EURO2012 Match Preview: England vs Sweden; Carroll to start instead of The Ox

Preview: England played the most lifeless game of the tournament against France. Yes, they go the result they wanted. No, they will not go far if they continue to play like that. Sweden, on the other hand, were poor for most parts of the game against Ukraine. I tipped Sweden to take the 2^ndspot in front of England in my predictions about the tournament. However, they flattered to deceive and were well below par in the first game. That performance led to some in-fighting according to some reports. Captain Ibrahimovic was not pleased by the Swedes letting go the lead and ending up with zero points. He, allegedly, request for the coach to start Elmander for tonight’s game; as he feels more comfortable and supported with Elmander next to him.

Zlatan was not impressed by his team-mates

England need to desert their new found ‘pragmatism’ and attack the Swedes in this game. A negative game was accepted by the fans against a better French side. However, the same would not be tolerated against a rather feeble Sweden side.  England do have the ability to take the ball forward and with speed. They have two of the Premier League’s fastest winger in Theo Walcott and Oxlade-Chamberlain, but so far Theo has not been called upon; and Chamberlain has been asked to do more defensive work than attack. Sweden’s defense was very questionable against Ukraine and England should look to exploit the old centre back pairing. Both Mellberg and Olsson don’t have pace on their sides. England should look to use pace against these two. Wellbeck could play a very crucial part tonight for England.
Team News:
News coming in suggests that Andy Carroll will start at the expense of Oxlade- Chamberlain tonight, as England look to force the issue. This is rumored to be the only change for England tonight. Meanwhile, Sweden might start with Elmander up front, supported by captain Zlatan. No injury worries for either team to report.

Sweden

Isaksson

Lustig – Olsson – Mellberg – Grangvist

Kallstrom – Svensson

Larsson – Ibrahimovic – Elm

Elmander

Carroll

Welbeck

Young – Gerard – Parker – Milner

Cole – Terry – Lescott – Johnson

Hart

England

Key Battle: Mellberg vs Carroll

Andy’s big break

Mellberg was below par in the last game against Ukraine. A player with his experience will look to put that behind him and start fresh tonight. He will be against the giant frame of Carroll; who himself is coming into the game lacking confidence. Carroll had a poor season at Liverpool and was under constant criticism throughout the year. His inclusion in the squad was questioned but England didn’t have many options with Rooney suspended. It is a big opportunity for Andy to silence his critics tonight. Two other heavily criticized strikers, Torres and Gomez, have proved their worth so far. It is time for Andy Caroll now.

Prediction: England 0 – 0 Sweden
England may not be as defensive as they were against France, but, I’m still not convinced that they have enough rhythm as a team to score goals. Sweden might be better at set-pieces compared to France and England would probably not sneak a set piece goal again. I expect this to be another dull affair with no goals.
Facts:

• There have been over 2.5 goals scored in Sweden’s last 10games in EURO
• England are undefeated in their last 9 matches in EURO
• England have never beaten Sweden in a competitive fixture.
• England beat Sweden 1-0 in a friendly in November, which was their first victory over the Swedes since 1968. Meetings in the World Cups of 2002 and 2006 both ended in draws.
• Four of England’s five efforts on goal against France came from defenders.

Euro 2012 Comes To Wroclaw

Something very strange happened in April 2007, when Michael Platini read out the winning bid to host the European 2012 Football Championships. Instead of proclaiming 'Italy', as everyone had expected, or maybe as an outside bet 'Croatia & Hungary', Monsieur Platini, the UEFA president, proudly announced that it was Poland's and Ukraine's joint bid that had clinched it! 

Needless to say there was pandemonium on the streets of just about every city in Poland and Ukraine, whose wildest dream had just come true. The celebrations were extra sweet in Wroclaw which has been chosen as one of the host cities for Euro 2012. 

With the championship now around the corner, Wroclaw has just about completed its many preparations for the event. The airport and train station are undergoing renovation, and new hotels, roads, and most importantly, the sparkling new Wroclaw Municipal Stadium (Stadion Miejski in Polish), have been built.

The schedule for Wroclaw’s group stage (Group A) games is as follows:

8 June 2012 / 8:45PM : Russia vs Czech Republic
12 June 2012 / 6:00PM : Greece vs Czech Republic
16 June 2012 / 8:45PM : Czech Republic vs Poland

Connecting to the Stadium from: 

Wroclaw Airport
Wroclaw’s Copernicus Airport will complete its newest terminal in early 2012, boosting its annual capacity by 3 million passengers. Serving the usual airlines, charter flights, as well as budget carriers like Ryanair and Wizz, Copernicus Airport will most likely be your point of arrival in Wroclaw. You can drive directly from the airport to the stadium in about 15 minutes along the newly opened A8 motorway. If you prefer to travel via public transportation, head to the centre via bus no. 406, drop off your luggage at the hotel, and take a bus, tram, or train directly to the stadium.

Wroclaw Railway Station
The central railway station in Wroclaw (Wroclaw Glowny in Polish) is currently undergoing extensive renovation and modernization, scheduled for completion in the second quarter of 2012. Travelling to the stadium from the central railway station is a breeze since the opening of the stadium’s own dedicated station called Wroclaw Stadion. This means you can jump on a train from the central station and be at the stadium just three stops, or twelve minutes, later. 

City Centre - Public Transportation
There are currently several buses and trams which connect the city centre to the stadium, from both the north and south sides. These lines include buses 103, 403, 435 from the north side (exit at Gosławicka stop), and trams 10 and 20 from the south side (exit at Stadion Miejski Lotnicza stop). 
However, by May 2012 there will be a much faster and easier connection to the stadium through a dedicated tram stop directly on the stadium’s esplanade north side via tram number 31 PLUS. Along with the train, this will most likely be the most convenient way to reach the stadium.

City Centre - By Car
Like any urban centre, Wroclaw has its share of traffic, and for newcomers, driving around a new city can often be frustrating. This is why, if you are staying in the city centre, it would be much easier to skip renting a car and travel to and from the stadium via tram or train. But if you insist on car travel, it’s worth knowing that route 94 is the easiest way to get to the stadium from the centre.

Outside of Wroclaw - By Car
If you’ll be arriving from outside of Wroclaw by car, it’s very likely you will arrive on the brand new A4 motorway. Transfer to the A8 motorway which encircles the city, and take the dedicated Wroclaw Stadion exit to arrive right at the stadium’s doorstep. 

If you're coming to Wroclaw for Euro 2012, you'll no doubt have a million questions. Well a little research around Wroclaw Life will pay off dividends. We've got reviews and photos on all the best accommodation in Wroclaw, and you can even book hotels and apartments via our site. Tips on travel,airport info, and scores of insider reviews on the best bars and restaurantsin town. With funky extras like our Polish language starter kit, weather reports and online map (with exact locations of all the city hotspots, including the stadium) you'll be fully equipped with all the info you need for a fantastic Euro 2012 campaign! 

For info on other host cities, go to our sister sites in Warsaw, Gdansk, Poznan, Krakow, Kiev and Lviv, or check out our individual articles aboutEuro 2012 Poland and Euro 2012 Ukraine.

James Lawton: Maturity, unity, planning - Germany are so far ahead of England it hurts

A base in Krakow is like preparing in Margate to play in midsummer Madrid

 

 

 

It is not encouraging that England, heroic, pragmatic, new inhabitants of the real football world – by all means take your pick – were too drained to train two days before tonight's pivotal group game against the Sweden they have never beaten in a competitive game.

There was, of course, also a little more of some old angst when on the same day Germany – the team whose international record has become an almost unbroken reproach to English failure – had rarely looked stronger or more willing to run an extra yard.
But then England's discomfort is hardly a gobsmacking surprise when you consider their ludicrous arrangements.
Their opening game against France on Monday night, a gutsy 1-1 draw in such oppressive heat that the mere lifting of a vodka and tonic might well have brought on a few more extra beads of sweat, required them to make a round trip of 1,644 miles.
Their opponents had a rather less arduous one that – both ways took scarcely half an hour.
This also gave the French the advantage of a week of acclimatisation in the often brutally extreme weather of eastern Ukraine, which in the last few days has been as much as 50F (29C) hotter than at England's base in the beautiful Polish city of Krakow.
This is like preparing in Margate for a game in midsummer Madrid.
Tonight's game here for England involves a mere two-way jaunt of 694 miles but then it is also true that the Swedes, having all their group games in Kiev, took the astonishingly wise decision to set up their camp not only in the same country as the venue for their games but, wonder of wonders, in the same city.
If the English logistics are weird at any level, they were given another perspective by the Germans as they quite imperiously put down the Netherlands on Wednesday night to maintain a perfect start to their attempt to win their seventh major title, having previously won three World Cups and three European titles.
Before the draw was made Germany secured first refusal on the finest training facility in eastern Europe and one of the best in the entire football universe, the Kirsha Centre, which has superb accommodation, nine training fields (eight of them natural grass), a network of physiotherapy and medical recovery rooms or, to put it another way, everything a first-class sports outfit would need if it had serious intentions of winning a great tournament.
Furthermore, it is not much more than a long stone's throw from the Donbass Arena where England have been drawn to play two of their group games and a possible quarter-final. Naturally, when you think about it, the French moved in tout de suite the moment they heard the centre, built by Rinat Akhmetov, the owner of Shakhtar Donetsk, who after acquiring most of the industrial wealth of Ukraine would now quite like to possess one of the world's great football clubs, was no longer required by the Germans.
So what, you might ask if you had just arrived from another planet, could England's location so far from the Euro front line possibly be about? It is of course about creating an agreeable ambience for £100,000-plus-a-week professional athletes who simply cannot stomach the idea of being imprisoned for more than a few days somewhere exclusively designed to create that zone of tunnelled concentration and high-level physical tuning which generally accompanies the highest achievement.
Fabio Capello tried it in South Africa two years ago and you might have thought he had borrowed the idea from the torturers of the Spanish Inquisition. Initial reports from Krakow were of course at first extremely favourable. The atmosphere was relaxed, they could mingle with the tourists and the fans.
It's a pity about the travel fatigue and the heat exhaustion, but you can't have everything if you decide the only way to operate is on your own terms. This, we have known for some time, has been the culture of English international football. Sven Goran Eriksson slipped into it cosily enough, permitting family enclaves and bouncy castles in the 2004 European Championship in Portugal and allowing a full-scale Wag operation in Baden Baden two years later during the World Cup.
When Capello took his players to the Alps and then dumped them in the middle of African tribal lands he was of course derided for not understanding the needs of his footballers, and the demands of the game, which must have been a little surprising for a man whose own playing career included four Serie A titles with Juventus and Milan and 32 appearances for Italy.
Now it seems that England's new manager, Roy Hodgson, has inherited some middle ground, no Wags, no right to summon the manager from his dinner table – the fate of Eriksson on one fraught occasion – but a training headquarters in the swim of city life and a more or less acknowledged right to squabble about whom you most like to play with – and whom you don't.
Meanwhile, the Germans continue to be as hard on themselves as any opponents. Before their perfect Euro start, their coach Joachim Löw spoke of the extraordinary intensity of his young team. "They were good in South Africa two years ago but they are so much better now – the young players have matured so well and the moment they appear with the squad you can see their intensity, their ambition. They are so much stronger and mature. In so many situations their strength and understanding has become automatic."
The idea of such unity might just seem like a fantasy to a Hodgson who spent so much of the build-up dodging questions about why he decided to leave Rio Ferdinand at home. One unsettling image of this week's training meltdown was of Ashley Cole, such a prodigious performer in Chelsea's late-season surge, angrily kicking away a water bottle. For England, happy camping is plainly not the easiest chore.
It is hard to the point of pain to contrast the picture Germany continue to present of a team utterly focused on the immediate challenge. In South Africa, they got through some of their spare time by accepting their adoption by the kids of a local township. Thomas Müller, an emerging star, spoke of new horizons, new experiences.
There is also the more familiar one of charting a route back to the top of the game. It is one, we can be nearly certain, that is not likely to involve a 4,000-mile commute to play three big games in the space of nine days.
Inevitable, of course, is the kind of controversy which challenges the unity of any team, and most recently involved captain Philipp Lahm's ruthless ambition to succeed his ageing predecessor Michael Ballack. There is also the taut rivalry between world-class strikers Mario Gomez and Miroslav Klose, but then we are talking here about the sharp edge of pure ambition.
Tonight England not only have to rally legs. The players have also to grasp quite how much ground has to be made up.
German efficiency
While Germany's coach Joachim Löw has an outstanding tournament record, his England counterparts have failed to impress in finals.
Joachim Löw (July 2006 - present)
Played 16; Won 12; Drawn 0; Lost 4; Win percentage 75
Steve McClaren (Aug 2006- Nov 2007)
Failed to qualify for the 2008 European Championship
Fabio Capello (Nov 2007 - Feb 2012)
Played 4; Won 1; Drawn 2; Lost 1; Win percentage 25
Roy Hodgson (May 2012 - present)
Played 1; Won 0; Drawn 1; Lost 0; Win percentage 0

 

England set to use Carroll to exploit Swedes' aerial weakness

 The England captain Steven Gerrard said last night that Sweden's aerial vulnerability in defence was a weakness Roy Hodgson had pinpointed, as the manager toyed with a bold move of partnering Andy Carroll with Danny Welbeck here tonight.

Swedish manager Erik Hamren's side have conceded six of their last seven goals and seven out of 11 from headers and Gerrard, who declared tonight's opponents are weaker than France, said that flaw has been picked up in tapes of Sweden's last six games, which the players have watched in preparation. "They have conceded a lot of goals off crosses," Gerrard said. "It is an area we will be trying to concentrate on. We have some wonderful crossers of a ball in our squad. It is one area [of weakness] but there are others as well."
The Independent's columnist Rafael Benitez argues the merits of deploying Carroll against the Swedes in today's paper and the Swedish weakness from crosses clearly stems from uncharacteristically poor organisation. Olof Mellberg, now 34 and in his last tournament for Sweden, is unaccustomed to working with Andreas Granqvist. Such is the indignation in Sweden about the way Mikael Lustig crucially abandoned his post in the 2-1 defeat to Ukraine, that a "mark the post" Twitter campaign has been mounted in the country.
Hodgson's belief in Welbeck, who has impressed, has led him to give serious consideration to keeping him up front, with Ashley Young moving to the left flank in place of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. Though Sweden are only three places behind France, at 17th in the Fifa world rankings, both Gerrard and Hodgson declared England to be favourites for tonight's game. "We have to accept that in the next two games we will not be underdogs and it is up to us to get the results," said Hodgson, who wants the win to avoid making the next two-hour flight into the heat of Donetsk in need of a win against the co-hosts on Tuesday.
Hodgson said that getting in behind defenders with crosses was on his mind for tonight, despite Carroll not impressing in last week's public training session. "In all the clubs I have worked at I have always done a lot of work on players getting in crossing situations and movement for crosses," he said. "Let's hope the message we are trying to put will help us in that area because there is no doubt with a team like Sweden, who are very compact centrally, if we are going to get behind them then getting down the wings and in behind them in the wide areas will be an important facet of our play."
Carroll and Welbeck have never started together for England before and Hodgson urged patience for the untested strike partnerships he was experimenting with. "One would hope people will be patient as it is only three weeks into the job [for me]," he said. "I can't maybe satisfy everyone, maybe other people would like to see more. I think I am realistic and pragmatic."
The France manager Laurent Blanc last night suggested England were not a good side when he said of his own team, who face Ukraine: "Regardless of who starts they just need to relax because we can't repeat the first 30 minutes against England. If we had played against a really good side it would have been over."

Spirit is key for Gerrard

Skipper says criticism of technical ability is harsh

 

Steven Gerrard: Believes England have the passion and defensive organisation to succeed

England captain Steven Gerrard believes what his players lack in technical ability they make up for in desire and commitment.

Gerrard does not think it is right to draw comparisons between the Three Lions and a team such as Spain, who are bidding to win their third straight major tournament.
He does, however, feel England have other attributes that need to be taken into account and says their fighting spirit means they can compete with anyone.
"These people who have that opinion (England's players are not technically good enough) are watching Spain and Barcelona," said Gerrard.
"Of course we are not as technically gifted as those teams or that type of player. They are the best in the world.

"What we haven't got in technique, maybe we gain on them in heart, desire and commitment."
Steven Gerrard Quotes of the week

"What we haven't got in technique, maybe we gain on them in heart, desire and commitment."

Organised

Chelsea's backs-to-the-wall performances in both the UEFA Champions League semi-final and final this season was put to Gerrard as the obvious example of what he meant, to which the Liverpool skipper quickly added: "So did we in 2005. Exactly the same."
The assessment is largely based upon France's dominance in possession in Donetsk on Monday and the glaring statistic Les Bleus completed twice as many passes.
But Gerrard believes a more circumspect approach needs to be adopted in such situations and says a solid defensive foundation is the key to negotiating the group stage.
"You have to understand, you can't approach some of these teams and go out all attacking and gung-ho," he said.
"If you are not organised, tight defensively and maybe sacrifice something going forward you go home early."
Sky Sports are looking for England fans who have given their home a Euro 2012 makeover - if you've decked out your home in a sea of red and white, we want to hear from you. Contact us at U2US@skysports.com

 

Andrea Pirlo : Croatia Goal shouldn’t Happen

Andrea Pirlo failed to see Italy win against Croatia in the second match of Group C Euro 2012.
Goal of his right foot, through the free kick, managed to reply through Mario Mandzukic kicks hard kick in the second round.
For Pirlo, Italy should not relax the attack level to be able to maintain their lead until the end of the game.
“We could have finished the game with another goal in the first half, then played too survive after the break and it is very unfortunate Croatia equalized,” Pirlo said on Friday (15/6).
“Today the team is playing well and we’ll see how it Monday. Goal is everything in football and hopefully we can get more chances in front of goal.”
“We want to grow and develop. We are playing to the back after the break, which is normal because Croatia played pressing for an equalizer. We should be better.”
“This game should be a game we won, but there is no r

EURO 2012 – Daily Report – DAY 6 – Portugal over Denmark with Ronaldo missing target & Boyishly funny Joachim Löw and his German team do in Ukrainan heat wave what they had to do – beat Holland – Later today Italy vs Croatia and Spain vs Eire – by contributor Mr Filip van der Plas

The 2012 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 2012, is now six days old and for the 2nd  time we will see teams play thier 2nd set of games. There has been a lot fo good exciting football – we have now seen all the teams and groups in action.    I will be writing a daily blog article with the salient features of all the games. Please send us your thoughts and comments on the form below.  – Filip v d Plas-
DENMARK – PORTUGAL  3-2
The Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo did not have a great night yesterday and was certainly glad that the final whistle had blown – at least his team had won.
It was hard to believe we were actually seeing the world’s most expensive footballer squandering 2 fabulous 2nd half chances – chances that probably even my grandmother could have shot in.
In the end it was Silvestre Varela, a late substitute, who did what Portugal needed to be done and made a great goal just 3 minutes before games end. This at least spared Ronaldo the uncomfortable reality that he had failed and would face the general opprobrium of the Portuguese fans had Portugal just ended the game with just a tie and only one point.
Having said all of that – I have often spoken of a ‘Gomez-type-of’ goal draught, and shown great sympathy for Gomez and Robben in my previous articles because they are great players– and I will be generous and extend this same type of sympathy for poor Ronaldo. He is also was a great player and remains a great player. These types of ‘bad-times’ happen to many players and they pass – look at Gomez with his great two goals last night – nobody would have thought this would happen after his CL performance against Chelsea.
The 27-year-old Ronaldo seems a different player in a Portugal shirt – he did stay on the field to applaud the Portugal fans at the end of the game but after 21 appears for his country has only scored only 5 goals in tournament play.
Yesterday’s encounter between Denmark and Portugal was a compelling game and helped Portugal’s chances of reaching the quarter-finals. It left poor Denmark cursing their luck to not see out the game after working so hard to come back from being down from 2 goals in the first 45 minutes.
Morten Olsen’s Danish Team actually had more ball possession than Portugal – and if you follow that type of thing – according to UEFA stats made over 200 passes more than Portugal. However they were in the end let down by a vulnerable defensive, their Achilles heel, and were thoroughly punished for this by a formidable Portuguese offence.
Read match report in UK INDEPENDENT BY Jack Pitt-Brooke - http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/international/silvestre-varela-finds-the-late-finish-to-get-portugal-and-cristiano-ronaldo-out-of-jail-against-denmark-7848816.html
Denmark’s team consisted of ;S. Andersen – Jacobsen , Kjaer , Agger , S. Poulsen – Kvist , Zimling – Rommedahl , Eriksen , Krohn-Dehli  and Bendtner
Portugal’s team Rui Patricio – Joao Pereira , Pepe , Bruno Alves , Fabio Coentrao – Miguel Veloso ,Raul Meireles , Joao Moutinho – Nani , Cristiano Ronaldo – Helder Postiga [ and substitue goal scoring match winner -  Silvestre Varela ]
NETHERLAND – GERMANY 1-2   
The match between the traditional rivals in the “Group of Death” is over and Mario Gomez provided the cutting edge to lead Germany and defeat the Orange Dutch team yesterday – Netherlands 1 Germany 2.
However accolades on the German side should be shared – and not only obviously for Mario Gomez who was man-of-the-match by any standard. However we should point out the great game played also by Bastian Schweinsteiger, Mesut Ozil, Mats Hummels and laud also the German National Coach Joachim Löw.
Schweinsteiger did exactly what he is paid to do and overcoming his recent poor form showed that the center of this team – the controller if you like – is back in a good way and was involved in both German goals.
Who says Germans do not have a sense of humour? Joachim Löw the national trainer is both German and has a boyish sense of humour – yesterday mischievously knocking the ball out of the hands from a Ukrainian ball-boy on the sidelines. Löw is in many ways very un-German in that he is very emotional on the sidelines and does not suffer fools easily – especially if they are his top bosses in the DFB or ‘Deutscher Fußball-Bund ‘! Germans like him for this and his team players also.
This blog reported in a controversy about the singing / or not singing of the German national anthem by German player that is was Low who took the correct position and not Beckenbauer. http://www.ota-berlin.de/blog/06/19/franz-beckenbauer-should-stick-to-what-he-does-best-and-otherwise-shut-up/
Leading up to this game the German coach said the right things emphasizing the good relationship and mutual respect which exists between the Dutch and German football players and down-playing the divisive past.
This is in stark contrast to the gutter press  ‘cretin-like right wing  tabloid ‘ ‘Bild’ which caters to the intellectually challenged in Germany. This is the same paper that this same week had a headline laughing at Holland’s loss to Denmark and also unveiling a monument in Berlin near its offices to the moronic American President Reagan. http://www.bild.de/politik/inland/ronald-reagan/gedenktafel-fuer-ronald-reagan-24611256.bild.html and to read why Germans and Berlins detest him read – http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/no-street-no-square-no-respect-what-does-berlin-have-against-ronald-reagan-a-744569.html
If you read German or know how to apply Google Translate see an excellant article about Mr Low and how he handles his critics — http://www.sueddeutsche.de/sport/bundestrainer-joachim-loew-demonstratives-desinteresse-fuer-die-kritiker-1.1382477
Dutch coach Van Marwijk brought Rafael van der Vaart and Klaas-Jan Huntelaar in an effort to breathe some life into the team at the interval but it was still Germany who looked more threatening, with Mats Hummels just seemingly able to maraud at will into the Dutch box – unchecked by the useless goofy Dutch defensive duo of Mathijsen and Heitinga.
The Dutch goal keeper Maarten Stekelenburg has not looked good –either against Denmark or Germany – however with the useless goofy Dutch defensive duo of Mathijsen and Heitinga in front him perhaps he could be forgiven.
One can speak of both clinical German finishing and tough perseverance, in the sweltering Ukrainian heat-wave which obviously affected both teams equally. However it was the Dutch team that looked more wilted by the heat then the Germans and seemed a bit more out of steam – perhaps staying in cool northern Poland and only travelling into the heat on game day was not such a great idea after all.
While the game was full of tension it was never really thrilling, but the result is a real testimonial which shows Germany as serious contender as tournament winners while correspondingly undermines any real Dutch aspirations.
Read also article in Guardian UK  “Euro 2012: Bert van Marwijk criticises Holland wingers after defeat – Robben and Afellay singled out after defeat by Germany – ‘Our wingers never threatened their defence and lacked pace’ http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2012/jun/14/euro-2012-robben-criticism-holland
Netherlands team consisted of – Stekelenburg – van der Wiel , Heitinga , Mathijsen , Willems – van Bommel , N. de Jong, Arjen Robben , Sneijder , Afellay, and Robin van Persie 
German team consisted of – Neuer – Boateng , Hummels , Badstuber , Lahm – Khedira , Schweinsteiger – T. Müller , Özil , Podolski, and Mario Gomez
The American Huffington Post is even covering the EURO 2012 -  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/12/poland-russia-live-updates-euro-2012_n_1590828.html
See also the good German football sites – http://www.11freunde.de/ and http://www.transfermarkt.de/de/?from=top_navi
See Previous Blog articles – http://www.ota-berlin.de/blog/category/euro-2012-2/

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