SOCCER SPORT !

[Raza]

Eder with the winning goal of Euro 2016.

Who thought that phrase would ever be said? But what a beauty.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

And Sissoko was the clear best performer in the Euro final. Who would have guessed that?

[bolaberlim]

Yeah, but every tackle endangers the well being of another player.

Weren't you the one criticizing players for being pussies just a couple pages ago?

No, I said todays game is a pussy game compared to the old days. And it is. Anyone can get hurt in a match just by falling the wrong way, but not every tackle is the same. THAT tackle on Cristiano was a yellow, clear as day. If intentional it would have been a red.

[bolaberlim]

And Sissoko was the clear best performer in the Euro final. Who would have guessed that?

Not even close, the best performer was Rui Patricio.

[Raza]

Not even close, the best performer was Rui Patricio.

Yes, Rui Patricio was excellent, that's true. I meant best outfield performer.

[tribe125]

Well done, Portugal. I started the match supporting France but finished it supporting Portugal.

France will have a sorrowful inquest over that one.

[bolaberlim]

After a night of celebration, I have this to say about our team:

-It was not one of the best teams we ever had, in 2004 I think we had the best lineup of the competition
-The football was nothing to write home about, not a lot of creativity, not a lot of individuality, but a lot of team work- this is something new in our team
-If it was not my own country playing, I'd probably not see the matches, they were not an exciting thing to see
-We played in 4-4-2 for most of the competition, instead of the more natural 4-3-3 we are used to, I think this is what made our football so lackluster
-my dream to see Cristiano on the left and Quaresma on the right in the same matches is still unfulfilled, only happened once in a friendly game that we won 7-0

-My favorite player of the competition was Raphael Guerreiro, we've been having trouble on both the right and the left of our defense for a the past few years, on the left Fabio Coentrão has been ok but his injury left him out. Raphael did a superb job filling the post. On the right...meh. We're crap.

- Our central defenders are old, I don't see anyone in the new generation able to fill the shoes of Pepe or Ricardo Carvalho or even José Fonte. At least not yet.

-Our midfield remains promising, the new generation seems to have quality to replace the old guys, William Carvalho redeemed himself in the final from the crappy performances he'd been having. Maybe there's a good player there after all. João Mário , Renato Sanches and Danilo have a solid future ahead. And there are other young guys like Ruben Neves that didn't make the cut- he's 19, he has time- that also will be part of the future national team.

- On the front we have a couple of kids that have potential like André Dias, but the talent of Cristiano, Quaresma, even Nani is not there as far as I can see. When these guys leave the national team- and it won't be long before they do- we'll suffer a downgrade in quality. Maybe this new way of playing as a team will be a defining factor. On the other hand we are european champions in U17, maybe there is talent there waiting to show.

Iceland was my favorite team. I wish they had gone further.

We finally won. I can't believe it!

[bolaberlim]

And finally this:

http://9gag.com/gag/ajDXOzx?ref=android.s.fb

[shameless]

And finally this:

http://9gag.com/gag/ajDXOzx?ref=android.s.fb

there goes the Frenchman's wallet !!!!

[Raza]

After a night of celebration, I have this to say about our team:

-It was not one of the best teams we ever had, in 2004 I think we had the best lineup of the competition
-The football was nothing to write home about, not a lot of creativity, not a lot of individuality, but a lot of team work- this is something new in our team
-If it was not my own country playing, I'd probably not see the matches, they were not an exciting thing to see
-We played in 4-4-2 for most of the competition, instead of the more natural 4-3-3 we are used to, I think this is what made our football so lackluster
-my dream to see Cristiano on the left and Quaresma on the right in the same matches is still unfulfilled, only happened once in a friendly game that we won 7-0

-My favorite player of the competition was Raphael Guerreiro, we've been having trouble on both the right and the left of our defense for a the past few years, on the left Fabio Coentrão has been ok but his injury left him out. Raphael did a superb job filling the post. On the right...meh. We're crap.

- Our central defenders are old, I don't see anyone in the new generation able to fill the shoes of Pepe or Ricardo Carvalho or even José Fonte. At least not yet.

-Our midfield remains promising, the new generation seems to have quality to replace the old guys, William Carvalho redeemed himself in the final from the crappy performances he'd been having. Maybe there's a good player there after all. João Mário , Renato Sanches and Danilo have a solid future ahead. And there are other young guys like Ruben Neves that didn't make the cut- he's 19, he has time- that also will be part of the future national team.

- On the front we have a couple of kids that have potential like André Dias, but the talent of Cristiano, Quaresma, even Nani is not there as far as I can see. When these guys leave the national team- and it won't be long before they do- we'll suffer a downgrade in quality. Maybe this new way of playing as a team will be a defining factor. On the other hand we are european champions in U17, maybe there is talent there waiting to show.

Iceland was my favorite team. I wish they had gone further.

We finally won. I can't believe it!

I think that's a fair assessment. I would also say that the tournament got the winners the quality of football played deserved. Overall, it was a negative football tournament, favoring defense (except in rare occasions) and goals were hard to come by. There were no enterprising attacking squads, which made Iceland all the more interesting to watch, because no one else really stepped up. When you're a country of like 25 people fielding a squad of 23, you make concessions to reality and play counterattacking, but when you're England and can't put together a cohesive attack with the talent that's in their squad, it's a real disappointment.

Overall, this Euro was the most boring major tournament I've seen in my lifetime. Not a good advertisement for soccer in the US.

[Raza]

And finally this:

http://9gag.com/gag/ajDXOzx?ref=android.s.fb

Warms the heart. It really is the best of football fandom. Like when Cristiano was stretchered off and everyone, French and Portuguese, gave him an ovation; no one threw coins at him, or bottles filled with urine, or anything like that (in Philly, we've thrown batteries at players for turning down a team). I may not like the guy, but his talent and commitment cannot be questioned after his display yesterday (even if he is a showboat). Portugal had a "win one for the Gipper" moment and they came through.