EURO 2008 SF: Germany 3-2 Turkey, Basel Boral 22', Schweinsteiger 27', Klose 79', Semturk 86', Lahm 90' "They can play games like this, when maybe they are not the best team, and still win. That is why they are so good." Fatih Terim, Turkey's coach, could have uttered these words tonight, but in fact it was Bruce Arena after Germany had edged the States 1-0 in Ulsan in the 2002 World Cup quarter-final. Only two years ago, we were talking about how long, or rather short, Germany would last at home in the World Cup. Jurgen Klinsmann's team had been the most inept German 'elftal' (eleven) in living memory in the run-up to the 2006 tournament, but then surprised the doubters by reaching the semi-final. Now the Mannschaft have reached the EURO 2008 final with a 3-2 win over an arguably better team, nodding heads are attributing their triumph to simply being German, a synonym for depressingly successful. A Protestant work ethic (Colombia's Achilles Heel), physical force and endeavour (Portugal's downfall), mental toughness (the Dutch weakness), self-belief (count out the Spaniards), efficient organisation (bye-bye England) and a resolve to keep fighting until the end (Au revoir Les Bleus) in an 'all for one, one for all' spirit of teamwork have been in the German genes for so long, their roll of honour comes as no surprise: SEVEN World Cup finals (won three of them) and SIX European championship finals (won three of them so far) is an amazing record confirmed by Euro 2008. England have, in comparison, reached one final ever... In 1994 and 1998, Germany exited the World Cup before the semi-final stage. A colourless performance at Euro 2000 had everyone expecting them to collapse in the 2002 World Cup; instead they reached the final. Then another weak German eleven in Euro 2004 boded ill for the following World Cup, yet Germany finished third. Even in eras of weakness, they bounce back strongly. But wait a minute, didn't Croatia beat them 2-1 in this tournament? Did not the Germans look clearly second best that night, their status as early favourites following their victory over the Poles suddenly diluted? A week is a long time in football; Croatia have now been eliminated, Germany have beaten their conquerors, Turkey, and have reached yet another final, prolonging an extraordinary record. "They always put up a good show," a drunken Finn opined to me about the Germans, slumped on a Swedish park bench in Norrköpping at Euro '92. He was not wrong. Despite all the close scrapes and near misses of outrageous fortune, 'Germany are always there' is the shrugged conclusion we must draw once more, however short memories are in football. Incidentally, thank God tonight's game was in Basel and not Vienna. The Austrian capital witnessed a thunderstorm so strong it forced the evacuation of the central FanZone fifteen minutes before the end of the game. Two people were trampled in the rush to escape the tempest, requiring hospital treatment, while those who did make it to nearby bars would not have seen Miroslav Klose's strike, as the Austrian TV channel showing the game, ORF1, lost its signal for eight minutes due to the inclement weather. German TV suffered a similar break in transmission, thanks to a thunderstorm near Basel knocking out the picture relay. Vienna's central FanZone, the largest at EURO 2008, has played host to crowds of up to 100,000 people on match nights. * * * Charlie Dempsey, the Scots-born New Zealander who was President of the Oceania Football Confederation for an amazing 36 years, has died aged 87. Dempsey famously hit the world's headlines when he abstained in 2000 from voting for the destination of the 2006 World Cup, thereby handing the tournament to Germany instead of its expected hosts, South Africa. The world's cameras were suddenly focused on a rather doddery old Scot who had decided not to vote as a member of FIFA's 24-strong executive committee on the most important sporting tournament in the world. Dempsey claimed others had attempted to bribe him and that he had no wish to make enemies by voting. As it happened, Germany ran a hugely successful World Cup in 2006 and South Africa got four more years to prepare to host it, winning the vote for 2010 unopposed. Dempsey rather should be remembered for promoting football in a country obsessed with another sport (rugby union) and getting Oceania to join FIFA as a full member confederation in 1996. Soon after the World Cup vote in 2000, Dempsey quit as President, dismayed at the media assault on him and his family on account of his perceived cowardice. Oceania is still fighting for a permanent place in the World Cup Finals, after New Zealand's poor performance at the 2005 Confederations Cup persuaded FIFA President Sepp Blatter to change his mind about awarding it an automatic qualification slot, precipitating Australia's unprecedented move to the Asian Football Confederation in 2006. Dempsey's proudest achievement was seeing his beloved New Zealand compete in the 1982 World Cup Finals in Spain. (c) Sean O'Conor & Soccerphile Bet with Bet 365 World Soccer News Soccer betting tips Soccer Books & DVDs Tags Soccer News soccer football J-League K-League Betting

All eyes seem to be on Spain for tomorrow's Euro 2008 final. Neutral fans are mostly dreaming of a beautiful team who play the Beautiful Game slaying a 44-year old jinx in a red and yellow climax. But if big-match history counts for anything, the winners' enclosure will be black and white instead. Joachim Löw has touched upon the German secret of success in the run-up to the Euro 2008 final, but the reason for them reaching 13 finals still remains somewhat elusive. “We believe we can win such games - we have a winner's mentality,” he explained. "We know we can do it and our morale is high, that's what matters." Like all successful teams, the Germans do not seem mired in complex Howard Wilkinson-style tactics talks, or go to bed reading Don Revie-style dossiers. “As for the gameplan, we'll just go back to basics," Löw added. "You have to move and pass the ball around. I don't think it would make much sense for us to sit down and analyse the semi-final; it is of no use now. Any coach's task before the final is to re-energise his players and motivate them. We won't train very hard between now and the final, recuperation is the key." The latter sentiment sounds a bit like Brian Clough’s insistence on rest for his players when playing in Europe, part of a philosophy which bagged two European Cups for a provincial team like Nottingham Forest. Whatever the reason, the continued success of Germany always bears repeating. 13 finals must mean they have got the basics right, and success breeds a confidence dyed in the lederhosen. With the groundwork of a winning formula established, their natural Teutonic practicality and level-headedness ensures the Germans do not get carried away with their astonishing record. “They do arrogance, but not complacency,” opined the BBC’s Alan Hansen, although their calm first half against Turkey risked letting the game run away from them. Löw is still approaching only his second year in the big job, but despite a record, insists the much-cited German footballing values are exaggerated. “We must not go back to those days of overreliance on our traditional values,” said Löw. “Players from San Marino can run around and fight, too.” Arsene Wenger cites their mental strength as the reason for their permanent class: "Germany are one of the few countries I know of who can have a go at each other in the newspapers one day and then go into the match united and mentally strong," said the Arsenal coach. A look back over the years shows that rather than always being the best every tournament, Germany tend to begin among the top five teams in the hunt, yet often end up in the final. In the World Cups of 1982, 1986 and 2002 no one rated them favourites at the start, but each time they made it to the final game, while the common consensus was that an ordinary Deutscher Fussball Bund eleven won Euro ’96. In Belgium at Euro ’72, Sweden at Euro ’92 and at Italia ’90, the Germans were the bookies’ favourites at the start and duly reached the finals, but they have reached so many finals when apparently not being one of the top teams, that there must be a secret formula at work. They have been the team to beat as long as I have been alive, their only lean period spanning their elimination by Croatia in the quarter-final of the 1998 World Cup until their third place finish at the 2006 edition. Taking up the baton, the current coach of the Mannschaft, who landed in the job with a international reputation of just having been Jürgen Klinsmann’s bench buddy at the 2006 World Cup, has certainly now made a name for himself. Löw, whose name means lion in his native language, has guided his team to the final of his first tournament, cut a dash in his tight-fighting touchline apparel, and put smiles on the faces of watching millions by sneaking a cheeky fag in the stands after being sent off against Austria. Löw’s much-travelled playing career as an attacking midfielder was followed by solid if usually unspectacular spells in charge of six different teams, including Fenerbahçe in Turkey and Stuttgart, whom he guided to the 1998 Cup Winners Cup final, won by Chelsea. Löw’s career was hauled up from the shallows when Klinsmann made him his surprise choice as national team assistant in 2004, having earned his coaching badges alongside him a few years before. Assistant manager has never been the most glamorous of football jobs. Seconds-in-command often seem lacking in charisma compared to the ‘special ones’ in the hot seat, and for good reason. Coaches are personalities beyond mere instructors. Their egos need space, but also thrive on having a tempering, disciplining safety-valve to their genius sat beside them to rely on. A meeting of two powerful egos rarely lasts for long, and too often the assistant fails to replace them adequately after they leave. Think Roy Evans at Liverpool or Steve McClaren at England. Appointing the assistant is often seen as a risk by big clubs or countries, which is why Chelsea’s No.2 Steve Clarke was never in the running to succeed Jose Mourinho. They are considered personal assistants rather than deputies, it often seems. Löw is no Mourinho. He makes friends rather than enemies and appears to have no desire to forge a personality cult. Already in Euro 2008, he has changed tactics on the insistence of senior players but has maintained their respect as the results have followed, an echo of Bobby Robson in Italia ’90. Michael Ballack, Germany’s talisman, was instrumental in urging him to switch from 442 to 451 against Portugal, which finished 3-2. "Of course,” confirmed Löw . “I would not be a good coach if I didn't listen to them. But my players listen to me too. One cannot pass from one system to another by just doing it. It has to be an agreement, a discussion, even if it is me who takes the final decision." Win or lose in the final, Löw is now making a name for himself out of Klinsmann’s shadow, should lead Germany into the World Cup of 2010 and at only 48 years old, can be expected to coach big club sides in the future. A victory in Vienna on Sunday will complete a remarkable coaching debut for the man from the Black Forest. The Austrian capital will be familiar turf for ‘Yogi’, as Löw is nicknamed, where he coached Austria Vienna for a season in 2002. (c) Sean O'Conor & Soccerphile Bet with Bet 365 World Soccer News Soccer betting tips Soccer Books & DVDs Tags Soccer News soccer football J-League K-League Betting

Now Euro 2008 is in full swing, spare a thought for those not invited to the party. 36 European nations failed to make it to the Alps. England might stand out among them, but also missing is 2006 World Cup quarter-finalists Ukraine, plus nations of th e calibre of Belgium, Serbia, Denmark, Slovakia, Norway and Ireland. \ England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland really should have revived the British Championship this summer and for extra spice added the Republic of Ireland and as a wild card, Gibraltar. A friendly with Gibraltar from any of the four UK nations with an empty diary this month would be a nice affirmation of the peninsula's desires to stay British. The Rock is not affiliated to UEFA, thanks to Spain's filibustering, so like an ugly girl or boy, they are desperate for any date. Given that it is customary to play a reciprocal fixture at your visitors' stadium after inviting them to yours, England could easily drop by for 90 minutes, though the apes would probably nick the half-time oranges. England are on the quayside looking on again but looking tasty too after dispatching the USA 2-0 at Wembley last week. David Beckham is clearly a new man and seemed to be glowing post-match having seen off the challenge of his young pretender David Bentley, with a top-drawer 45 minutes. That Becks could figure in a fourth World Cup finals seemed impossible when he gave his tearful resignation speech in Germany 2006, but now the prospect grows ever likelier. England finally have found a rhythm under Fabio Capello and on that performance, could surely have made more of an impression at Euro 2008 than some of the qualifiers and 'qualifers' (host nations). 2010 now beckons for England fans hopeful of a renewed assault on the big prize. The USA took more of a psychological blow than anything from Wembley. Having lost by the same score 14 years ago at the same venue, the States were looking to prove progress had been made. In the meantime the States have achieved a World Cup quarter-final finish in 2002, have won three of the last four CONCACAF Gold Cups and enjoyed recent away wins over Euro 2008 qualifiers Poland and Switzerland. Barring an almighty catastrophe, the US will be in the World Cup finals forever more, given CONCACAF, one of FIFA's weaker regions, with coincidentally two large TV markets, is handed a generous three and a half places for the finals. But the US is most eager to impress against European nations like England, which makes Wembley's 2-0 defeat all the more depressing. "We're Americans, we want to be the best at everything," said winger DaMarcus Beasley post-game, and he meant it. The Republic of Ireland and Colombia squared up at Fulham a day later in front of a passionate and colourful 18,000 crowd. Both nations have been off the world radar for the past few years. Ireland did reach the second round of the 2002 World Cup where they lost on penalties to Spain, but their campaign was wounded by Roy Keane's furious outburst and exiling from the camp. While the Jack Charlton years were always going to be a one-off era, Giovanni Trapattoni looks to have what it takes make Ireland a regular qualifier for tournaments once again. Trap, a coach of enormous experience, belied his white hair and 66 years, by whistling as loudly as ever to his players (they nickname him 'il fischio' - the whistle, in his native Italy) and gesticulating manically as only he can on the touchline. Post-game, Trap had the enthusiasm of a teenager for the game, speaking as if he was in his first job and certainly in no mood for retirement. He mentioned Greece's unforeseen Euro 2004 win as his inspiration, explaining it thus; "If you are a pianist, you play the piano, if you are a singer, you sing, so I say to my players, 'What are we? We are a team." Eire played a solid, and almost Italian defensive game against Colombia, grabbing an early goal through Robbie Keane and then defending it against an increasingly rampant opponent. But it was no catenaccio night. Ireland showed impressive teamwork and a fluid organisation sadly lacking under previous incumbents Steve Staunton and Brian Kerr. Colombia look to be on the up too after defeating Argentina and drawing with Brazil in their 2010 World Cup qualifiers. Having not qualified for the past two finals, Los Cafeteros seem to be set fair to retake the place behind South America's big two which in the early 1990s seemed would be theirs for some time. Unbelievably, Colombia only entered World Cup qualifying in 1958 but made it to the finals in Chile four years later. Their next appearance in 1990, saw them draw 1-1 with eventual winners Germany in the group stage, a curious game in which captain Carlos Valderrama, the first Colombian ever to play in Europe, appeared to feign injury and be stretchered off before quickly r ecovering during the first half before his team left the soon-to-be world champions chasing shadows with some amazing passing football. Colombia seemed to be toying with the Germans, who then shocked them by taking the lead in the 89th through Pierre Littbarski, sending Colombia towards elimination. Freddy Rincon saved their bacon by nutmegging Bodo Illgner in injury time. Crazy goalkeeper Rene Higuita, he of the scorpion kick, monkeyed around against Cameroon in the next round and was dispossessed a good 40 yards out of his goal by Roger Milla, who went on and scored and sent Colombia home. Colombia hit the headlines for the wrong reasons in 1994 when they lost 2-1 to the USA in a game many have fingered as being fixed by drug baron Pablo Escobar and friends. His namesake Andres Escobar scored an own goal and was promptly murdered on his return to Colombia. Times have changed, Pablo Escobar is dead, the Medellin cartel and the FARC no longer hold sway, and the national team is undergoing renaissance too. Jorge Luis Pinto has fashioned a neat passing team with plenty of pace and technique, although against Ireland they showed the classic shortcoming all great passing teams suffer from, the lack of a powerful striker. Euro 2008 might be underway, but those not at the party still have the future to dream about. (c) Sean O'Conor & Soccerphile World Soccer News Soccer betting tips Soccer Books & DVDs Tags Soccer News soccer football J-League K-League Betting

Five days after Mexico beat Ghana 2-1 in London, Hugo Sanchez was fired as Mexico's coach. How so? He had only been in charge a year and a half, so what went so badly wrong? Under his tenure, Mexico lost the Gold Cup final 2-1 to the USA in Chicago, but that should have been no reason for dismissal since the CONCACAF bragging rights definitively crossed the Rio Grande when the States downed El Tri 2-0 back in the 2002 World Cup. Mexico also thumped Paraguay 6-0 and beat Brazil, yes Brazil, 2-0 in last summer's Copa America in Venezuela, before finishing third overall; another reason not to sack him one would have thought. Expectations had been raised by the fact Mexico won the U17 World Cup in 2005 and reached the last eight of the U20 World Cup in 2007, and thus the recent failure of the U23s to qualify for the Beijing Olympics was the biggest casus belli for the Federation. Olympic soccer is roughtly on a par with five-a-side football for most European nations, but apparently not so in Mexico, where the national team coach, in this case Sanchez, is also tasked with coaching the team to go to the Olympics. “We want leaders; we cannot accept another failure, another Olympic failure,” said Justino Compeán, the Mexican federation president. “If that was difficult, could you imagine if Mexico didn’t make it to South Africa?” Sanchez was perceived as arrogant and too much his own man, which got him on the wrong side of the big clubs, whose directors, each with one vote, ultimately blew the whistle on his tenure. He was dismissed 16-1, his only supporter being his old team, Pumas. But don't we want coaches to be Brian Cloughs and not Graham Taylors? That Premier League clubs could decide the England manager is a horrifying idea, but that it is they way they do it in Mexico. Criticisms of Sanchez's rigid playing style are easier to entertain. Mexico were playing with some flair under previous coach Ricardo La Volpe but seemed to stutter into stifling 4-4-2 inflexibility under Sanchez. Even in the flattering 2-1 win over Ghana, it was clear the full backs were not overlapping and that the static central midfield was inferior to that of the free-running Africans. But I still think the sacking was premature. A year and a half is not that long for any coach, especially one who sees his players so rarely, and while the Olympic team fell short, is that really that important? Mexico were always going to qualify for the 2010 World Cup, given that CONCACAF is the beneficiary of FIFA's largesse with three and a half places in the finals. And when it comes to the finals, Mexico reached the 1986 quarter finals (in Mexico), but otherwise have never advanced beyond the second round. Therein perhaps lies the key to Sanchez' sacking. A large and Latin football-mad nation naturally has some arrogance welled up as a result. That it has never achieved anything of note on the world stage is a source of constant frustration, so the fans look to the Olympics for some succour. Appointing its soccer icon as national team coach was always a dream waiting to be actualised, but like so many other countries and clubs have found out, the best players rarely make good coaches. Sanchez obviously made enough enemies amongst the league clubs to be voted out of office so comprehensively, but his record was not that bad. He walks away at least $8 million richer, but Sanchez' firing over a failed Olympic qualification (as if that really mattered) only masks the perennial failure of what should be one of the major football nations to take its place at the high table of world soccer. Mexico have perhaps unrealistic expectations of one man to cure their ills, but rather like another great underachiever, England, they are also guilty of using him as a scapegoat so they won't have to look themselves in the mirror. Rather than analysing what Sanchez did wrong, the Mexicans should be wondering what is it about their domestic football culture that has kept their national team so mediocre for so long. (c) Sean O'Conor & Soccerphile Bet with Bet 365 World Soccer News Soccer betting tips Soccer Books & DVDs Tags Soccer News soccer football J-League K-League Betting

FIFA President Sepp Blatter has signalled that the policy of World Cup rotation is about to be ditched. Speaking to the BBC, Blatter admitted he would welcome England bidding for 2018, a tournament which under the present model, should be held in North or Central America. "I am advocating we open the market," said Blatter. Back in May, he described rotation as "a milestone", speaking to FIFA delegates in Zurich, while only a month ago, announced that a final decision on rotation with regard to 2018 would come at the end of October. With 2010 going to (South) Africa and 2014 to South America (Brazil), Europe's next turn would not have been in 2018 (CONCACAF) but in 2022, a ridiculously long wait for that continent's front runner, England.