FanNation - The Republic of Sport

Euro'08 - Three weeks of great soccer and high drama have finally reached their conclusion, and the last team standing is Spain, 1-0 victors over Germany in yesterday's final.  While certainly a good game, it never really approached the level I was expecting, primarily because Germany, with the exception of about a 10 minute stretch of the second half, never found a way into the game.  A generally poor effort by the Deutschlanders was part of it (awful passing, a lack of rythym, too much hit-and-hope, and a general lack of leadership were among the problems), but equally important was the fact that the Spanish took the game to the Germans and never let them get comfotable.  They never let the Germans exploit their size advantage, they controlled the midfield and when Jens Lehmann made his usual gaffe, taking far too long to get off his line on a through ball, Torres punished him with the only goal of the game.  Though Germany had a decent stretch from 65 to 75 minutes, they never really seemed a threat to score, and it seemed equally likely that they would conceed a second as they were throwing men forward.  In fact, with a little better finishing, Spain could have won the game comfortably, instead of by one goal.  For me, the man of the match was Senna.  He dominated the midfield, took Ballack completely out of the match, and was able to contribute offensively, nearly getting a goal himself in the late going.  While the whole side played well, I thought 3 other standouts were Torres (a constant threat, though with the one exception his finishing was lacking), Ramos (strong on both offense and defense) and Puyol (Klose was a non-factor, and Puyol was the reason).  For Germany, it was simply a poor effort across the board.  Once again Lahm's defensive liabilities were exposed, only this time it may have cost Germany a title.  Ballack was dreadful, and frankly if the ankle injury was the reason for his poor play he should have sat the game out for the good of the team.  Hitztlsperger was, if possible, even worse, and it wasn't until Loew finally pulled him off that the German attack showed any real sparks of life.  And then there is Lehmann.  Once again, he plays just well enough to lose.  His inexcusable tardiness in coming off his line to challenge Torres on the through ball gave the Spaniard all the time he needed for a clinical finish, time he wouldn't have had if Lehmann had been more aggressive.  It's clearly time for a new face in the nets.  Those thoughts aside, let's not lose sight of one thing.  The right team took a deserved victory.  Spain was the best team not only on the day, but during the whole of the tournament.  They deserve all the accolades that should go along with being the best team in Europe.  Congratulations, Spain.  Enjoy your victory.

MLS News -  There are a couple of items from this side of the Atlantic, including one fixture.  Here's the latest, and some thoughts.

DC United 4, LA Galaxy 1 - Wow, talk about unexpected.  LA walked into an absolute ambush.  Aside from one defensive gaffe, United owned this game from the start.  Jazic's incredibly foolish foul created the penalty opener for United, and though LA was able to tie the game after Peralta's missed clearance,  a superbly controlled header by an unmarked Emilio opened the floodgates.  The second half was simply a tale of domination by DC highlighted by goals from Gallardo and a second for Emilio.  If not for Cronin's efforts in the LA goal and some shoddy finishing by United, the score might have been far worse.  Most impressively, DC's defense made Donovan and especially Beckham into non-factors  Capping it all off was the highly emotional return of Ben Olsen, who came on at 75' to a standing ovation from the nearly 36,000 in attendance.  Clearly United has shaken off their early season funk, and if they can continue to play this way, they will be a force to be reckoned with over the second half of the season.

DC United Notes - Santino Quaranta strained a hamstring during the first half, and had to be replaced by Marc Burch in the 27'.  Early reports have him missing 1-2 weeks, though a further determination will have to be made tomorrow.  In an interesting note, Jose Carvallo was again listed as the backup keeper to Zack Wells, even though media reports have circulated during the week that Carvallo might be released (contracts for players released before July 1 are not guaranteed, and can be prorated for salary cap savings).  United's win moved them up to third place in both the Eastern Conference and the overall tables, the first time they have been in playoff position all season.  However, as with the other Superliga entrants, they have played 1 or 2 more games than most of the other teams in the league.

Ruiz on the Block? - According to published reports in both Los Angeles and Washington, DC, Carlos Ruiz is being shopped around MLS by the Galaxy.  He was not with the team on their trip to Washington with their consent as GM Alexi Lalas attempts to find a taker for the high priced scorer.  Ruiz has missed most of the season with a knee injury, but had returned to action in the past several weeks.  The emergence of the less expensive Edson Buddle has made Ruiz a spare part, albeit one with some trade value, and the Galaxy hope to be able to shore up their leaky defense by offloading Ruiz. 

That's it for now.  Have a nice day!