David Beckham looks set to miss out on the 2010 World Cup after tearing his Achilles tendon playing in A.C. Milan's 1-0 win over Chievo in Serie A today. The England international pulled up in the 87th minute at San Siro today and hobbled off, claiming he heard his tendon snap and felt his calf muscles spasm. He was carried off on a stretcher, with the nightmare of missing the World Cup unfolding before his eyes. Recovery from an Achilles rupture to being able to run is from 6-8 weeks following the operation Beckham will have tomorrow, but the proximity of the finals in under three months means a call-up of an unfit Beckham for the World Cup is now extremely unlikely. The most probable scenario is of Beckham missing the World Cup but making a return to MLS later this season. The will-he, won't-he saga of Beckham's once unlikely journey to a fourth finals had looked set to end happily with a place in Fabio Capello's final squad, but his road to South Africa now seems to have finally run out of gas. His attempt to break Peter Shilton's England appearances record also looks to have bitten the dust, ten games short. Perhaps the most celebrity of England footballers has even played his last game for the Three Lions. Becks' World Cup debut age 23 in France '98 was a colourful one - after initially having been dropped in favour of Teddy Sheringham, the young Manchester United star played a leading role in England's campaign, supplying the pass for Michael Owen's wonder goal against Argentina before getting himself sent off for retaliating against Diego Simeone. Beckham's expulsion forced England into a rearguard action for the rest of the second-round clash, lost eventually on penalties and coach Glenn Hoddle blamed him afterwards for the defeat. Four years later and Beckham, recovered from the tsunami of tabloid opprobrium following France '98, arrived in Japan a soccer idol, especially in the Far East. But a broken metatarsal shortly before the finals meant the England captain was not in peak condition. He got his revenge on Argentina with a winning penalty, but Brazil's silky skills got the better of a prosaic and unimaginative England in the quarter-finals. Beckham scored the winner in the second round of Germany 2006, a set piece against Ecuador , but his third World Cup finals ended again at the last eight stage, as Portugal beat another solid but uninspiring Three Lions team forged by Sven-Goran Eriksson, this time on spot-kicks. Tearfully resigning as captain , it looked like the World Cup had seen the last of Becks as he jetted off for the sunny climbs of Los Angeles and Major League Soccer. Steve McClaren's first act as England manager was to telephone him to say farewell but before long McClaren's obvious frailty in the job saw Beckham back from the dead in the national team fold. Now shorn of what little speed he once had, Beckham concentrated on his dead ball delivery and arching crosses, providing a unique attacking option from the right wing. Becks' prowess as an impact substitute with his penetrative deliveries ensured continuous call-ups under Capello, his former coach at Real Madrid and at the age of 34 looked set to have a final World Cup swansong, if not a starting role. His tears as he left the San Siro field today were as intense as when he left the field against Portugal, both times believing he had played his last World Cup game. This time, it looks like he has. (c) Sean O'Conor & Soccerphile Tags Soccer News football

The women are coming (no pun intended): The EURO 2008 organisers might have breathed a sigh of relief when the expected English invasion was cancelled by Croatia's third goal at Wembley last autumn, but they did not bank on an even greater influx to the finals, largely unexpected, and female. Hail, hail, the skirts are here. The British Isles might be cast adrift from the goings-on at the European Championship, but most European watchers have by now picked up on the fact that females are in on the footy act in big numbers. The big-match experience in the city centre fan zones, where the majority of fans have congregated for games, have been universally punctuated by shrill feminine screams, girls decked out head-to-toe in the colours of the country of their choice that evening*, and over-zealous female cheering of events of which most (male) remain the wiser. Even Turkey, the only Muslim nation in the finals and thus notoriously a second-class country for women, has been cheered by huge numbers of veiled female fans. It's not the first time that women en masse have got a taste for football, but it is the largest occurrence of this recent phenomenon yet. Are they just bandwagon-jumpers and excuse for a party-seekers, and if they are, does it matter as long as everyone is happy? The ticketed fans still appear to be 90% male in composition in Austria and Switzerland, though you would not know that for the TV editors' sleazily repetitive homing-in on whatever half-decent totty they can locate in the stands. Undeniably, football following has changed over the past few years. Now you are more likely to travel to an overseas tournament without any hope of gaining stadium entry than you are to travel to see the games in person.100,000 English were estimated to have been in Cologne in 2006, 150,000 Dutch in Basle in 2008. While the Swiss and Austrian media had picked up the trend as soon as the fan zones had opened, the latest TV ratings from Germany are astonishing: 14.2 million females watched Germany defeat Turkey as opposed to 13.5 million males. The World Cup effect in Germany has also translated into Vfl Wolfsburg having a 30% female fan make-up, and Hanover 96 selling a quarter of its season-tickets to women. The most prominent of the EU leaders at EURO 2008 has been female. German Chancellor Angela Merkerl was seen chatting to Bastian Schweinsteiger in the stands and made it her business to be the first person to speak to coach Joachim Löw after the referee sent him to the stands during the Germany v Austria clash in Vienna. The old command issued to English fans to not travel if you don't have tickets was overturned by sheer numbers of football-holidaymakers, of whom women formed a large part. The increased interest in football as a pastime and entertainment has inevitably entailed an increase in female fandom. After the countrywide party atmosphere of Germany 2006, EURO 2008 has seen girls and women quite happy to face-paint and wear country colours to watch games quite independently of any male contact. Football has suddenly become more sexually egalitarian, and I welcome that. While it is fair to say the average male fan possesses a deeper knowledge of the game than the average female fan, all, irrespective of origin, must be made welcome. The ugliness of hooliganism withers faster than ever the more women are around football, which can only be a good thing. Only boneheads and misogynist dinosaurs argue for sexism in football in 2008, inspired by a fear of change and a rage at the passing of time, but their position is one they would not dare transfer to other arenas of public life. Racism was once the norm in society, so let us hope sexism in soccer becomes as wholly unnacceptable, too. At the end of the day, the world's number one game has to be there for everybody to partake of without exception, and unreconstructed males will have to evolve to stop using football as a private cell of frustration release, or die out. When there are pretty and fun-loving females only a stone-throw away, apparently mad about football, what sort of man would turn a blind eye anyway? * 'Fan tourism' has been more visible than ever before at this edition of the Euros. You would have been hard pressed to find a Portuguese amongst those wearing red and green against Germany, ditto a bona-fide tulip from the orange-clad hordes in Vienna against Russia, etc (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

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

The most pleasant aspect of EURO 2008 for me has been the sight of banks of fans in the stadia. The corporate hospitality is still there, with 80,000 packages sold, and while that is 80,000 too many for my liking, I have not noticed huge numbers of suits inside the grounds like I have at the last three World Cups. No, in the matches I have attended in Innsbruck, Geneva and Vienna, I have been struck by the swathes of the competing countries' fans, the people who surely must get priority for tickets above all others. This is how footbal l used to be and could be again, I thought. This is because, for EURO 2008, national associations received 38% of the tickets, as opposed to the 19% they get from FIFA for World Cups. In addition, FIFA sold 15.2% of World Cup tickets in 2006 to the German FA and FIFA 'family', whoever they are, while UEFA's 2008 allocation was only 3%. Worryingly, UEFA's allocation to corporate hospitality has doubled since 2004 to 8% of the total, but it still less than FIFA's 11.3%. When fan tickets start at only €45, it is no wonder they sell these pac kages, which begin at €1250 for first-round games and rise to €2,000 for quarter finals, €4,000 for semis and €8,000 for the final, per person! 14% of EURO 2008 tickets went to sponsors as opposed to 16% of World Cup tickets, while the percentages for sales to the general public were 33% to 36%, where of course many genuine fans got their tickets from. UEFA's allocation of 19% per country per game does leave a lot to be desired on paper, when the Champions League final allocation per team is 27% and England fans at Wembley enjoy about 90% of match tickets. Many corporate tickets are still ending up in the hands of touts, who in the Alps are asking €400 per ticket as they did in Germany in 2006. While supporters used to be split between those who went to games and 'armchair' fans, the upsurge in interest in football and the unpleasant arrival of corporate hospitality into the people's game has forced fans elsewhere. Far more fans are to be found outside than inside the stadia themselves in host cities, where the practice of travelling overseas to watch games on big screens in publically-organised viewing areas is now the standard of fan culture. When six of the eight stadia in EURO 2008 hold only the minimum required capacity of 30,000 seats, supporters were always going to look elsewhere to congregate. Following their success in Germany in 2006, the future of overseas match trips looks to be ticketless travel to vast fan zones. While nothing beats the stadium experience, the fan zones are the next best thing when done well. In fact the Vienna fan zone is much better than those I went to in Germany, with many more big screens and reasonably priced food and drink stands you don't waste time queueing for. The uncomfortable feeling persists that in the modern age of football, fans forking out to attend games in globally televised tournaments are far from the priority for the organizers, and are largely accommodated for the purposes of adding colour to the commercially marketable televised spectacle. Nevertheless, the stadium ticket allocation here has felt like a breath of fresh air after the farce of the World Cup. With South Africa only two years away and the torrent of opprobrium heaped on FIFA's rotten ticketing allocation last time still vivid, let us hope the sport’s world governing body learns something from the fun and football-loving stadia of EURO 2008. (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

Last Stand in Salzburg for Hiddink or Rehhakles? Spain v Sweden, Innsbruck Greece v Russia, Salzburg Greetings from Innsbruck in the South West of Austria, a city in a spectacular mountain setting, capital of Tyrol and former home of the Winter Olympics. As in Group A, the two winners of the opening games play each other next in Group D. Spain, who steamrolled the Russians 4-1, return to the Tivoli Neu Stadion t o face a strong Sweden team who defeated holders Greece 2-0 in Salzburg. Both teams are packed with firepower up front: Hat-trick hero David Villa and Liverpool ace Fernando Torres for Spain, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, author of a golazo against the Greeks, and veteran 'bomber' Henrik Larsson for Sweden. A passport to the quarter-finals is the winner's prize. The other game in Group D today sees an eliminator between the European Champions Greece and Guus Hiddink's Russia. Greece played the pantomime villain in their opening game, their shamelessly defensive tactics earning them a round of boos from the crowd and descriptions such as 'blockhouse', 'concrete bunker' and 'stone wall' from the press. Otto Rehhagel's future as Greek coach probably hinges on tonight's game. After bringing the European crown back to Athens in 2004, Rehhagel's Greece performed abysmally at the 2005 Confederations Cup and failed to make it to Germany 2006. Forever a Greek hero for his extraordinary feat in Portugal, Rehhagel is unlikely to continue at the helm after these finals. "Why should I worry?" Rehagel said today. I am healthy and I have a lovely family. I have been with my wife for a wonderful 43 years. What bad can happen to me now?" Ironically, the Greeks qualified in some style for Euro 2008 and are overall an improved team from four years ago. Whether the (Greek) gods remain on their side however remains to be seen. Anything less than a win tonight and the reign of King Otto 'Rehakles' will soon be over. Hiddink too has a reputation to uphold. After taking South Korea to the 2002 World Cup finals, and then doing well with Australia in 2006, the Dutch coach was widely considered the best in the world. His experience with those two nations, as well as with PSV, Real Madrid and the Netherlands made him hot property for jobs including coaching Chelsea and England, before Roman Abramovich's millions lured him to Moscow. Yet a somewhat fortunate qualification after defeats in London and Tel Aviv, a 3-0 friendly battering by Romania and now a 4-1 thumping by Spain have tempered Hiddink's Midas Touch. Should Russia fail to register a victory today and with the Swedes still to come, their hopes of making it to the quarter-finals would look slim. Group C, aka the Group of Death, is still the sexiest. While many thoughts are turning to the France v Italy showdown as the potential pick of the games so far, at the same time many are wondering who can stop the Netherlands since the Oranje have banged seven goals past the 2006 World Cup finalists. The Dutch still have many mountains to climb. Spain and Sweden will surely give them a tough 90 minutes in their quarter-final in Basel, while Italy might have woken up enough to defeat them if they meet again in the semi-final. Add to that the dangers posed by Croatia, Germany and Portugal from the first half of the draw and it is clear that it is far too early to be planning the victory parade in Amsterdam. (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

EURO 2008: Turkey 2:1 Switzerland, (Yakin 32', Senturk 57', Tu ran 90') Basel. It seemed as if the Alps themselves were crying overnight. The majestic range of peaks which tower over this little country like gods tried to intervene in the Swiss’ favour in Basel but in the end it was not enough. The rain-soaked field might have stopped the Turkish passing as they usually do and certainly helped Hakan Yakin steer Switzerland into the lead, but in the end it was not enough to stop Turkey scoring twice and stealing the spoils. The only post-match comment which mattered came from the mountains. From atop their lofty perch high in the clouds, the Alpine gods made their feelings clear, sending down gentle but persistent raindrops until dawn. Most of Switzerland was covered in melancholic tears from the sky after the joint host-nation became the first to be sent home from EURO 2008. At least the journey home is a short one, but the players and fans will be forced to stay and watch the rest of the tournament in envy. Whenever the hosts exit, it is a blow to any big football tournament, but for this to happen on only its fifth day, Euro 2008 has taken a serious blow. What hopes there are of Austria carrying the flag cannot last for much longer either as their western neighbours were clearly the stronger of the two. Home advantage in the end counted for little and the Swiss are packing their bags already. While only 41% of the nation said they were interested in the event before it began, and a first-round exit for both Austria and Switzerland was arguably on the cards as soon as they won the right to host the tournament, this still seems a sad day. Switzerland might never have been a lan of ‘fussball-fieber’ (football fever) as billed, but it did at least make an effort to prettify itself for the event. Everywhere you travel here, you see Euro 2008 decorations and merchandise, and even if the country did not get its act together when it came to hotel provision, it did more than enough with promotion. It never felt quite as exciting as Germany did two years ago, but then this is a smaller and more private country and at the Euros there are half the amount of teams in the World Cup and no fans from Africa, Asia or the Americas to spice things up. This might be a country whose people prefer individual sports like tennis and skiing, hiking and climbing, but to modify Sir Christopher Wren's epitaph, si requiris Helvetiam, circumspice (if you are looking for Switzerland, look around you). Whatever their history of questionable neutrality and reluctance to engage with the rest of Europe or the world outside, the Swiss undoubtedly live in God's country when it comes to nature. The entraning beauty of their mountains and lakes and breathtaking purity of their air, water and food can never be lauded enough. If they are not the best football team in Europe, they are forgiven, because they certainly excel in many other areas and after all they are a small country with a professional league to match. At least they have a place in football's history as the site of the first continental club, the Lausanne cricket and football club of 1860. That Switzerland have qualified for recent European Championships and World Cup finals and been a tough nut to crack for so many opponents is perhaps proof they have over-achieved. It didn't work out this time, but the Swiss are not about to join the San Marinos or Andorras of European football. I am sorry, therefore, to see the little square flags being put away and the national euphoria over, but grateful for the hospitality I have had and happy that EURO 2008 could come to this lovely country in the first place. (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

Results 10th June: Spain 4:1 Russia (Villa 20' 45' 75', Pavluchenko 86', Fabregas 90'), Innsbruck Sweden 2:0 Greece (Ibrahimovic 67', Hansson 73'), Salzburg Now we have seen all the teams, what have we learnt so far? Ibrahimovic's golazo against Greece was the most spectacular goal, Spain's 4-1 torching of Russia the most alluring and the Dutch's 3-0 thumping of Italy the stand-out result of the first slew of games. Fears that the Oranje would miss Arjen Robben proved groundless as they trounced the World Champions, defeating the Azzurri for the first time since Nottingham Forest were last crowned English champions. Italy has been awash with soul-searching today after such a clamorous capitulation. Italian back fours are supposed to be as compact as ranks of Roman legionary, not crumble like old Garibaldi biscuits left in the tin for too long. In midfield and attack too, the azure blues were decidedly off-colour as the Dutch sailed past them time and again, bagging three goals when it could have been more. All of a sudden, the in-vogue formation of 4-1-4-1 looked rather ropey. How fortunes change. Marco Van Basten is once again the Netherlands' poster boy after serious doubts were raised following his team's heavy weather in qualifying, while the blissful memory of the World Cup triumph in Germany has begun to fade. My suspicion is the Dutch are yet to prove they can be consistent so let us not get carried away. Remember how the Dutch steamrollered Yugoslavia 6-1 in the Euro 2000 quarter-final before grinding to a 0-0 draw and defeat on penalties against Italy in the semi-final. More recently, they began the 2006 World Cup at a canter, dispatching Serbia 6-0 in the first round before succumbing dismally 1-0 to Portugal in an ill-tempered game that produced four red cards and eight yellow cards. It was a Dutchman who coined the phrase 'sexy football' but it wasn't his countrymen playing the hottest soccer so far in the Alps. That award goes to Spain, who followed a stop-start 1-0 win over the USA in their final preparation match with a 4-1 mutilation of Russia and Guus Hiddink. How much should we read into Spain's deliciously simple pass and move soccer I am not sure. Russia were rubber in defence and, here comes my two cents, I could not imagine England being so outplayed had they qualified in place of them. Russia, let us not forget, were woeful 3-0 losers at Wembley in qualifying and also lost away to Israel, only scraping into the finals courtesy of England's self-destruction at home to Croatia in their final game. Guus Hiddink may be one of the world's top coaches, but his CV looked creased after Spain had finished with his latest team. Other sidesvmaking up the numbers are Poland and Turkey, who were utterly insipid losing to Portugal. And Greece, you might say, but I shall defend Otto Rehagel's team for providing some welcome entertainment. The sight of the Salzburg arena booing and whistling the Greeks for their negative play was wonderful theatre. Yes, we all want to be entertained and God forbid every team played like Greece, but I have a sneaking admiration for a team who managed to win Euro 2004 without any flair and who have the gall to turn up four years later with the same coach and same tactics! Plus we like to boo the baddie. The Czechs and French have yet to convince me while Sweden and Croatia's victories confirmed they will be tough nuts for any team to crack. Romania have yet to show what they are about, if anything while of the twin hosts, Switzerland could yet make it to the second round if results go their way. After, Holland, Portugal and Spain, the fourth and last team in the A-League thus far is of course Germany, who looked a much improved and more confident team than two years ago. That the Germans could be on the road to another final is demoralising on the one hand, but only to be expected on the other. There will be tougher tests than Poland ahead for Joachim Low's side, but there was an inescapable feeling during that game that we have been down this familiar road many times before. (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

EURO 2008: Netherlands 3:0 Italy (Van Nistelrooy 26', Sneijder 31', Van Bronckhorst 79' ), Stade de Suisse/Wankdorf, Bern Now hands up who predicted that scoreline? 'As a finishing touch, God created the Dutch' said a fan's t-shirt in Berne. And I wondered how much the hand of the divine was behind last night's lightning bolt of a scoreline at the Wankdorf. While not quite another 'Miracle of Bern', there was something magical about watching the world champions getting clubbed 3-0. There is also nothing like seeing football 'experts' get it so wrong. The 2002 World Cup could not be bettered for shock after shock, but Greece's win in Euro 2004 was also wonderfully unforeseeable. As we remind the Premier League ad nauseam, football needs to have that umpredictability factor for it to thrive. I was all about to pen a piece about the soccer gods punishing Italy for y ears of gamesmanship with some dodgy refereeing before, a) I remembered that already happend six years ago when Ecuadorian funny-man/referee Byron Moreno orchestrated a 2-1 win for South Korea over the Azzurri at the World Cup (though Italy also had themselves to blame that day to be fair), and, b) The half-time professors concluded that the goal was good because Gianluigi Buffon had pushed Christian Panucci off the field in the same movement which produced the strike. Confused? I am. I thought staying over the line was a classic way to play the opposition offside or your teamate on. If so, then our initial reaction was correct: that Ruud Van Nistelrooy was a country mile offside when he tapped in Wesley Sneijder's drive in the 27th minute. I'm not the only one. None other than Roberto Donadoni, Milan and Italy legend and current Azzurri coach, told Italian TV after the game that he thought it was clearly off. Italy, the soccer nation neutrals love to hate (Perche? Catenaccio, br ibing refs, Berlusconi, Materazzi...), paid for the Christian Vieri dive which helped eliminate Australia in World Cup 2006, as well as Marco Materazzi's foul-mouthed gamesmanship which saw Zinedine Zidane sent off in the final. Yes it was cruel, but we cannot blame Van Nistelrooy, even though he has been known to fool linesmen before. When he scored tonight he turned immediately to the linesman after netting and ran away convinced he was onside. The same striker also stayed on his feet minutes earlier when Buffon made contact with him in the area, upsetting his stride. I can't imagine an Italian player doing the same. That is the difference between Italy and the Netherlands at football. The Dutch play clean and foul clean too. Compare the card fest of blatant fouls and dissent Holland served up at the last World Cup with the Italian 'furbizia' (craftiness) which lets get away with it so often. If you were in any doubt, watch Materazzi's foul on the raiding Dirk Kuyt around the half hour mark in slow motion. Materazzi had nothing in his body language to suggest he was playing irreguarly, but he stealthily tapped Kuyt's right foot with his as he sped past, forcing the Liverpool man to lose his footing almost imperceptibly. The Italians are experts at shirt-tugging, niggling and upsetting their opponents and in 2006 escaped unpunished too much for their eventual victory to shine. The Italians cannot complain on the night anyway as the Netherlands had dominated the game before taking the lead against an anaemic Italy. There was nothing wrong with the Dutch's second goal in the 31st minute, which came only seconds after Giovanni Van Bronckhorst had cleared off his own line. Wesley Sneider's volley past Buffon was almost as surreal as his team's sky blue socks. Could the World Champions really be 2-0 down and so hopelessly on the ropes? Had the Italians' world-class goalkeeper not shown his class ten minutes lat er as Van Nistelrooy bore down on him, it would surely have been 3-0 Netherlands at the break. When Gianluca Zambrotta turned Van Bronckhorst's header past Buffon with eleven minutes to go, the karma was in full flow. Ok, enough Italy-bashing. I have always liked Roberto Donadoni and will feel sorry for him if this costs him his position, which despite his recent contract extension, has been hanging like a thread and rumored to be in its final days for some months. The Italians came back into the game after Alessandro Del Piero, enjoying an Indian summer, came on in the 64th minute to provide a roaming threat to the Dutch's d efence. A multi-man move in the 70th minute proved how good the Italians are and how they should not be written off yet. The Azzurri are traditionally slow-starters to tournaments and so it proved once more. But the world champions are far from beaten. In 1994 they lost their opening World Cup game to Ireland but then reached the final, which they only lost on penalties. The Netherlands had not beaten the Azzurri for 30 years before the match but before long, it seemed there was only going to be one winner on the night. Italy were just not at the races, as if they were pre-programmed to start tournaments slowly. While the 57 million national team coaches in Italy have begun throwing tomatoes, or should that be oranges, the Italy-bashers should beware. The siege mentality worked in their favour in 1982 and 2006, and they have two games left in which to perform. ... Not understanding Schweizer-Deutsch enough and not wishing to be bored by the French-Swiss commentating team, I watched the game on Italian-speaking Swiss TV. This was a whole lot better than the interminable post-game analysis on RAI, which lost me in its byzantine detail from irritating pundits, self-proclaimed soccer-boffins who almost sent me to sleep before I could hit the off button. You might think England is a football-loving country, but there is nowhere in Europe, with the possible exception of Spain's daily 'AS', which can hold a candle to the minutiae, the obsessive clinical dissection of the game, as practised in Italy. ... The Swiss reaction to their 1-0 loss to the Czechs could have come straight out of Fleet Street. A picture of Czech defender Tomas Ujfalusi handling the ball was splashed across the front pages of the local rags - 'Hands off our cup!' bleated the headline. Meanwhile, in another English parallel, the more cerebral side of the debate has centred around the preponderance of foreigners in the domestic game, which they have belatedly realised is hurting the Swiss national team on its big day at Euro 2008. (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

EURO 2008: France 0:0 Romania , Zurich It was inevitable after such a promising start to the tournament. France and Romania ground out a bore-draw in Zurich. While the 2000 winners France enjoyed the lion's share, or should that be the cockerel's share of the ball, they had no end product and Romania's defence did their job with some ease. This means both teams will be fired up when they play tonight's competitors in their second game. Italy v Holland was the stand-out game of the first round as soon as it was announced so let us hope it lives up to its hype. Bern today looked like it was hosting the World Cup with a sea of mostly Dutch fans flooding the historic city centre. The procession of orange across the bridge from the old town towards the stadium looked like the Pied Piper of Hamelin was in town. The Dutch exodus from Interlaken this morning was also a sight for anyone's eyes, clearly orchestrated, but as ever with the orange hordes, without a hint of trouble. If only every nation could have such a sense of reverie when it comes to football. And how strange that alcohol is often cited as a catalyst for trouble when the Dutch fans down gallons of it and still smile. The poor azzurri. The world champions share a border with Switzerland but their supporters are woefully outnumbered by Holland's. While Italy are traditionally not known for their away following, they did have a good turnout in Germany in 2006. Incidentally, the UEFA allocation to Italy was 6,000 tickets. Expect there to be at least four times that many orange shirts in the Wankdorf tonight. With both the world champions and the Dutch missing key players the game looks tough to call but the bookies are favoring Italy. (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