of attacks. Germany coach Joachim Low seems to have decided not to gamble this time.

First Half:

1": The match started with Italian team catching Germany unawares. German players are made to scramble out of their stability and formation, as Italy gets too good.

5": Montolivo brilliant in his dribbles/ getting past defenders. Mauel Neuer, stands strong.

20": Excellent work by Cassano to get past 2 German defenders, and to cross the ball to a ferocious Balotelli -GOAL- poor defending by Badstuber. What was he waving his hand for? To ask Balotelli not to jump?

25": 5 minutes into the game after the first goal, Italy looks settled - they can hold on for the rest of the time.

29": Good build up by Mario Gomez and Mesut Ozil - but unfortunately slips from Ozil and ends up waste in Buffon's hands.

32": Badstuber failing to hold Balotelli again and again.

34": Pirlo almost opens up another goal for Italy. His calm at the most pressing times is highly impressive - fans would not be yet out from the hangover of his penalty chip against England in the quarter final.

35": Buffon brilliantly saves a Khedira shot, and lets out a sigh of relief and a gasp of air.

37": GOAL - Balotelli fires yet again into the German net - weak German defense leaves Neuer a loner, helpless.

Balotelli rips off his shirt, there is not "why always me?",but a six-pack instead, which means a yellow card, but Balotelli wouldn't care. He is now in the top of the list of Golden Boot contenders.

If Germany have to prove their might, they got to pull out a come-back.

Why did I write off Italy from Euro 2012 contenders list?

Low did not gamble this time : and this is proving costly for him.

40": Cassano turns an actor now to try get the referee's favour - Badstuber has already been warned for his previous challenges. But this time it was clean challenge from the German.

45+1": A corner is to be the last act of the first half. But Marchisio clears it away.

Half-time: so the match is half finished, and the team which came to dictate is now struggling to speak. And the team which spoke less enjoys lesser pressure at half-time.

Second Half: 

Reus is in for Podolski!!! Exactly whom I wanted!!!

Klose in for Gomez !!!

46": Badstuber fights for the ball nastily with Pirlo

47": Reus could have done better there: a powerless shot made it easy for Buffon.

49": Captain Lahm sends a shot wide over Buffon and the cross bar.

51": Schweinsteiger, so far a shadow, now comes visible. But unfortunately, he has to give away the ball for a free kick.

If Germany wins this  match, they can win any match. The situation demands so much.

55": An excellent Klose effort came close to the goal, but Bonucci slacks it down to a corner. Otherwise a sure goal - even Buffon couldn't have rescued the ball from so close a range.

57": Diamanti substitutes Cassano. Cassano was not good of late as he had been in the first few minutes of the game.

59": Kroos brought down by Bonucci and Bonucci is booked.

60": Superb free-kick by Reus is blocked by Buffon.

63": Montolivo replaced by Thiago Motta

I would like to have an hour left in the game, but technically there is only half of it left. These stupid rules!!

65": Germans showing signs of unrest - missed passes drain the beauty of the game.

70": Muller in for Boateng. That means a switch to 3-3-1-2 formation.

72": Kroos wrongly caught for offense. He was at the receiving end in fact! Stupid refereeing.

73": Neuer lucky enough to escape out of his blunder - he almost gave the ball to the approaching striker.

World class football from both teams- left and right attack!

But recent Italian attacks are strengthened by vulnerable German defense.

My mind says the match is over, shut down the laptop and have enough sleep.

But my heart says keep watching. Go Germany!!!

The low level of offense here in this match (or probably in the whole of Euro 2012) is not at all comparable with the high level of offense in English Premier League. Players are very disciplined here.

Chelsea FC had Drogba to pull back one against Bayern. Germany needs two Drogbas.

80": The same style wing play again by Germany - this is not going to fetch them the result they want.

81": di Natale shoots wide. A great chance wasted by the Italian to give his team a 3-0 lead.

83": Daniele de rossi booked yellow for foul play against Shweini. And the following free-kick leads to a corner. And another corner. Both dont produce any result.

85": Di Natale flagged off-side.

86": A good chipping cross misplaced and makes German strikers jump like flying fishes.

87": Excellent one-two inside the Italy box by Reus, but Balzaretti tackles splendidly.

89": Motta booked yellow.

90+1": Penalty! GOAL - Germany scores out of the penalty chance gifted by Balzaretti's handling the ball.Buffon jumps to the wrong side. 

Germany bring down the gap from 2 to 1, but they lose in the end.

I see Italian fans in the screen rejoicing, and that reminds me it  is time to close the browser and log off. A tiring night.

And the favourites are down. Italy take the credit. Italy keeps historical records intact for the future.They even bettered the records.

And scoring two goals was not a silly task. Defending the German attack was damn tough.

Final score: Germany 1-2 Italy

Italy are into the finals of the Euro 2012.

The Rise of the Mannschaft

Image Courtesy: Wikipedia

Gdansk witnessed much more than a political satire a week ago, in the second quarter final match between Germany and Greece. In UEFA Euro 2012, the world saw the premonition to the rise of another dictator, after almost a hundred years, this time in the most beautiful of all sports, as the Mannschaft. An overwhelming German attack left behind a familiar Greek tragedy, and Germany coach Joachim Low signed off with an epilogue “today it was the time to bring in some fresh faces and different types of players who could do a job and I think it worked very well.” The incessantly chanting Greek fans found a Prometheus when Samaras cancelled the lead secured by German skipper Phillip Lahm, but their hopes were soon blown off by the acrobatic Sami Khedira. It is mind-blowing to see the multi-faceted yet united march of the German team, and the fact that the team is rich with men from 11 different nationalities is an unbelievable fact to comprehend.

Low had much surprise in store when he declared the starting eleven without Mario Gomez, Thomas Mueller and Lukas Podolski. Miroslav Klose impressed by standing up to his coach’s expectations with excellent ball control and a goal - another feather to his cap. He is now just four goals short of the legendary Gerd Muller who tops the list of the all-time highest goal-scorers in German football. The classic German formation of 4-2-3-1 was again a success. The old 4-1-2-1-2 formation in FIFA World Cup 2002 where Kevin Kuranyi shared the front row with the Klose is long gone, and the breath-taking attacks set a new definition to the game.

As a result of the shock exit of the Germans from the Euro 2000 group stage, the whole system of football in Germany underwent a revamp, and a system was established to spot and train talent from kids. And from then Germany has produced numerous young world class players, many of whom feature in the present day Mannschaft, a powerhouse of talent. Marco Reus, Mario Gotze, Mats Hummels, Lars Bender and Andre Schurrle are not just fresh young blood, but they are the ones who extend the depth of the German team. 

 Image Courtesy: www.bbc.co.uk

Only time stands between Germany and the title of the best football team in the world. Three cheers to Germany before the semifinal clash against Italy.

Torres and Chelsea FC's prospects

Chelsea camp should be now a desert, for most players are now busy with Euro 2012, and the remaining must be holidaying in their homes or away. A mammoth task lies ahead the caretaker-turned-manager Roberto di Matteo to scramble the team back and set the pieces correctly to affirm his talent. He would badly need to win atleast the premierleague this time to shoo away critics who find refuge in the copious way luck has favoured di Matteo and Chelsea.

The old guard is now disintegrated, two remain of the three. Chelsea can never again dream anything parallel to the Drogba-centric way of attack. The one that sunk Barcelona FC and FC Bayern Munich. The one that slowly flourished much to the anguish of all tiki taka fans, not because they hated it really, but because it routed most of their games against Chelsea FC with Didier Drogba in the squad. Lampard is no more the lone CAM that propelled the blues, in fact he is not a CAM anymore, he has found solace alongside Jon Obi Mikel right ahead of the other mainstay, John Terry. It is a good sign that Lampard has retreated, primarily because his brilliant interceptions at the back and meticulous passes that follow make the Chelsea counter attack the most dreaded among its kind. More than upon anything else, a Chelsea fan can bestow his hopes on counter attacks. It is more strengthened when they have a magician sprinter in Ramires and an intelligent playmaker in Juan Mata. The second reason why Lampard is better suited at CDM is that his shots are not that powerful as they used to be, and fans are kept waiting for a hundred Lampard volleys before he puts one through to the net. However, he is at his best in spot-kicks even now. Ramires and Mata could move up and down the flanks while the promising Eden Hazard would don the role of the CAM.If he does not prove worth the buy, Roman Abramovich will again be forced to do another of his hasty machiavellian spends, for his midfield will have strong wings with no support in the middle.

It is an inpermeable defense that keeps the Chelsea engine going, no matter what, the quad core of Ashley Cole, John Terry, David Luiz and Branislav Ivanovic stand guard in front of the tall giant who checks the net. John Terry, vilified by his infamous acts of rage on and outside the pitch, will definitely find it difficult to get time to attend practice sessions as he would be busy attending trails for allged racial abuse of Andon Ferdinand. And thanks to Wayne Bridge who is now no more than a recluse, out of Terry's way. The inspiring Ivanovic has been a real asset to Stamford Bridge ever since his induction to Chelsea from FC Lokomotiv Moscow in 2008. Real Madrd FC are rumoured to be on hot trail behind the Serbian, although Ivanovic announced that he wouldn't wish to talk about his move to Madrid, much to the relief of the blue fans. But rumours have stirred up so much steam which corroborates this move a likely predicament to the Cobham camp. If it happens, then Luiz will have to move to RB from his current role at RCB, and Cahill will move in to the starting eleven, at RCB. Jose Bosingwa is lacklustre now, and he does not match Cole in speed or precise tackling. The tag of the number one goalkeeper in football was snatched away from Petr Cech by the likes of Edwin Van der Saar and Iker Casillas a few years back. But now the Czech is on an ascent again - he was astounding in the 2011-12 season, especially in its climactic finish.

Up front, the resurgent Fernando Torres now stands as a lone man, leaving a choiceless formation of 4-2-3-1 to di Matteo. Only in the closing games of previous season did Torres find some breathing space, and kept his contract intact with the blues. A disappointing closure to the season would have forced Abramovich to declare 50 million pounds an utter waste. And facebook would soon have declared Torres as their brand ambassador, much to the amuse of the trolling community. Alas, Torres decided to end all these taunts, with his elegant goals in the Euro 2012 group match against the Republic of Ireland. If Hulk is captured before the transfer window draws to a close, Chelsea will be strong in every aspect which the game demands. Fresh young blood in Ramires, Hazard, Cahill and Luiz will ensure an explosive season for Chelsea which will mark a milestone in the club's transformation from a business enterprise to an institution of the beautiful game.

Here is the best Chelsea line-up for 2012-13.