Madridistas at Euro 2008
By: Steve | May 30th, 2008
Hala Madrid! No, this isn’t about fans going to the tournament in Austria and Switzerland, I’m talking about the 8 Merengues who will be playing for national teams there - Sergio Ramos and Casillas for Spain, Pepe for Portugal, Cannavaro for Italy, Metzelder for Germany, and then the trio of Ruud, Robben and Sneijder for the Netherlands.
I’m gonna try to keep tabs on all those guys during the tourney, posting somewhat-daily updates about their performances and their team’s progress. Are there any players you think I should concentrate on?
Personally, I’m rooting for Spain, so naturally I’ll be watching a lot of Ramos and Casillas, but I also love the Dutch, so I’ll get to see those 3 guys too, who all figure into van Basten’s starting XI. I don’t really need to see much from Pepe and Cannavaro, since they’ve both had pretty good seasons, but I think that this is Metzelder’s last chance to impress on a big stage and justify our purchase of him last summer.
Metzelder was touted as a swift, if not fast, defender with good instincts and leadership, but he’s yet to display those qualities with Madrid. Some of the blame has to be on his injuries, but even in his limited playing time, he hasn’t shown the kind of quality that made him a top defender at Dortmund. If he hopes to have any chance at breaking into the starting XI, or at least challenging Heinze as the main substitute at centreback, he’ll have to have an outstanding tournament. Lucky for him, Joachim Loew likes Metzelder as part of the German first XI.
What about you, faithful readers? Predictions and opinions about Euro 2008? Fire away!
Category: Team News
Tags: Cannavaro, Casillas, Euro 2008, Metzelder, Pepe, Robben, Ruud, Sergio Ramos, Sneijder, Team NewsSubscribe
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I typically admire Holland for their style of play and their talent, but have never actually rooted for them. But now, with three of them representing white, I think I’ll have to cheer them on. I’ll certainly be watching their games, since they’re in the same group as Italy and France - there’ll be a lot of excitement.
But still, my heart is with the Furia Roja. As a long time fan, I know better than to get my hopes up (like, say, how I did in 2006 after they CONQUERED their group), but I’ll still be screaming for them all the way. And who knows, with Casillas and Torres in the best form of their lives, Fabregas matured and maybe ready to finally make an impact on the national squad, and a solid midfield anchor like Senna… Can one dare to dream?
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Isn’t Drenthe in the national squad?
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And the first Madrid player to score in the Euros is… Pepe? The Portuguese centerback scored on day one, off of a lovely 1-2 and deft tap. It was actually his second goal of the day, the first being ruled (correctly)offside. Number two was pure class though, making Pepe look more likely a rangy striker than a defender. Let’s hope he does more of that when he’s wearing white!
Also… Ruud and Sneijder have both tallied a goal, though Ruud was pretty clearly offside. The Netherlands just greatly improved their chances of progressing with a 2 point lead over France and Romania after the first round, and a +3 goal differential.
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