03 June 2008

Viva España

It’s been nice, but weird, having little to say in regards to either Liverpool (possibly Dossena and/or Barry soon, with Alonso and Crouch looking more likely to leave. Woohoo.) or England (man, those friendlies were the opposite of encouraging). Plus it’s been nice to somewhat recharge the batteries after the season past. But with the Euros coming up, I’ll have far more to write about.

If there is any Liverpool news, I’ll have something up, but for the most part, I’m going to focus on Spain for the next few weeks (as if they need another jinx). With England done for the summer, I’ll need another team to distract me, and just like this Torres Nike ad shows, most Liverpool fans will be cheering on the Spaniards (I can watch this commercial over and over again. Pity about the subtitles though. Edit: Found an English version. It's even better). I hope I’m jumping on the bandwagon before it careens out of control.

Yeah, I’m rooting for Spain mainly because of Torres, while Alonso, Reina, and Arbeloa are also in the squad (although none are likely starters). But I’m also interested to see if Xavi’s still the main pivot for Spain’s play, how Fabregas does seeing extended time in a major tournament for the national team, how Torres and Villa pair up after the season El Niño’s had, and if Aragones implodes yet again.

So join me as I attempt to follow a national team I’m less than familiar with. It’ll be like when I write about the USMNT, but with far fewer cheap shots at Eddie Johnson or Sunil Gulati.

The Spain/US friendly is tomorrow at 4pm, but in their wisdom, espn2 is showing it on tape delay at 5:30. Lord knows we can’t interrupt NFL Live, Rome is Burning, Around the Horn, PTI, or the French Open.

In the meantime, here’s a few Euro 2008 links to get the juices flowing, led off by the always enjoyable That’s on Point.

That’s on Point: The Big Eur-bowski
200percent has excellent previews of the four groups
Unprofessional Foul’s team previews
The Offside’s Euro 2008 Blog
Guardian UK’s Euro 2008 page

6 comments :

Manton said...

Impossible - there can never be enough cheap shots for Eddie Johnson and Sunil Gulati.

nate said...

Agreed, but I reckon I'll get fewer opportunities given the focus will be on Spain.

I'll do my best to get my fill tomorrow though.

Anonymous said...

Spain and Portugal are favorites to win.

Anonymous said...

Personally, I'm agast at the idea of Alonso leaving. I know he didn't have the best season, but his form of the year before screams, keep him!! He's still young and I think will develop into one of the best midfielders in europe. I'm praying that transfer doesn't go through. Why are you happy about him leaving?

nate said...

I'm certainly not happy about Alonso leaving, but I've come to terms with it.

On his day, he's an outstanding midfielder, and is one of the classiest players I've had the pleasure of watching. But he's not been at his best enough this season, even if a lot of that has to do with injuries.

And if Rafa thinks that Barry is an upgrade in the league over Alonso, I'm going to go along with it.

I really like Alonso; I can link videos of him singing "the best midfield in the world" or pounding on the glass of the skysports booth after Crouch scored when he was there for the Besiktas match that make me smile every time I see them. It will be a very sad day if/when he leaves Liverpool.

But I want to see Liverpool win the league more than anything else, and if Benitez thinks Barry over Alonso will do that, I'm with him.

nate said...

Also, I think his best form was in 04/05 and honestly, at 26 and having been in England for 4 seasons, he's not young enough where selling him is prohibitive.