The battle of the Eagles (Poland V Russia)

The first set of 8 games is over with a rather remarkable statistic for a big event, there has been a goal scored in every game so far. For those who don’t necessarily follow the game on a regular basis, this is very rare and pleasing for us observers, especially as the early games are usually cagey affairs with teams more scared of losing than trying to win. Yesterday, a draw between England and France was a fair result from a poor game and then the longest serving player in the tournament, the home hero Shevchenko, scored a brace to lead his nation to an opening victory. He gave a master class in how through economy of movement, a 35 year old player could lead his team to victory. Check out the highlights. So the tournament continues and we are back to group A, first up is Greece against the Czech Republic. The Greeks were much better than expected and really should have between Poland and the Czechs were not very good in their thrashing by Russia. This is a must win game for both sides and this will hopefully lead to an entertaining game. The main course tonight throws up a juicy morsel, Poland against Russia. Most people associate Russia with the Bear, but the national emblem is actually a double headed eagle, while Poland’s is a white eagle with one head, so the talons will be sharpened tonight. This blog tends to call on history a lot, as in my opinion, it plays such an important role in the way especially the fans approach a game. An example, if you ask a Serbian why they hate the Bosnians so much, they will remind you of a battle which took place in 1381, the point being here that these nations don’t forget easily. In the case of tonight’s protagonists, the history is more recent. In fact the latest incident took place only two years ago, when a plane carrying the Polish President and a high number of senior military and political figures crashed while coming into land killing over ninety people. For the Pole in the street the Russians were responsible. One more example should suffice, when Poland was carved up between Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia in 1939, the NKVD (the then name of what most of us know as the KGB) rounded up all the leading military and police officers and intellectuals in the Soviet occupied zone and summarily executed them in what became known as the Katyn forest massacre, the exact numbers are unknown, but the usual figure given is around 13,000. The Russians only owned up in 1989 as the Soviet Union crumbled around them. The Russians looked very good in their first game sweeping forward in wave after wave of Red menace. The Poles were weighed down by national expectations, because of the points mentioned above, it is possible that there is even more pressure on them tonight, as a win against Russia would be far more than a football event. Another very good game in the offing. Tomorrow we shall switch to the Western Front, and especially Germany against Holland, a match up which has produced some classic encounters in its time.

We few we merry few (henry V)

Today gives us the final group to start, Group D, but before we preview that, a look at last night’s games. The Father and the son played out a very good draw, I wrote that you should look out for Llorente and I have a feeling that we shall see him before we see Torres again. In the second game the choir boys caught the Holy Ghost with their pants down 3 times to record a comfortable victory. England Verses France opens the proceedings today, but as I don’t have much to write about the second game, we shall get it out of the way first. There is an urban legend that Sweden has the highest suicide rate in the world, because it is either always dark or sunny, while that may be true, the bit about suicide isn’t, they actually rank 35 in the world when it comes to suicide. If they were to be any higher, it would probably be because they are so boring. To paraphrase Monty Python and the life of Brian “What have the Swedes ever done for us?” At a stretch, the answer would be Abba, Bjorn Borg, Volvo, the Carl Gustav machine pistol and probably the funniest thing would be the Muppets Swedish Chef. The football is not much better. As for the Ukraine, they are only playing because they are one of the host nations, and UEFA is probably regretting that as the tournament progresses. A draw is on the cards here. So, England against France. To someone not born in either of the two countries it might be difficult to understand what all the fuss is about. Where should I start? For nearly a thousand years now since William the Conqueror invaded the British Isles in 1066, the two nations have been at war if not actually literally then at least in a cultural sense. Nobody likes the French, but the small distance between the two countries and the many battles fought between them means that this game is a loaded fixture. The French are actually at the moment on a 21 match unbeaten run since their infamous exit from the last World cup with their snail slime trailing between their frogs legs. England on the other hand, have had to appoint a new manager, five weeks before the tournament, who has not had much time to shape the team they way he would want it. One of the most famous battles between the two countries was at Agincourt in 1415 where England led by Henry V defeated a far superior French force in a charnel house of a battle. The spirit of Henry V immortalized by Shakespeare and brought to life by Olivier and Branagh is what England must hope to come though today. Unfortunately, most of the current England squad probably thinks that Henry V is a pub and they thing they could draw from that would be a pint. So it is up to us to rouse the troops with this quote from the end of the speech Henry V gave on the eve of the battle “We few, we happy few, we band of brothers. For he today that sheds his blood with me shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile, this day shall gentle his condition. And gentlemen in England now abed shall think themselves accursed they were not here, And hold their manhood’s cheap whiles any speaks That fought with us upon” My heart so England, my head says France, May England win

Holy Sunday Group C Begins

A quick review of what has gone by so far, my group of boredom provided two goals, two red cards a missed penalty and a disallowed goal in the first game and five goals in the second game. The Czechs must have felt the Red Army rolling over them again in a comprehensive defeat. Group B, well that is why it is labeled the Group of Death, who gave the Danes a chance, granted the Dutch were profligate, but well done Denmark. As to the last game, it can be summed up thus, another example of Germany efficiency on the Eastern Front. Two out of four so far, in the prediction game. So to today’s games, Group C, which as I said stands for Catholic, also could be considered a group of death, has given us a modern version of the trinity. Italy, home of the Pope, being “the father” (or maybe godfather, as we shall see). Spain, the home of the inquisition, being “the son”. Ireland, too much Guinness, making them “the Holy Ghost”. What I hear you say about the 4th team in the group Croatia. They should be thought of as the pre-pubescent altar boy, they will probably spend most of their time coming from behind the bog boys in the group. The first game today serves up the reigning World and European champions Spain against Italy, a team that like Germany who usually performs well in big tournaments. This time however, both teams are under some pressure. Italian football has been racked by match fixing scandals over the past few years. Juventus, Italian domestic giants were relegated 2 divisions for alleged match fixing, although it only took them 3 years to come back to being Italian champions. A new scandal erupted a few weeks ago, which prompted the Italian Prime Minister to suggest perhaps suspending Italian football for say 3 years to sweep clean. Some of the players in the squad are under investigation and we should hope that this won’t affect their performance. The thought of the concrete boots awaiting them if they break Omerta (the mafia code of silence) must and pardon the pun weigh heavy on their minds. All is not rosy in the Spanish Garden either, the fact that they are champions does not paper over the large fissures in the squad between the players from Barcelona and Real Madrid, to say that they do not get on would be an understatement in the extreme. It is a testimony to the skills of the manager, Vincent Del Bosque, that he was been able to produce such a good side. Spain have been hit by injuries to two of their most influential players, Shaggy from Scooby Doo better known as Carlos Puyol, the rock of the Spanish defence and David Villa the focal point of the Spanish attack. Mr. Del Bosque who with his droopy moustache and hang dog look never looks happy is turning to another one of the fiercely independent Spanish Regions, the Basques. Watch out for Llorente the Spanish striker, he scored some amazing goals this year for his club team Bilbao. Have to go with the Spanish here. This leaves us with Ireland against Croatia. This is a very difficult game to predict, the Irish under their Italian manager have a very stingy defence and Croatia was very lucky to qualify for the tournament in the first place. I think the Irish exuberance will send their fans home happy in this one. Tomorrow we look at Group D which will bring us England against France and Sweden verses Ukraine.

Euro 2012 starts today

It begins today, the waiting is over and those of us who suffer from S.A.D. seasonal affective disorder (I know it usually applies to those people who don’t like the winter, but believe me, football fans suffer more in the long hot summer) can breathe a huge sigh of relief, There is football to watch, in fact with the 2012 London Olympics fielding a Great British Team, even the synchronized swimming may be survivable this year. A quick overview, there are 4 groups of 4 teams in the first round of matches. Each team play against the other team in its group once and the top two qualify for the quarter-finals. When the draw for any of these tournaments is made, everyone looks out for what is known as (drum roll) “The Group of Death,” This group is made of 3 supposedly fancied teams being drawn in the same group and with only 2 being able to qualify, well you see the reasoning. I personally think it is a stupid concept made up by the press to jazz up what is usually a very boring ceremony (the pre tournament draw) If you think about it, two teams are going to die in every group, but it is hard to swim against the tide, so group of death it be. However having said that, this tournament could be said to have 2 groups of death (B & C) A group that will probably bore us to death (A) and a group (D) which because England are in it defies definition. Group A which kicks off the show stars Poland who play Greece in the opening game and Russia verses the Czech Republic, not really much to excite a Western audience. We must write a few words about these games despite that. The pressure is always on the host nation to do well and I think the Poles will, the spine of their team is made up of players who have just won the domestic double in Germany with Borussia Dortmund. Watch out for their main striker, he is a deadly finisher and is married to a Polish karate international. The Greeks, well poor things, it will give them some respite from the dire economic calamity back home, although I don’t think they have been getting very good credit terms, all the suppliers want to be paid Cash on Delivery and not in Drachma. Poland to win The 2nd game in this group could actually be quite good, I know I said this group might bore us to death, but the Russians could be the dark bears of the tournament, they have nothing to lose except maybe a trip to the gulag in Putin’s new Russia. The Czechs still haven’t forgiven the Russians for invading them in 1968 so this one could be tasty. The fact that the Czech goalie Petr Cech, looks like a Russian tank commander due to the protective headgear he has to wear after he had his head kicked in a few years ago can only accentuate those memories. I’ll go for a Russian win. Group B is the so called Group of Death, the first game tomorrow features Holland against Denmark. The Dutch, the inventors of “total football” back in the 1970’s never won anything with their very pleasing on the eye style. It is well known that the cafes in Amsterdam have a very wide selection of brownies, and sometimes this could be reflected in a rather languid laid back way of playing, but this is changing, the Dutch have added a heart of Steel to their silk lining. Anyone who watched the last world cup final will not be able to forget the way the Dutch tried to kick Spain off the pitch. A Danish friend of mine does not rate the current Danish team and I won’t argue with him. The Dutch should win but stiffer tests lie ahead. The next game is the first in a series of clashes of the mega-titans. Germany verses Portugal featuring football’s prettiest poster boy Ronaldo, who despite his appearance is one of the most talented footballers in the world, and on the other side, my favourite named footballer Bastien Schweinstieger, who would not win any awards for his looks. The Shermans (from the old Jewish Joke about a man who enters a synagogue and says he is looking for Mr Sherman, the reply being that we are all Sherman’s here.) almost always perform well in tournaments and the Portuguese tend to flatter to deceive, all flannel and no substance. For the neutrals such as us, this game could be a cracker. As I have to make a predication, I’ll go for Germany. On Sunday we shall look at Group C for Catholic, the lesser group of Death.

Football as a tool for education

After a two year absence since the last major tournament, it is time to welcome you back, to the blog which will hopefully entertain and inform at the same time about the upcoming Euro 2012 Football championship which starts this Friday and is being hosted jointly by Poland and the Ukraine. Today’s posting will not actually have that much to do with the tournament itself but is going to focus on a subject of which the title would seem to be an oxymoron, “Football as a tool for education”. However before we get into that, just a few reminders about the blog, 1) It is not and will never be politically correct. 2) It will be full of racial stereotypes and nationalistic jingoism. 3) It is all meant to be a bit of fun with the added advantage of letting those especially American persons and other types who don’t follow football to be au fait with something their children are probably interested in. Numbers one and two reflect the nature of the game, which as has been written before is incredibly tribal in nature and tends to bring out the basest instincts of those who watch it. So education through football, it hardly seems possible. Until the last world cup in South Africa 2010 most people would have agreed. However the TV networks gave extensive coverage to South Africa’s troubled past focusing on the struggle against Apartheid and having excellent features for example on Robben Island, the brutal prison off the coast of Cape Town where Mr. Mandela was incarcerated for years. The internet played an important role and this was as especially effective as Football junkies will read and watch anything in the run up to and during a tournament. I for example learnt something following an interesting article about the battle of Spion Kop during the Boer War (1899-1902) Kop is Afrikaans for hill and that is what the famous stand “The KOP” which is in Anfield the home of Liverpool is named after When I was a lad, Geography was about places and what better method then learning European geography than by following the fortunes of British teams as they played in the then 3 European club competitions. So what I hear you say, if you know in which country Split or Craiova are located but all knowledge is good and you never know when you may need it. This could be especially useful for our American cousins, many of whom think that mosCOW is in Idaho, that it may be, but not the one with the Kremlin and Red Square. Fast forward to June 2012, the world is focusing on Poland and the Ukraine. The last time the world really focused on these nations, was between 1942-45 when Nazi Germany was implementing the Final Solution or as it is now better known the Holocaust in those said countries. One of the biggest issues in the build to the tournament has been of the apparent endemic racism seen at grounds across the 2 nations. Black players have bananas thrown at them and the crowd make monkey noises when they touch the ball. One particularly volatile member of the Italian national team Mario Balotelli has threatened to walk off if this behaviour manifests itself while he is playing. “Super Mario” is more likely to get himself sent off than walk off as anyone who has followed him this season will know. Of course the Holocaust is a very touchy subject in Poland and the Ukraine, the Poles definitely consider themselves victims as well. President Obama really put his foot in it last week, when in a ceremony to honour a polish resistance fighter who first brought news of the atrocities being carried out in the camps, he (Obama) referred to the Polish Death Camps. Now while in a literal sense he was correct, the Poles lost no time in demanding a retraction and an apology. They pointed out to President Obama, that the camps happened to be located in Poland but were run by the Nazis and that 3 out of the 6 million Jews who died were Poles and that at least another 3 million Poles died at the hands of the German and Soviet invaders. The Ukrainians are even more sensitive as their record of collaboration with the Nazis does them no credit. Four of the 14 visiting nations are slated to visit Auschwitz, The Germans have already been, no I mean they were there again on Friday, a delegation from the squad went to lay wreaths, there was mixed reaction to this in Germany. Some thought it was an important message, while others were worried how it would affect the performance of the team. Are the Germans making excuses already? Italy, Holland and England are also slated to visit. The visit of England is the most interesting. The squad has already been spoken too by two survivors, to quote Steven Gerrard the England captain “It was pretty amazing, we all sat there in stunned silence, you could have heard a pin drop while they talked to us”. It is even more amazing if you think that the average footballer can’t sit still for more than 10 minutes. England are going to be accompanied on their visit by Avram Grant the Ex Israel and Chelsea manager a very well known figure in English football and himself a child of Polish survivors. The BBC, not normally known for their sympathy to the Jews produced an excellent podcast detailing a visit to Auschwitz by Grant accompanied by a BBC reporter. The talkbacks were unbelievable. This is bringing the Holocaust to an audience who know nothing about it and who are very much in need of finding out about it. The link to the broadcast is here http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/5lspecials. The English Football association is going to produce a DVD detailing the visit of the squad which it intends to use as a tool to combat racism in football. So there you go, football can be a positive influence as well. The next post will preview the first round of matches and will appear on Friday, the opening day of the tournament. Comments are appreciated

A Greek Tragedy in the making or not ?

I was in the bakery section of the supermarket the other day, when to my surprise I saw that they were selling the roundish lump of dough with a dollop of sweet red gunk in the middle otherwise known as the ubiquitous jam/jelly doughnut. As you are reading this, I know that you are beginning to wonder what this has got to do with a game of football, apart from both objects being round. Who can guess the connection, well the doughnut is symbolic of the festival of lights, Chaunkah, which is a celebration of the last time that Israel beat the Greeks, and lo and behold, Israel just happen to be facing Greece tonight in a vital European qualifier.

So the question is, can Israel overcome one of their oldest foes again after over 2,000 years of trying? the omens don’t look good. Before I carry on, I know that all the Maccabi Tel-Aviv basketball fans who are reading this are going to say that Maccabi often beat Greek teams at Chanukah time, sorry guys, that does not count. I doubt that many of the players for Maccabi would qualify as members of the tribe.

I am sure that many of you good readers have head of the term a Greek tragedy, but are not quite sure what it means, so I went to Bet Shemesh’s eminent Greek Scholar, Dr Lisa Maurice and asked her for a quick definition. I told her I wanted 3 lines not the 3 days that she said would be needed to explain the concept, but she came through and here roughly is what she said. A play were the cast think that the they are good and things are going to work out, but in the end their hopes prove futile and they are shown not to be up too standard.

Sounds familiar, yes we could be talking about, the Israel national football team. The defeat to Croatia on Saturday night was very disappointing as the Croatians did not play well at all, and better execution of the chances that fell Israel’s way early on, would probably have given Israel a win. Therein lies the hope, Israel did create chances and good ones and Schechter’s goal was very well taken. Israel also tends to play better away from home, perhaps because there is less pressure on them.
If they were not expected to win against Croatia, then they are certainly expected to lose tonight. As I said in the last blog, in the absence of Yossi Benayoun, who is now expected to be out for 6 months with injury, somebody has to take the responsibility of pushing the team forward. Schecther, did his bit, but Gilly Vermouth was very disappointing, he has to play well for Israel to have a chance. Perhaps Fernandez will give Lior Rafelov a chance as he did well when he came on as a substitute.

This leads us to the manager, Louis Fernandez, who is a very unpopular figure in the Israeli press and this is not just because he is French, although that is just cause for me. The claim is that he has not brought any order to the team, there is no structure, some of these criticisms are justified, but the players have to take a lot of the blame and the press most for overstating the level of Israeli football. One thing is for sure, it is fun to watch Fernandez (I think the Israeli FA thought he was Spanish, because of his name, and the Spanish are world champs and European Champs at the moment) striding up and down his technical error, sucking on his lollipops and throwing his arms about in those classic Gallic shrugs.
A quick word about the Greeks, they are not that good, but always seem to do well against Israel. The crowd in Athens will be very hostile, the Greek number 7 Samaras, likes scoring against Israel. As the table stands, Greece and Georgia have 5 points and Israel 4, so there is still all too play for.

Israel V Croatia a preview

Hello, and welcome back, after lots of pressure from you the readers, I am back to help you follow Israel’s progress through the qualification tournament for the 2012 European championships (aka Euro 2012) set to be hosted by Poland and Ukraine in June of that year.
Before previewing the game, a brief explanation is needed with those not so au fait with qualifying for major tournaments. The 50 or so odd countries that are part of the European football federation (you will be stretched if you know your geography to say that all of these countries are actually in Europe, Israel being a case in point) have been divided up into nine groups of either five or six teams. The winners of each group automatically qualify. The 2nd placed team with the best record from amongst the nine groups also gets in. The remaining eight 2nd placed teams then play off next November to see which four teams round out the competition. Add in the host nations and we are left with 16 teams to compete in Euro 2012 .

Israel was drawn in group F, to play Croatia, Greece, Latvia, Georgia and Malta, and was seeded third in this group. So far Israel has beaten Malta at home and drawn away in Georgia.

So to the game itself, now I am going to write something, and you are going to think, well that is obvious, and that is, any other result other than a defeat will be a good one for Israel. Israel is expected to lose this game, as I mentioned earlier, they are the number three seed in the group and Croatia is number one. In one of the local newspapers they did a comparison of the probable opening 11 players on each side and the Croatian team was valued at 200 million Euro with Israel at 40 million Euro. Hopefully that gap in value, 5 times more will not translate into a similar result on the field.
However as the cliché goes “football is a funny old game”. Croatia have started their qualifying campaign with a 3-0 away victory over Latvia and a 0-0 draw against Greece, they were poor in failing to qualify for the World Cup and their form has tapered off since the glory days soon after the breakup of the old Yugoslavia . The last times these two nations met in Ramat Gan, the Croatians won 4-3 in a seven goal thriller, so as far as entertainment goes the omens are good.

The bad news for Israel is their best player is out injured. Yossi Benayoun will be missing for a couple of months with an Achilles injury, can Israel manage without him, are the next generation ready for the step up? Before we try to answer those questions, I must say a word about Yossi. He is obviously a mutant, as we know he comes from Dimona, where that secret installation that we are not allowed to talk about is located, just ask Mordechai Vanunu what happens when you do. The fact that he is so talented is not where the mutation manifests itself, no, the mutation is that he is so modest with it. Israeli football is awash with ex players whose mouths were bigger than their feet, so that they constantly were putting their feet in their mouths about how brilliant they were, instead of letting their feet do the talking on the pitch. The most classic case of this was Eyal Berkovitz, when he was at West Ham, one of his teammates tried to kick his head off, he was so disliked.

Yossi was desperate to get fit for this game, he even went to Belgrade to see the “The Serbian Witch” who uses a compound made from the placenta of horses to speed up the recovery. Of course it didn’t work, but I don’t think she charged him as the Serbs hate the Croats.

Back to the questions, there is no doubt that a new generation of skillful Israeli players are around, the question is do they have the mentality to succeed at his level. I will be bold and say the answer is yes, this does not mean that Israel will win, but that they should give a good account of themselves, despite all the negative vibes emanating from the Israeli press.
Itai Schechter is a case in point, he is a very fast, strong and skillful player who is making a name for himself in the Champions league for Hapoel Tel-Aviv, if the midfield and especially Gili Vermouth, (if he plays well, Israel has a chance) can provide him with good service, he will certainly cause the Croatians problems. Itai comes from a religious family, and as a teenager, had real issues with his undoubted ability and the problem of playing on the day of rest. He chose football, but still has an observant outlook on life. He caused a controversy whilst playing for Hapoel, when after scoring a goal against Salzburg, he pulled a Kippah out of his sock, put it on and prayed in the middle of the pitch. The Austrian crowd booed loudly and the referee showed him a yellow card.

On Sunday or Monday I will preview the Greece V Israel game and also talk about Israel’s rather eccentric manager Louis Fernandez.