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Italy: finally rolled over
There was no feeling of joy or elation from the Spaniards. There was a flat air and little atmosphere which reflected the match itself. After such an open-hearted, attack-minded tournament thus far, I really do hope this was a one-off. It was certainly no way for the reigning world champions to perform.
Martin Tyler
Martin Tyler has put off his summer holidays to head to Austria and Switzerland for Euro 2008 - and he'll be sharing his experiences right here on skysports.com.
While England's flops are spending the summer on beaches across the globe, Sky Sports' voice of football will be taking in the colour and excitement of the European Championships - and you can read what he's been up to in his exclusive Euro 2008 diary.
Entry number five rounds off the quarter-finals, where Turkey limped through, Russia, under his old friend Guus Hiddink ran Holland ragged in extra-time and Spain overcame Italy.
But it was not just the rising temperatures that made Martin's blood boil in Sunday night's game...
I had Friday night off for the Croatia-Turkey quarter-final, but was in Basel so I decided to pop in and see the Russian squad and catch up with Guus Hiddink.
There was a definite feel of having done well to get through the group and having got yet another side into the knockout stages of a tournament where he was up against his native Holland, Guus had already made his mark on Euro 2008. But I don't think even he or his players felt they were on the verge of something even greater.
That might have been something to do with the fact that after that Sweden game they did not get back to their Innsbruck base until 2am the following morning! Guus had clearly given them a bit of a dressing down after the first two games, but he is a people person and understands the needs of his players.
He told me that the previous Russian management style had been based a little on fear and reflected the previous political regime, and since taking over had been trying to open their minds to the possibilities, give them a little more freedom as it were.
He had been impressed with how quickly they had learned and if I tell you that the short gap between Sweden and Holland - and no doubt their celebrations - had meant they spent just 15 minutes on the training pitch prior to the quarter-final, it proves that point.
Having left Hiddink and his players it was back to the hotel to watch Friday's quarter-final feeling pretty wary. When Ivan Klasnic scored with two minutes left of extra-time I thought that was it and we had another wonderful story following his problems with illness. So, I started getting ready for bed and the next time I looked at the screen the ball was flying off Semih's boot into the Croatian net and we were headed for penalties.
Slaven Bilic was entitled to celebrate wildly because they had to all intents and purposes won 1-0, but I am not sure what he was thinking of at the final whistle. The shoot-out result was inevitable I felt, because the momentum was with Turkey and the commentators' dream of Semih scoring the goal - and indeed a penalty - to take his side into the semis, came true.
But what sort of side they send out against Germany, Lord knows. I had, as commentators do, been ticking them off one by one and the last thing they needed was Nihat limping out of the tournament. There is talk of the reserve goalkeeper having to don outfield kit and even our old friend Servet sat out the Croatia game - and it takes a lot to sideline him from what we have seen.
I actually asked one of the Turkish commentators about the big defender and Servet had told him that if there was any way he could have put one foot in front of the other, he would've played. It leaves Turkey with one fit centre-half in Gokhan Zan and the irony won't be lost when I tell you his nickname is The Glass Man, because he's always injured!
Magical
Saturday night had all of us in the media section applauding Russia - as I'm sure you all were at home or in pubs and bars. It was really a game of two counter-attacking sides and although they nullified one another to start with, Hiddink's youngsters came terms with it much quicker than the Dutch.
It also brought up the old switch-off factor after Marco van Basten rested so many players for their third group game. We saw Croatia do the same and go out, we have since seen Spain do it and struggle to get past Italy and Holland's performance clearly proved that players just cannot be expected to turn it off and on when they are used to the hectic schedule that is tournament football.
In extra-time though, the Russians were just magical. Little Andrei Arshavin has been getting better and better but was clearly out on his feet - but still managed to catch Dutch snapping and score the third. The first thing Van Basten did after the game was to apologise to Edwin Van Der Sar, saying he deserved better protection from his defenders and as such a fine goalkeeper, deserved to bow out with a winners' medal.
But it was not to be and the Hiddink success story goes on. There was no time to catch up with the man after the game because I didn't leave the stadium until 12.45am and had to be up to catch a train some five-and-a-half hours later.
I did bump into my Sky Sports colleague Alan Smith, who arrived here a couple of days ago. He was staying in the Russian team hotel, so I guess he might have had even less sleep than me! Still, Alan's budget allowed him to fly to Vienna, so I was not too sympathetic!
My latest train journey saw me meet an English fan called Paul, who had bought his tickets long before England failed to book their place in Austria and Switzerland. His mates had backed out, but he kept going and seemed to be glad he had. He did reveal that the black market has, as ever, been doing a roaring trade with tickets and it is something that needs to be looked at. The touts are from all countries as well and having been on more trains than Casey Jones I can confirm they have tapped into the captive audience they provide.
Cynical
The other noticeable thing has been the sudden rise in temperature out here. I started the tournament wearing thermals for some games but now, even the long-sleeved shirt I have to wear for SBS Australia is too much! I had lunch with Paul in the restaurant car and when the bill came, I asked if the sauna was included, it had been that stifling!
On arriving in Vienna it was straight to the hotel to dump off my luggage and freshen up and then down to the stadium where, I am sorry to say, I thought the tournament took a turn for the worse. We saw, for the first time, the cynical side of the game.
Italy seemed more reliant than ever of hitting the ball straight up to the big man up front, Luca Toni, to the sort of extent we don't even see in our Conference. Bearing in mind there was no Andrea Pirlo - who is probably their best at getting the ball to the big man - Italy seemed to know their only hope was to take it the distance.
But what really made my blood boil was this issue of players putting the ball out of play. It is something we have sorted out here in the Premier League and it is something that Uefa and indeed Fifa, need to sort out now. We had Alberto Aquilani terrified of putting the ball out and incurring the wrath of his fans and then Antonio Di Natale rolling off the pitch and then back on it, just as Spain were attacking.
What it means is that all a striker has to do if he loses the ball and his team comes under attack is go down injured. It all made for very unpleasant viewing and the whistles and jeers around the stadium summed up the air of cynicism and disappointment that I certainly felt.
Getting the train back, it was full of Spanish and Italian fans and there was no feeling of joy or elation from the Spaniards. There was a flat air and little atmosphere which reflected the match itself. After such an open-hearted, attack-minded tournament thus far, I really do hope this was a one-off. It was certainly no way for the reigning world champions to perform.
We will find out in the semi-finals and I am delighted to say, my accreditation has been sorted out! I do think one more minor miracle is beyond the walking wounded of Turkey and I am pretty sure that Spain won't beat Russia 4-1 this time...
Comments (6)
Joe Richardson (Leeds United fan) says...
Do you really think Russia would've been able to overpower the dutch had they not had Kolodin rightly sent off ? that ball never went out of play
Posted 14:44 30th June 2008
Mike Law (Chelsea fan) says...
I agree with Martin Tyler about the business of kicking the ball out - or not - when a player is injured. It's totally open to abuse by the "injured" player's team, so it should only really be the referee who stops play - but unfortunately you can't guarantee he'll get it right either! I'm not even convinced that the Premier League has actually nailed the problem although it is less frustrating here than abroad. Maybe the only way round it is to follow the rugby codes and allow injured players to be treated while the game continues. I'm sure we'd see much less "simulation". Finally, on the simulation issue, I thought the referees were going to clamp down hard on diving etc with yellow cards. On that basis, it would appear that only two players have dived during the whole tournament so far!!! Discuss.
Posted 11:39 25th June 2008
Greg Evans (Manchester United fan) says...
I agree with the above 2 writers. Italy wasn´t bad at all, it was down to who was on the pitch. Camoranesi should have been on to start instead of Perrotta (you saw his immediate impact) and probably they should have benched Toni who was a disappointment in the World Cup as well. In Jamaica he would be described as LBW (Long, Big and Worthless). If not Camoranesi, Del Piero could have started in that role and I agree with the writer above, he was brought on for penalties he shouldn´t have been "saved". Cassano had a good game with some neat dribbling and helping to create half chances. Grosso was also very active and would not have spent so much time in the Spain area had Italy gone out with an intention of playing for penalties, he was up a lot going at Ramos the whole game. I think Spain was better, more fluid and created more chances, Italy created fewer but better chances making Casillas really work. Italy did well for being without Cannavaro, Materazzi, Gattuso and Pirlo. Absences of a foursome of that calibre would affect any team´s play. But I found Chiellini to be quite a revelation. He will be key if Juve make a run at the Champions League.
Posted 15:27 24th June 2008
John Barron (Leeds United fan) says...
Well the question that arises for me is who is going to stop Germany. Living here amongst the Germans makes me realize how detirmind and expectant they have been all the time. Now they quite openly say they are going to win it. If that is said in England it is usually said by the press after having beaten San Marino 1-0 in a friendly. We are all hungry for a change a good England quailifying, we over 50's deserve it. So come on now lets get focused.
Posted 21:31 23rd June 2008
Kay Bainsy (Wolverhampton Wanderers fan) says...
I have to say it was down to Donadoni's failure as a manager at this level. First, and foremost why choose someone with relatively inexperience at club level, let alone at national level? Secondly, why take the Serie A top scorer Alex Del Piero and leave him on the bench? What a waste, Bundesliga top scorer and Serie A - Toni and Alex - would have been the ideal strike force. Any national team, even England, could not leave Rooney on the bench, so why Donadoni? Secondly, no playmaker Pirlo, no creativity which is true. So where can this be generated, ie, Alex and Camoranesi were the alternative options, you do not use players like these to save games, they should be on to win the games and provide the supply to Toni. Perrrota, playing a Totti/Zidane role?? Apart from this, tacticallly Donadoni got it totally wrong, it could and should have won on penalties, Buffon did his part, De Rossi did not help. But when Buffon saved the penalty, the next one was massive, the whole Azzuri depended on this, and its true followers. Give it to Alex, as he has been in competitions of this magnitude, and scored in the final last time. They should of switched from him to 4th taker, as this was make or break, as we all know now. What's the use if the 4th misses (Di Natale) and Spanish score, no point in Alex's sub, and no 5th penalty. As a manager on millions of Euros this was simple, but it seems the simple things or mistakes in life that cause the detrimental faiings that we all have to sufferl. Bad tactical management, bring back Lippi, who uses his head and pride.
Posted 20:52 23rd June 2008
Peter Wenham (Tottenham Hotspur fan) says...
I don't think Italy played that badly/flatly-I've just watched the replay and there were plenty of 1/2 chances at both ends. True, Luca Toni is wasteful and shouldn't have been playing up front alone. Inzaghi, as he showed at the last World Cup, should have been in the squad - bad selection - as he's the only one who can shoot. Bad choice (like Terry for the crucial one in the CL!) of pen takers, too. Without Pirlo and Gattuso as well as Cannavaro it was going to be hard. But also: what was this, Azurri playing in White, when Blue is their colour and it doesn't clash with red/black does it? Ridiculous, and echoing England's washout performances in that lack of colour (play much better in red)! How can supporters chant 'Come on the Blues' if they're in white surrender? Furthermore, what is it with these baggy 'shorts'? The new prudery of the naughties, with only the knee showing. How can they run/shoot(a penalty)/play with these acres of white flapping baggily about their persons? It's like bondage, and surely something for opponents to hang on to. Who designs these ridiculous outfits that look like a pair of curtains - they should pull themselves together! Americans, it seems - basketball ghetto 'fashion'.(and have you seen the new boxers and their silky parachutes?). Soon they'll be wearing longs, or Nadal-type sailor's loons! I wouldn't feel confident in a pair like that... This seems as good an explanation for the performance on the night as any other.
Posted 16:41 23rd June 2008