Swede or sour? With no England at the finals, can finding another team to support have its benefits?
Jon Holmes looks ahead to an England-free Euro 2008 and ponders what might have been had the Three Lions made it. < Back to Story
Quick links:
- News archive
- Knockout Chart
- Sky Bet
- Live Scorecentre
Your View Archive
Player Rater
During Euro 2008 we will be giving you the chance to rate player performance at every game.
Forget England's virtual reality
Jon Holmes looks ahead to an England-free Euro 2008 and ponders what might have been had the Three Lions made it
Spain homecoming
European champions Spain return home to a rapturous welcome at the Plaza Colon in Madrid.
Final Fans
Reaction from Berlin, Madrid and Vienna as Spain clinch the European Championship title.
Germany 0 Spain 1
A look at the best images as Spain beat Germany 1-0 to win Euro 2008.
Route to the Euro final
Ahead of Sunday's showdown, we look at how Germany and Spain made it to the Euro 2008 final.
Russia 0 Spain 3
Click here for the best of Russia's Euro 2008 semi-final clash with Spain in pictures.
Euro 08 WAGS
The wives and girlfriends who have made an appearance during Euro 2008.
Germany 3 Turkey 2
Pictures from the first Euro 2008 semi-final in Basel as Germany take on Turkey.
Spain 0 Italy 0 (4-2 on penalties)
Pictures from Spain's Euro 2008 quarter-final encounter with Italy in Vienna.
Around the site today
Mobile Services
Get news and premiership goals on your mobile or your handheld device or mobile phone
Desktop Alerts
Free news alerts deliver headlines direct to your Windows PC desktop
RSS Feeds
Feeds offer an easy way to keep up with Euro2008 throughout the day
Newsletter
Have the top news and columnists delivered to your inbox every morning
365 network
-
Sports
-
Betting & Gaming
-
Mobile, Fun & Games
Comments (10)
Graeme Holmes (Crystal Palace fan) says...
The forthright comments of Jon are well worthy of one belonging to the Holmes clan. Keep up the good work but make sure that as a Plymouth Argyle fan, you let Crystal Palace gain promotion to the Premier League next season. Meanwhile, watch how many Austrian lagers you consume!
Posted 17:47 23rd June 2008
The editor says.... Haha, many thanks! No promises for next season though, it's every man for himself... J
Saeed Mohamed (Arsenal fan) says...
I am a Swedish fan and I'm cheering them to the final! I think we'll do good since we got Henrik Larsson back from retirement. I believe we'll go well even if we don't win Euro 2008. C'mon SWEDEN!!!
Posted 14:13 9th June 2008
Catrin R (Celtic fan) says...
Just a reminder, England has not beaten Sweden since 1968.
Posted 18:19 7th June 2008
The editor says.... Very true Catrin. Proof that this scenario was pure fantasy!
Fumio Kobayashi (Everton fan) says...
Jon-san... the excitement builds!! Live football on my TV again (here in Japan), after an absence of a month since the end of the Premier League!! Who's playing in the first game? It's usually the hosts isn't it?.. so must be Austria v Switzerland. Best getting that one out of the way early. Looking forward to seeing Robbie Slater battling it out with Marc Hottiger. Keep up the good work mate.. gambatte!! My tip is Portugal! Did you know Nani means What in Japanese!?
Posted 04:11 7th June 2008
The editor says.... Thanks Fumio, we all know the Japanese love their football so make sure you spread the word about the Euros! I expect Arnie and Ursula Andress to inspire both host nations - apparently Arnie used to be a left winger before he bulked up, while Ursula has a bad reputation for diving. Kampai my friend, kampai! J
Adam Upsall (Boston United fan) says...
There is a tournament on? You would be hard pushed to know it! Still at least the pubs won't be rammed with In-ger-lund 'fans'. I'm looking forward to enjoying the games without trying to work out how it may impact my trip to the finals. Because I'm not going. Thing is I bet by bedtime Saturday night I'll be checking for cheap flights and trying to work out how to get tickets.
Posted 21:28 6th June 2008
The editor says.... The UK is clearly in a massive grump about not being invited to the party - and the annoying 'who will YOU support?' trailers from a rival broadcaster aren't helping. Especially the bloke who says he's cheering for Italy because they've got Totti, despite the fact he retired from the national team after the World Cup. Oh well, don't let that stand in the way of a really tired old "joke" about fit Italian women. Now if only someone had been brave enough to say they were supporting Austria because of Christian Fuchs...
Johnny O'shea (Plymouth Argyle fan) says...
Good work Jon - look forward to more of the same. I think one clear benefit from England's non-appearance is the new found value of the office sweepstake. Ive been a part of these previously, and while half hoping that Morocco can somehow go on and win you the 16 quid, it really wouldn/t compensate for the heartbreak of another English penalty disaster if they did. This time though I can put all my energies behind the nation that fate has assigned to me via that folded bit of Post-It note in Jennie the receptionist's charity baseball cap. Russia incidentally. Maybe you could arrange one for your blog readers to participate in??? I'm sure we could trust you to do the draw... put me in for one.
Posted 17:21 6th June 2008
The editor says.... Great idea sir, the tournament is almost upon us and I'm not sure how we'll work it but will get my thinking cap on! At least supporting Russia is an excuse to drink plenty of vodka and do some of that Cossack dancing. Na zdorovia!
Robin Brown (Hartlepool United fan) says...
As a cricket fan and a football fan, I'm vaguely relieved we won't have to put up with the wall-to-wall footie mania followed by the inevitable limp failure. And I can concentrate on Ryan Sidebottom's slower one.
Posted 12:07 6th June 2008
The editor says.... It's a tournament for the purists - no one wants to jump on the bandwagon because there isn't one this year, so we can concentrate solely on the football. I will be at Trent Bridge on Sunday (if the third Test is still going by then) and will be canvassing views from my Dad and my brother, so expect some slightly misinformed opinions peppered with mild xenophobia (not saying from whom though!)
Colin Waite (Newport County fan) says...
I'm supporting Germany - true European winners... always in it to win it, with flair and skill.
Posted 18:28 5th June 2008
The editor says.... I must admit, the Germans threw off the shackles at the last World Cup and played some of the best football of the tournament. I'm a big fan of Mario Gomez and he's my tip to finish as top scorer. However, don't forget Germany haven't won a game at the Euro finals since their Wembley triumph over the Czech Republic in 1996, so they need to clear that hurdle first.
Carlo Corazzin (Bognor Regis Town fan) says...
Jonno! Great blog mate, haven't heard from you since you linked me with that move to Empoli all those years ago. I'm well excited about the Euros. Tell me, how do you rate Austria's chances of avoiding humiliation on home soil? Give my best to Luggy and the boys, Carlo xxx
Posted 14:50 5th June 2008
The editor says.... Basically they'll have to avoid defeat against Croatia and then beat Poland to have any real chance of going through. A tough ask, but it's possible. Can't see them causing the Germans too many problems. Jon
Badger Head (Queens Park Rangers fan) says...
Top blog Jon. Am interested to know your views on Benjamin Huggel's career as a landscape gardener prior to taking up football and how this could help his performances in Euro 2008.
Posted 11:21 5th June 2008
The editor says.... Thanks Badger. What a great fact - perhaps you can provide some more during the tournament, they'd be well received I'm sure. Benjamin Huggel was of course banned for six games by UEFA for his part in the infamous brawl with Turkey in their World Cup 2006 qualifying play-off. He kicked assistant coach Mehmet Ozdilek, which pretty much triggered the mayhem that follows. Not what you'd expect from the Swiss equivalent of Diarmuid Gavin...