EC 2012 predictions: Group B

[Ron Obvious]

As I said in my previous post on Group A, all corrections and additions are welcome.

Group B - "The Group of Death"

It's not really too controversial to say that the 3 favourites for the title are, in order, Germany, Spain, and Holland (or The Netherlands, if you prefer) and two of them are in one group. Add former winners Denmark and former finalists Portugal and you have probably the most interesting group of the 4.

Denmark

It might be tempting to dismiss Denmark as the whipping boys of this group, but it should be remembered that they finished above Portugal in their qualifying campaign. The team is better than the sum of its parts as is usual for Denmark, but even though there are no Laudrups or Smeichels in this generation, it would be a mistake to take them lightly. Managed by Morten Olsen.

Holland

Poor Holland -- they always seem to get the group of death. On the other hand, they always survive them only to then implode in the elimination rounds because of infighting or other failure to live up to their potential. The last WC was a notable exception, of course, but who really enjoyed watching that team compared to previous editions? Up front is an embarrassment of riches with the top scorer in the Bundesliga, Huntelaar, and the top scorer in the Premiership, van Persie in the form of their lives. What a shame they can't seem to play together. In the middle there are still the dirty bastard van Bommel, and continual red card risk and enforcer de Jong. Schneijder has been out of form at his club this year, but should be vital nevertheless. The fullbacks are not in the same league, quality-wise, as the forwards and that will likely undo their title hopes. managed by Bert van Marwijk.

Germany

My personal pick for the title. In the late 1990's and early 2000's, Germany went through a poor patch but still managed to reach the 2002 final. That success couldn't disguise the moribund nature of their football at that time, however. Hosting the 2006 WC, Germany re-emerged as a world power with a younger generation of players and fresh ideas in management. They became a much more attacking, more enjoyable team to watch without entirely losing their cohesion and mental strength that had gotten them success in the past. "You haven't defeated Germany until their bus leaves the stadium." "Football is a sport played by 22 men for 90 minutes, and in the end, the Germans win." We've all heard those lines before. Are the Bayern players going to be hungry for a title? My is guess is that they are. Podolski, Klose, and Müller are reliable goal scorers. Gomez is more mercurial but is also quite capable of finishing as the tournament's top scorer. Schweinsteiger must recover form to play a vital role in midfield. Still managed by the world's oldest boy band singer, Jogi Löw

Portugal

If Denmark are better than the sum of their parts, Portugal may be less than the sum of their parts. Loads of talent here, including Europe's best player, Christiano Ronaldo, but they had a difficult qualifying campaign and have underperformed in the past. Main attacking threat? You don't need me to tell you, do you? C. Ronaldo's curse is that he's playing in the same generation as Messi. Nutter Pepe in defence might be red card risk. Managed by Paulo Bento.

Predictions:

June 9

Holland - Denmark: 2-0. I think Holland will see this as a must-win game.
Germany - Portugal: 2-1. Harder one to call. I expect an interesting game.

June 13

Denmark - Portugal: 1-1. Denmark will fancy their chances, but in the end both sides end up disappointed.
Holland - Germany: 1-1. Always a cracker, though much less ill-tempered than in the past, both sides will want to keep their powder dry and be content with a draw.

June 17

Portugal - Holland 2-2. Portugal are Holland's bogey team and we all remember the spectacular disaster that was their 2006 encounter. Holland will come from 2-0 down to break Portuguese hearts and get a monkey off their backs.
Germany - Denmark 4-0. Class will tell in the end.

Standings

Germany 3 2 1 0 7 7-2
Holland 3 1 2 0 5 5-3
Portugal 3 0 2 1 2 4-5
Denmark 3 0 1 2 1 1-7

Germany and Holland qualify

[Metatron]

1. Don't forget Coentrão and Nani for Portugal

And, Raul Meireles seems to play better internationally than he does at Chelsea. Maybe Portugal will surprise us. While I agree the Bayern players are hungry, they have seemed pretty listless lately. This will be a great group to watch. Thanks for posting these group summaries.

(To keep the peace, I won't mention how CR7 really is better than Messi )

[Ron Obvious]

2. Ronaldo

(To keep the peace, I won't mention how CR7 really is better than Messi )

Hell -- it's already too peaceful around here! Fire away!

[Marooned]

3. I agree with the CR7 comment btw

While I think it's probably hard for that ego to fit on one planet he is a joy to watch.

[Metatron]

5. I think the only person who has a bigger ego is

Mourinho! I do enjoy watching Messi play, of course. He is quite phenomenal. It's a pretty great time to watch football.

[Marooned]

4. I look for the Netherlands to pull a surprise and top this group

Just a hunch.

[Upton]

6. I don't know about the title..

but I look for Germany to top this group too. Hopefully, the Netherlands will finish second. The Germans are one of the teams I always root for internationally, along with the Dutch and the French, which can cause quite a problem when they're matched up.

Klose has aged now, but a few years back, I thought he should have tried plying his trade in the EPL, preferably with the Gunners.. A real poacher, great with his head too..something Arsenal have been missing up front since seems like forever.

[Ron Obvious]

7. Spectacular Dutch implosion...

The curse of the losing WC-finalists in the subsequent EC continues, but my, that was some implosion.

In hindsight, weren't the Dutch side tremendously overrated? They had a relatively easy path to the WC final: Denmark, Cameroon, Japan, Slovakia, a total fluke win over a much superior Brazil side, then made heavy weather of a Suarez-less Uruguay. The ugly style they played with the controllers (de Jong and v. Bommel) surely made them few friends. Their qualifiying group for this tournament wasn't that difficult, and perhaps, as this tournament showed, Sweden weren't that great either. Their defence was utterly abysmal, allowing a misfiring Ronaldo to look great.

Bert v. Marwijk should resign of course, but apparently has a contract until 2016.

[Marooned]

8. The Dutch implosion was sad to watch

All that talent and nothing to show for it. They really played terribly as a team and showed little to no creativity in the attack. Robben hinted at dissension in the locker room, so if that's true then it showed on the pitch. The back 4 weren't world class imo.