Euro 2012 finals general thread

[Shaggy]

It's been a good tournament so far but I'm repeatedly reading people saying this is the best tournament in recent memory.

Are they mad? Euro 2008 was way better. Surely I'm not alone on this?

[TheStig]

It's been a good tournament so far but I'm repeatedly reading people saying this is the best tournament in recent memory.

Are they mad? Euro 2008 was way better. Surely I'm not alone on this?

Euro 2000 (surely that's still 'recent'?). Most Goals per game (2.74) since Euro 1984 (2.73).

World Cup wise 1982 had 2.81 GPG and most of them before that beat Euro 2000, but not by a great deal. All those since, only 1994 and 1998 comes close.

[little dave hedgehog]

wow, 4 years since euro 2008 already. that means miss a and i have been together 4 years

[Shaggy]

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJTnszMPLXQ"]Shearer butts in - YouTube[/ame]

[Pablo]

[RedReet]

It's been a good tournament so far but I'm repeatedly reading people saying this is the best tournament in recent memory.

Are they mad? Euro 2008 was way better. Surely I'm not alone on this?

Well Spain did win it and we all did feel Spanish for a few years. Actually

I quite enjoyed 2004 too thanks to Milan.

Although I have enjoyed this one too so probably best to disregard all my comments on teh subject. I didn't enjoy 66 though, even though it was a different tournament I wasn't born.

[Shaggy]

Haha there was that (Spain), yeah, but it was much better.

That crazy group with Czechs and Turkey, their crazy game. The even better group with Holland, France and Italy - Holland dicking everyone, the great France-Italy game. Russia being amazing and then blowing Holland away in the quarters. Goals galore. No England! Loads of late goals, comebacks and drama. Way better than this one.

[Pablo]

My memory is appalling with football games for some reason. Yet I can remember almost every hole on every golf course I've ever played on. Bizarre.

[Gaz]

Shearer butts in - YouTube

Love Lee Dixon's reaction but to be fair Dixon was going nowhere with that point he was making so Shearer had every right to jump in

[Tee]

I hope this counting down malarky does not become commonplace

I like it. Great idea adds to the crowd involvement.

[sean_lfc]

[dww]

Haha there was that (Spain), yeah, but it was much better.

That crazy group with Czechs and Turkey, their crazy game. The even better group with Holland, France and Italy - Holland dicking everyone, the great France-Italy game. Russia being amazing and then blowing Holland away in the quarters. Goals galore. No England! Loads of late goals, comebacks and drama. Way better than this one.

Much more exciting tournament. This has been quite run of the mill but I think in general the Euros have a good format and a higher percentage of competitive teams than World Cups. One of the good things in the last couple of Euros has been the vastly different approaches/tactics of the teams.

[Shaggy]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/competitions/euro-2012/9348993/Chinese-man-dies-after-Euro-2012-viewing-marathon.html

Chinese man dies after Euro 2012 viewing marathon

A football-obsessed man from Changsha in south-central China has reportedly died after staying up for 11 successive nights to watch Euro 2012 matches.

By Tom Phillips in Shanghai 12:06PM BST 22 Jun 2012

According to a report in Hunan province's Sanxiang Metropolis newspaper, the 26-year-old was found dead by his mother after his 11-day football-watching marathon, finally expiring after Ireland's 2-0 defeat to Italy on June 18.

The time-difference between Europe and China means that most of the Euro 2012 matches only start at 2.45am local time, finishing at daybreak.

Using a false name to protect the identity of the victim's family, the newspaper said Jiang Xiaoshan had been a member of his university's football team and had enjoyed good health before the tournament, co-hosted by Poland and Ukraine, which kicked off on June 8.

"We would rest occasionally but he watched everyday and would not miss a single match," one friend told the Sanxiang Metropolis.

Friends said Mr Jiang, who they described as an England and France supporter, had seemed in low spirits while watching Antonio Cassano and Mario Balotelli score to take Italy to the Euro 2012 quarter finals in Monday's victory over Ireland.

"Maybe he felt tired after staying up night after night," said one friend.
Mr Jiang reportedly returned home at 5am last Tuesday but when his mother attempted to wake him for dinner that evening she found him dead.

Liu Zhiling, a doctor from the local People's Hospital ER, told the newspaper: "Jiang was in good health. But staying up through the night and not sleeping enough weakened his immune system and he drank and smoked while watching the football, triggering his condition."

"If you use beer to replace water that is not good. Alcohol harms [the body]," Dr Liu added.

[Trippendicular]

It's been a good tournament so far but I'm repeatedly reading people saying this is the best tournament in recent memory.

Are they mad? Euro 2008 was way better. Surely I'm not alone on this?

Euro 2008 and World Cup 2002 were the two best tournaments of the last decade.

[little dave hedgehog]

2002 was pretty great.