Mad Brit Diary

Greece's Euro title shows global talent divide has narrowed.

(Friday, July 9, 2004) -- Well, I managed to suffer through Euro 2004 and now I'm just waiting for August 14 when the English Premier League kicks off. Life must go on. But first let's pause and talk about Greece.

Pinch me, but is Greece the champion of Europe? Are you kidding? Well, throw me another wet teabag. Football is a funny game, isn't it. That's the magic of it, sometimes it's just so unpredictable. A team like Greece, that had never won a game in an international tournament, goes on to take the title. I mean, what on earth is happening? Has Alexander the Great come back to earth and possessed the body of Otto Rehhagel, the clever German who guided Greece to this victory?

Greece beat Portugal twice, as well as defending champion France and the then-unbeaten Czech Republic. That is no fluke, folks. It's just totally amazing. This has to be the biggest upset in international soccer. It's bigger than Denmark's European title in 1992 when there were only eight teams in the event. And Denmark had a much better team in 1992 with a number of notable players such as Peter Schmeichel, the brilliant Brian Laudrup, John Jensen and Morton Olsen. I mean, I hardly recognized many of the Greek players, except for Nikos Dabizas.

So the question is, was Greece so good or were Portugal, France and all the others pretty mediocre? Greece certainly looked good in defense. The back line was very disciplined. It looked like the back line of the great Italian teams of the past. And Greece did what England couldn't do -- hold on to a one-goal lead. It was risky stuff but, there again, the Greeks had no pressure on them and nothing to lose.

They looked more comfortable and unhurried in their play. The Greek's style was nothing special; in fact, it was pretty regular, even bland, but it got the job done. The team had no great individual stars that shone. It was a team blue-collar effort. It certainly wasn't the "jogo bonito," the "beautiful game."

Well, get used to it fans. We saw surprises at the 2002 World Cup with South Korea and Turkey doing so well and again at Euro 2004. The globalization of the game has become the great leveler. With foreign coaches guiding teams and players from all over the world competing on teams in Europe, there are no longer many secrets left. Everyone plays the same game now. There is no Italian, English or Brazilian style anymore, it's all pretty basic stuff. There's not too much difference between the big teams and the small ones, except for the paychecks. Be prepared for big surprises in the 2006 World Cup in Germany. Hey, maybe the United States will win it this time in a final against Egypt. The Mad Brit told you first.

So the U.S. men are ranked number seven in the world in the latest FIFA rankings. Let's see, you beat Grenada and Honduras and move up two places. Suddenly the Americans are ranked ahead of England, Italy, Argentina and Germany. The reckoning must be near.

Robert T. Magari writes: "Hey, Mad Brit, you need to watch the 1966 video more critically. It is the curse of the 'ghost' goal in the final that is haunting England. Leveling Wembley Stadium to the ground may help in future competitions. I really enjoy reading your columns. I just got back from (Euro 2004 in) Lisbon. I had a great time. Surprisingly, I found out that the English fans are well behaving. Well, there is some light at the end of the tunnel."

Tom Patton says; Sorry about (England's) terrible loss. I was pelted with verbal barrages myself. I suggest the next time England goes up 1-nil in a knock-out match, that it not drop back and try to defend to hold the lead: (1) The English don't do it very well (2) It saps the energy out of the players (3) They get more and more compressed in back until they are two meters in front of goal (4) Their keeper is suspect -- not his fault this time, but no heroics by the same token; and, most importantly (5) it has been proven six times in a row that it doesn't work.

"I really hope England wins something and soon. Being in South Florida with all its South Americans who hate England makes each big loss tougher. And other then the USA, my country, and Ireland, my fathers country, I always root for England and get my heart broken as well. . . If this Euro has proven anything, it's that unless you're Greek, there is nothing to be gained from trying to hang on and wait for a counter. Glad your feeling better and hope like hell England qualifies for Germany '06."

William Morkin writes: "Sir, when a team in any sport doesn't play well, some of the players pull out the excuse bag. Found inside are things, like, 'The turf gave way," "I wasn't fit and it's my clubs fault," "The ref's screwed us," etc. Never heard anyone on England's team say Portugal was a great team."

Dave Clark writes: "In your last column a reader wrote this: 'I think that diving by players is ruining soccer. Carding by referees does not seem to be preventing the activity. I think (world governing body) FIFA should adopt an alternative which might have more effect. Suppose FIFA introduced a penalty, awarding a team a free kick at the edge of the (opponent's) penalty box. . . A penalty like this might make players think twice about diving."

"I don't understand why FIFA doesn't review questionable dives and suspend players for it. Who would keep diving when they could be suspended for two-to-three games because of it? Forget free kicks, we already card players if they are caught in the game and the team is awarded a free kick for it. Only by coming down hard with fines and suspensions will we ever be rid of this travesty of the game."

J. Alan Miller writes: First, why in the world is the U.S. passing on the Copa America. If you are invited, you go. Duh! What am I missing here? I know (Major League Soccer) would miss a lot of its best players -- I have season tix to the Fire and it would be far less interesting without (DaMarcus) Beasley and (Chris) Armas -- but to see the U.S. potentially playing Argentina and Brazil for a legitimate trophy?!"

"Finally, some Eengland\Euro2004 observations. How was Frankie Lampard considered a fringe player (who was to be on the bench behind Nicky Butt) prior to Euro 2004? (He was) by far the best player in the disappointing England midfield. He shone, while everyone else was a flop -- (Paul) Scholes, (Steven) Gerrard, (David) Beckham -- none of them played up to his level. Further, how is it that England can not find another striker in the entire country? Could Sven (coach Sven-Goran Eriksson who admittedly did an amazing job with the team) not learn to kiss (Alan) Shearer's boots as he has Beckham's. Perhaps that would have been time better spent. Or have the sense to pick an in form backup like (Jermain) Defoe?

"Is it just me or were (Darius) Vassel and (Emile) heskey just wasting space on the bench. Which brings me to little (Philip) Neville. There is just no excuse for him ever getting back on the pitch for England. It's nothing personal -- he can play for Manchester United and it would probably be fortunate to have him (considering its other defensive options) but he is cursed when he plays for England. He will figure out a way to cost England the game. It was truly painful to watch and I can not believe there has not been more conversation about it. Whatever, I will try to put this behind me (and I am not even English!)."

Barton Lonnie writes: "I was rooting for your team. I read some of the comments about Beckham saying he was tired and it was (Real) Madrid's fault for him not being in shape. He's probably my favorite international player and my two daughters love him, but to me that seemed like a copout. Not just for him, but for all the Galacticos to claim that. They are world-class athletes that should well be able to improve their fitness on their own accord. But still I hate that they lost and (Wayne) Rooney got hurt."

Bill S. writes: "What's the world coming too when the USA has three-to-four goalies better than any England keeper. (Tim) Howard, (Kasey) Keller, (Brad) Friedel, and probably (Jonny) Walker are better than (David) James. Heck, (Tony) Meola's international experience might make him a better option than the English goalies. What went wrong in English soccer to explain this debacle?"

Bob Macdonald writes: "Sill chuckling over your column. It may be the lingering effects of too many efforts at heading those orange, water-laden, big-laced soccer balls of my youth (the '66 World Cup reference brings that to mind). I was looking to the Russian linesman when (Fabian) Barthez muffed that ball.

"I need to get those cards the kindly Scot sent. I love the one with the blood dripping from the thistle to share with my English pals who are still in mourning despite my attempts at bringing them around with offers of vinho verde and frango piri-piri."

Owen Come Home? Hargreaves is returning to Calgary, Alberta? Maybe he was just "confused" between Banff in Scotland and the one in Alberta. We spell his name differently up here in Edmonton, rhymes with 'poor,' where we "Canuckleheads" are still hoping that the Great White North qualifies for another World Cup. You kicked the dog, the cat, the guinea pig, but you probably missed the net. Keep up the good work."

Heard a rumor, have a gripe or a tip? Feeling lonely? E-mail the Mad Brit at themadbrit3@aol.com.