June 5, 2012
Foster’s Futbol Brew, Batch Number Two:
Some of you follow the World Cup, but perhaps this is the first or second time following the European Championships. Some of you who may not be as familiar with the tourney’s top players, nearly all of whom play for Club soccer somewhere in Europe. For those of you who follow Club teams like me in the English Premier League (EPL), Serie A in Italy, La Liga in Spain and other European clubs, you've probably begun to hear about some rising stars. For some European national sides, the next generation is here. This is a sneak-peak at some of the rising stars to follow on their national squads that should have a big impact:
Number one on your radar should be 23-year-old Mesut Ozil, a German of Turkish decent. Since his World Cup splash in 2010, the attacking midfielder Ozil (also spelled Oezil since I can’t create an umlot!) has made a big impact on his Spanish team Real Madrid, to whom he was transferred soon after receiving the Golden Ball Award for best player of the 2010 World Cup. Will Germany surprise at the Euro 2012? No, since Spain’s David Villa became injured and is out for the duration of the tourney, Germany is a slight favorite over Spain to win it all. Ozil just may be the most important cog in his German wrecking machine…he’s the big set-up man for their famed strikers Klose & Gomez.
Another German that made a big splash in the World Cup 2010, Thomas Mueller, was actually the top scorer in the World Cup. The question was whether he could keep up that standard in club play…well, he’s on the Bayern Munich Team that made it to the UEFA Champions League Final, where he scored what appeared to be the winning goal late in the game (the manager pulled him from the game, but Chelsea tied it last-minute and ended up winning it all in PK’s, to Mueller & Bayern fans’ dismay). Mueller only scored 7 times in the regular season in the Bundesliga…not a lot for a forward, even one who doesn’t start every game on a stacked team like Bayern Munich. Perhaps he needs the assists from a magician midfielder like Ozil to convert more goals. I’d put money on Mueller being the Euro 2012 tourney’s top scorer. In fact, I just did…now I can truly say I put my money where my mouth is!!
The Generation ’87 of France is just blossoming, with 4 or 5 of these young talents tearing it up throughout European Clubs. Perhaps the one who’s been hottest is Hatem Ben Arfa. Out of nowhere, he’ll be helping his G’87 mate Karim Benzema torch their opponents. Although not as brilliant a passer as Messi, Ben Arfa has shown himself to be perhaps quicker and stronger with the ball. He can dribble most the way down the field and score all on his own…much like Maradona did in a few World Cup games back in the 80's. (For more on the group of young Frenchmen that won the Under-17 UEFA Championship together that are now starring on the French national squad, read http://www.uefa.com/uefaeuro/
My dark-horse candidate to make it through to the elimination round out of Group C is Croatia. One of the young, up and coming strikers to lead them is Edin Dzeko. While he didn’t get much playing time on Manchester City, he did score 4 goals in one of his earlier outings, and scored the first of two goals Man City needed to beat QPR in extra time, in the final game of the EPL season, one of the most thrilling games of the year. He helped them clinch Man City’s first championship in over 40 years.
Dzeko’s teammate, who did get most of the starting time at Man City, is Mario Balotelli. He plays for Italy, and will want to prove he is the better striker for Man City by beating Croatia when they meet in their Group C matchup. The outcome of that game will most likely determine which team moves on, and which one goes home early from the tourney. If you haven’t seen Balotelli play, you’ll be in for a treat. He’s a physical beast, tall, fast and powerful. But he’s also a hothead, and not necessarily a team player. I’d say he’s the TO (Terrell Owens of the NFL, if I must elaborate) of European soccer. If he can keep his temperament under control, avoid getting too many yellow (or red!) cards, he should bring some much-needed athleticism and aerial dominance to a more traditionally “controlled and conservative” Italian side known more for their lock-down defense than anything else.
Cesc Fabregas – A Spaniard midfielder who quickly rose during the World Cup concurrently with a great season in the English Premier League (Arsenal) the year the Spaniards won the World Cup (with 13 goals, tied for sixth in the English Premier League)…and he played off the bench, that’s how deep Spain is! If Spain is going to do the near-impossible accomplishment of winning a second consecutive Euro championship WITH a World Cup Championship in between, Fabregas will have to step up. His creativity will be needed with an absent David Villa.
So now you’ve heard of some big up and comers in the Euro. Who else will make a big name for himself, out of nowhere? And which of the well-known mainstays will make the big plays to put their team on top?
What is Ronaldo's impact on Portugal? He lit it up again at Real Madrid, but will he have the support he needs to carry his now under-dog team to victory? His team is in THE Group of Death, Group B…can he help Portugal pull of an unlikely upset against the likes of Germany or Holland?
On Russia, you’ve got the streaky Andrei Arshavin, who disappointed heavily in the last couple seasons in the EPL. His playing time was cut back, and for good reason. He only scored when it didn’t matter, and just couldn’t re-capture the magic he showed in the recent World Cup. But maybe he plays his best when on the field for his country…so let’s see if he can help Russia win Group A (as expected, and playing in the weakest of four groups).
Will Wayne Rooney, coming out of the EPL as the second-top goal scorer with 27, shine in his prime? Will his supporting cast in England, much of which is experienced but getting over the hill, propel Rooney to the winner’s circle? Perhaps his new head of hair he gained in the previous offseason has him brimming with confidence, and he’ll give the Queen a real jubilee!
With the usual suspects from Holland peaking over the last two years, including RVP (Robin Van Persie, EPL’s top goal scorer with 30 at Arsenal), Arjen Robben, Dirk Kuyt and Wesley Sneijder, the Dutch are one of the tourney’s favored teams. But can these players improve on the team chemistry that led them to the WC 2010 Final? Perhaps the Holland coach should bench their locker room poison, the bad-boy flopper Robben in favor of role players who don’t waste good possessions in the box in order to convert more opportunities (if ESPN is reading my lowly blog, please broadcast my advice to team Oranje’s manager, for their sake!).
I’m looking forward to this tournament, just a few days to go before the group stage begins!!!
I really like this one. Makes me see more aware of rising stars which will make the games more interesting. We'll see how many pan out. And Robben is a good flopper, and I think, in the World Cup final, there was a great opportunity to flop in the box but he stuck with it and the ref didn't blow the whistle.
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