With 10 days remaining in the lead up to Euro 2012, now seems
like a fitting time to preview the teams that will be participating. Managers have submitted their squad lists
after this weekend’s friendlies and the final preparations are underway for
Poland/Ukraine. Later in the week I’ll discuss the controversy
the tournament hosts have already attracted controversy thanks to a BBC
Panorama documentary highlighting potential danger to visiting minority fans. To start here’s a preview of Group A:
Group A:
Czech Republic:
After finishing second behind Spain in Group I qualifying,
the Czech Republic defeated Montenegro 3-0 over the two legged playoff to earn
their qualification to the Euro 2012 final.
The Czech side is managed by former Czechoslovakia/Czech Republic
midfielder Michal Bilek in his first major tournament campaign. The former Sparta Prague manager will lend his
watchful eye to the squad looks to return to their 2004 glory where they
surprised many by making it as far as the semi-final.
Bilek will likely field a 4-2-3-1 formation, after experimentation
with a 4-2-2-2 formation led to disastrous results. The squad is still led in attack by Euro 2004
Golden Boot winner Milan Baros and a lack of depth at the striker position
leaves the 30 year old Galatasaray striker as the lone option up front. CSKA Moscow’s striker Tomas Necid and
Nurnburg’s Tomas Pekhart are both young strikers that could emerge during the tournament,
but expect Baros to see the majority of playing time up front.
Tomas Rosicky will captain the Czechs coming off a season
where he helped Arsenal to a 3rd place finish in the English Premier
League. The injury prone midfielder has
managed to avoid the physio room over the last nine months and The Little
Mozart will attempt to dictate the majority of play in the Czech midfield. He will be joined by defensive midfielders Tomas
Hubschman paired with Petr Jiracek, who will provide the physical presence in
front of the defensive line.
Michal Kadlec was the leading scorer for the Czechs in the
qualifying campaign, and could be a danger during overlapping runs from his
left back position. His counterpart on
the right side Theodor Gebre Selassie is also a danger in the preferred counter-attacking
strategy of Bilek. The Czech defense is
led by goalkeeper Petr Cech, coming off arguably his best season where he was
instrumental in Chelsea’s Champions League triumph. The squad lacks depth at center back with the
preferred tandem of Roman Hubnik and Tomas Sivok lacking pace and
experience.
Bilek’s squad boasts seven players from the domestic league,
with four representatives from Viktoria Plzen including talented winger Vaclav
Pilar. If this Czech squad is going to
advance they will need a bit of luck and dominating performances in the midfield
from Hubschmann and Jiracek. If their
defensive line holds strong, Tomas Rosicky and Michal Kadlec are dangerous
option in the counter attack. Their one
known quantity is Petr Cech who should provide solid goalkeeping regardless of
the opposition; the rest is a squad full of question marks. If the Czech Republic are able to find some
goals they may be able to emerge from what is expected to be a very low scoring
Group A, but still expect them to finish out of qualifying for the knockout
stages.
Greece:
2004 Euro winners Greece are looking to return to past
glory, following disappointing finishes in both Euro 2008 and the World Cup
2010. Greece enjoyed a very successful
qualifying campaign in which they emerged at the top of Group F without losing
a game. Managed by the highly
experienced Fernando Santos, Greece will employ a tactical discipline that will
be difficult for opposing squads to match.
They also possess the combination of veteran leadership and youthful
talent that may make them dangerous in the knockout stages. With 16 members of the squad playing in the Greek
league in the previous season, they will look to provide a much needed distraction
for the austerity stricken nation.
Despite claiming to be more expansive and attacking minded
than his predecessor, Greece’s main strength lies in their defense. Their preferred formation should be a
defensive 4-3-3, although Santos could employ a 4-4-2 with a diamond midfield
or a 4-2-3-1. The Greek’s main weakeness
is their lack of a certain first choice striker, despite having four attackers
with over 50 CAPs the attack will likely be led in attack by Celtic’s Giorgos Samaras.
Throughout their qualifying campaign Greece scored only 14
goals, but their defense remained solid conceding only 5 goals. Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Avraam
Papadopoulos provide the backbone of the Greek defense, joined by dangerous
right back Vasilis Torosidis who provides a counter-attacking threat, a
fantastic work ethic, and endless endurance.
The left back and goalkeeper positions are question marks for Greece,
with no candidate setting himself apart from the rest. The left back spot will likely be filled by
Giorgos Tzavelas or Jose Holebas, while the goalkeeper spot will be filled by the
aging Kostas Chalkias.
Giorgos Karagounis leads the midfield and should become
Greece’s all-time leader in career appearances during the tournament. He is joined in the midfield by two of his
Panthanaikos teammates Sortis Ninis and Kostas Katsouranis. Ninis is a talented young winger who looks to
recover from an injury filled 2011-12 campaign, with good performances in
Poland/Ukraine. He possesses a superb
first touch and vision of a much older player and has already made a name for
himself as Greece’s youngest ever scorer.
Greece possesses several aging options in attack to go along
with Samaras. 36 year old Nikos
Liberpoulos and Theofanis Gekas lack the creativity and quality in attack that
would make Greece attack dangerous. Look
for the majority of their goals to come off the counter or set-pieces. Despite lacking a quality goal scorer, Greece
is a dangerous team because of their solid defense. Their fate likely hinges on their result against
hosts Poland, but expect Greece to make it to the knockout stage where their
solid defense makes them a team to fear.
Poland:
The co-hosts Poland are the lowest ranked team in the Euro
2012, but may become a threat due to playing all three group stage matches in
their home nation. Manager Franciszek Smuda
is one of the most decorated managers in Polish football history, and was given
the job after being considered a top candidate for a number of years.
Since being given the management position, Smuda has experimented
with a number of formations, but will likely settle on a 4-3-2-1
formation. The squad boasts only four
players from the Polish domestic leagues, with the majority of the squad
playing abroad and nine coming from Germany alone. The heart of the squad is led by the reigning
German champion trio from Borussia Dortmund of Lukasz Piszczek (right back),
captain Jakub Blaszczykowski (right wing), and Robert Lewandowski
(striker). What the rest of the squad
lacks, this trio looks to make up for with creativity, determination, and
skill. Lewandowski poses a real
attacking threat and could cause trouble to any opposition defense and a
combination with Blaszczykowski or the newly capped emerging talent Rafal
Wolski could provide some attractive attacking football.
Poland’s main weakness lies in their defense. Arsenal keeper Wojciech Szczesny is the only
dependable option for the Polish defense.
Their defense will be led by center backs Marcin Wasilewski and
French-born Damien Perquis, both of whom are inconsistent at best at the
international level. Sebastian Boenisch
will likely feature at left back after a successful season with Werder Bremen
Despite being the co-hosts, Poland are widely regarded as
the tournaments weakest side. Despite
playing in the comparatively weak Group A, Poland would do well to win a single
game, and qualification for the knockout stages seems out of the realm of possibility. However, strange things can happen at these tournaments
and with the enthusiastic support expected, anything can happen.
Russia:
After an impressive campaign in the 2008 Euros, Russia
shocked many by failing to qualify for the 2010 World Cup after falling to
Slovenia in the qualifying playoff. The
squad looks to rebound featuring many of the same players that captured the
hearts of neutral spectators during the 2008 competition in Austria/Switzerland
with their attacking flair. The majority
of the squad plays their club football in Russia with only two members spending
the previous season playing abroad.
Dick Advocaat has taken over the squad previously manages by
Guus Hiddink, but has stuck to Hiddink’s 4-3-3 formation, preferring the
tactical versatility and squad depth with that formation. The squad will rely heavily on its contingent
from Zenit St. Petersburg that has sent six players including captain Andrei
Arshavin. Despite falling out of favor
with Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, Arshavin has returned to form since being
loaned to Zenit in February. He is
joined by central striker Aleksandr Kerzhakov, midfielder Igor Denisov, and
right back Aleksandr Anyukov as the members of the Zenit contingent most likely
to have an impact on the squad.
Kerzhakov will feature in the center flanked by Arshavin and
CSKA Moscow’s Alan Dzagoev, giving them a potent attacking force. Kerzhakov’s backups are equally competent in
the form of Tottenham’s Roman Pavluchenko and Fulham’s Pavel Pogrebnyak. 34 year old midfielders Konstantin Zyryanov
and Igor Semshov will provide Russia with an experienced influence, despite
much of the squad remaining unchanged under Advocaat’s leadership.
The defense is seen by most as the weakest point of the
Russian team, but that may be overstated because Russia conceded only 5 goals
throughout the qualifying campaign. Yuri
Zhirkov will lend his versatile talents well to the left side of the defense,
while Aleksei Berezutskiy will be without his twin brother Vasili to partner at
center back. Instead, Vasili will be
replaced by Sergei Ignashevich who is a the most capped member of the
squad. Igor Akinfeev is still recovering
from a knee injury, but his steady hands should be ready when called upon for
the competiion.
Russia has to be considered the favorites of Group A,
boasting what has to be considered the most formidable squad in the group. With manager Dick Advocaat leading the squad
in his final competition as manger before returning to PSV for the 2012-13
season, they will look to go out with a bang, hoping to improve on their 2008
semi-final appearance. Russia is also
likely to be the squad with the most attack minded style of play and their
superiority at striker and in the attacking midfield will be for other Group A
members to compete with.
Predictions:
Look for Russia and Greece to emerge from this group, with
all except Russia expected to play defensive minded tactics. I predict Alan Dzagoev will be the top scorer
from Group A going into the knockout stages and Russia being the only real
competitor with a chance of reaching the finals.
Group B Preview will
be tomorrow, followed by C and D on Thursday and Friday.
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