What other team(s) will you be supporting this summer?

Second for me will be Spain, would love to see them win back to back to back titles. I think they would become the first European side to win 3 in a row so I'll support Spain in their bid to make history.

My other team will be Portugal on account of them never having won an international title at senior level, it would be great to see Ronaldo add another achievement to his CV, moreover I've always had a soft spot for Portugal.

Ireland

My bet is on Portugal to win the tournament, in a Iberian final

Pietro Paolo Virdis wrote:

I'd love it if that scenario unfolded. With the distinct possibility of a Real-Barca Champions league final the storyline would be great.

I'm becoming more and more fond of both Mourinho and Ronaldo. It would be great if they could make Xavi and the lot second in every competition this year.

Spain/Holland. One of them is my first team, including Scotland (yes, I know, do one.) And the other is third.

My second team will obviously be Portugal.

I still don't think all the pieces of the puzzle are in place for the team, but it's getting there. I'm convinced João Moutinho will finally prove to the rest of Europe what Portugal has known for about four years now. I also think they have a really good goalkeeper in Rui Patricio, he's developed leaps and bounds over the past season or so. The missing peices are who plays as holding midfielder and striker. Other than that the team pretty much picks itself and those players who are certs really are world class players. I also think the tough group should help them.

steveeeeeeeee wrote:


Sorry steveeeeeeeee, but you mean that Moutinho will continue to prove that Portugal are a team of moaning, diving, bottling whingers?

Or that they might be the team that all non-partisan football fans have been waiting for, to be as good as Spain?

Yes, but with a nod towards Italy, who won the World Cups of 1934 and 1938 and the Olympics in Berlin in 1936. England (or Scotland) didn't send a team to any of those, although it's a matter of some conjecture whether they would have beaten that Italian team (or indeed the contemporary Austrians) on neutral ground anyway; in 1934 England beat Italy 3-2 at Highbury, in 1936 lost to Austria 2-1 in Vienna, in 1937 beat the Czechs 5-4 at White Hart Lane, in 1938 lost to the Swiss in Zurich, and in 1939 drew with Italy in Milan.

Had there been a "Euro '36" I think it's a leap of faith to suggest England or Scotland would have prevented Italy winning it.

1 Germany
2 Greece
3 Denmark
4 Poland
5 Ukraine
6 Czechia
7 Portugal
8 Russia
9 Sweden
10 Italy
11 Netherlands
12 France
13 Spain
14 Croatia
15 England
16 FOBROYI

heh, i love the way that in a thread about your second team at euro 2012, you wrote out all 16 teams just so you could put ireland last. ooh, let me taste your cold northern tears.

my sympathies tend to fluctuate depending on what happens in the tournament. realistically, my second team will be whoever is playing spain. i know i should want the best team to win but something perverse in my character always wants to see the best team beaten. the fact that the best team often loses is one of the great attractions of football, and spain's mastery in the last couple of tournaments, especially during the run of 1-0s to win the world cup, has come close to stifling that sense of unpredictability.

What with Croatia so low on so many lists here on OTF?
I'm curious to what the reason is.

I don't mind, and won't start to defend them whatever the reason might be.

garcia wrote:


Be fair Garse, it's the first chance I've had in 10 years.

Pietro Paolo Virdis wrote:


Probably irrational in my case. We've never actually played them in a full international, but the Zagreb Blue Boys were proper naughty during their visit to Linfield in the August prelims a few years ago. You know, wrecking pubs, swastika-shaped crocodile in the stands etc. They even smashed up the crappy coffeefranchise at Glentoran Airport.

When the Plues arrived for the second leg, the travelling fans got a Police escort for the entire two days they were there.

PS I'm expecting a chiding from Herr Altermann on behalf of the ABG/AGB, but imperial grand wizard Mitt Romney appeared in my dream the other day and said put ten bucks on Yogi's boys.

Current odds from William Hill:

9/4 Spain
3/1 Germany
7/1 Netherlands
8/1 England

14/1 Italy, France
20/1 Portugal, Russia
40/1 Ukraine
50/1 Croatia, Poland, Czechia
66/1 Sweden, Greece
80/1 Gomorrah
100/1 Denmark

Yes, I've met some of those Croatian travelling fans. In my case it was a dozen from Varazdin, here in Gothenburg. Fucking moronic nutcases the lot. The kind that steal your wallet as soon as they can, especially from other Croatian fans, as a lot are naive in thinking they'd never do that to you just because you're wearing a scarf with the same colours. The Bad Blue Boys are among the worst fans in Europe, unfortunately some otherwise sensible fellow countrymen mention their name and "adventures" with a weird sort of pride in their voice.

I don't have a dog in this race but I have a soft spot for Czech Rep. I'll follow with a neutral's interest the fortunes of Spain, Germany, Netherlands and England. May the luckiest team win.

Assuming this is nothing to do with who might win, but just "soft spots", I have two:

The Netherlands - I work, and have worked, with many Dutch people or those of Dutch heritage and they seem almost 100% lovely folk, who speak better English than most English, with a very pleasant and unique accent. The interviewer at the start of Ash's Jack Names the Planets is a lovely example. Someone will tell me they were Belgian now, you watch.

And secondly, I can be fairly confident in being alone in this - Greece. My closest mate at work is an absolute sport-obsessive Greek Australian and will support Greece in anything and everything unless Australia are involved. It's impossible for this not to rub off, despite the fact he was almost unbearable for about 6 months in 2004.

Jack Names the Planets

England.

My usual subjects are missing - Yugoslavia don't exist anymore (I've tried with Croatia, it's not the same) and Belgium are still avoiding qualification for these things, so I supposed the nearest half decent 2nd tier nation who are likeable enough are probably the Czechs. Not interested in the big hitters or the makeweights.

This is for my 1st team btw, we've never qualified for the bugger.

Looking at Duncan's list, I could probably renege on that and list any one of Sweden, Denmark, Russia and the hosts, but I dunno...I'm not feeling it.

I think my second team will be England. But then it has to be really given that my first team is Anybody But England.

But to be serious I'd probably say Portugal and Germany as I spent time in both countries when they were host in 04 and 06 and I had a great time.