Euro 2012 live webchat: Dominic Fifield answers your questions
GoscinnyUderzo asks: “Hello Dominic. I am wondering how much of an influence Germany’s extra two rest days might have this evening, especially in a contest where the teams seem to have some disparity in fitness anyway and the Italians played extra time whilst die Mannschaft rested players v Greece?”
Dominic replies:
Both managers were asked about this last night in the press conference, with the general consensus that fatigue should not prove too much of an issue. The Italians, who are a relatively old squad, seemed to get stronger as the game against England progressed (may have had something to do with the opposition, admittedly), as Joachim Loew pointed out:
“We saw that Italy, after 60 or 70 minutes, just got stronger and stronger and had more and more chances. In extra-time, Italy were dominant and England physically got weaker. I couldn’t see anything with the Italians had any problems. They’ve had four days to recuperate. That’s enough time to regenerate. It’ll also be in their heads. They won the quarter-final, so that’ll give them more energy. We’ll need a high tempo in the second half to try and make them a bit tired.”
Cesare Prandelli acknowledged the reality that everyone is claiming Germany “are younger, score more goals and are fitter than us”, but stressed how “calm” and calculated the Italians’ approach is. There will have been aching limbs on that flight back from Kyiv to Krakow earlier in the week, but I suspect the adrenalin will see them through. The other issue with Germany having rested players against Greece, of course, is that their rhythm might have been disrupted. We will see if that has an effect at all.
jaktonat asks: “Did you enjoy last night’s game?”
Dominic replies:
Hmmmm. An interesting and, I suspect, loaded question. It felt like a massive anticlimax, to be honest. There was plenty to admire from both teams, and it’s hard not to enjoy watching the Spanish pinging it around in neat possession – there was a period deep in extra-time when three defenders and Casillas found a way of bypassing a couple of Portuguese attackers who were attempting to close them down, and sprung up-field almost effortlessly – but I’d have preferred a bit more goalmouth incident. I know there’s been a debate raging about Spain being “boring”, which still feels vaguely ridiculous given how good they are, but I have enjoyed the way the Germans have attacked teams. They’re far more incisive with their play: tonight will be a test of just how good they are and, if they get through, they’ll surely put up more of a fist of it than they did against the Spanish at the World Cup two years ago. That should be worth watching.
KURT asks: “Your prediction for the result of [tonight’s] game please Dominic.”
Dominic replies:
Am going for the Germans to progress. Hopefully in normal time (for purely selfish reasons as we have an early-ish flight to Kyiv tomorrow morning). They’ve felt like the most progressive team at Euro 2012, and have such strength in depth in their squad. It’s remarkable to note that Miroslav Klose, at 34, is six years older than the next senior out-field player in Joachim Loew’s squad, which suggests they could dominate on this stage for some time to come.
Dominic is now online. So here we go: chedozie asks: “would you put Pirlo as No5 pen taker Dom?”
Dominic replies:
Not a chance. Cristiano Ronaldo must feel he wasted an opportunity to make a statement last night by being fifth, for all that Didier Drogba stole all the glory in the Champions League final from that low on the penalty pecking order. As much as I enjoyed Andy Carroll’s booming header, or Danny Welbeck’s cheeky winner, that Pirlo penalty against Joe Hart will remain my overriding memory of England’s Euro 2012. He told Italian television later that night that he had hoped to demoralise the English penalty takers (and, presumably, Hart) by summoning something that extravagant. Safe to say it worked. The man’s a genius, as Daniele de Rossi repeatedly stated last night at the pre-match press conference, and you’d get him high up the list of penalty takers, surely. Though quite what he’ll do this time, if it comes to a shootout, remains to be seen. He can’t do the chip again. Maybe a back-heel? Or just leather it into the top corner.
Dominic will be online from 1pm. But please post your questions below in the meantime. And read this little preview of Germany v Italy too.
The question rather ambled towards its inevitable conclusion, touching upon encounters staged from Dortmund to Madrid, Mexico City to Buenos Aires with each a reminder that, for once, the history is weighted against Germany. Joachim Löw listened intently to the interpretation on his head-set, then, as his inquisitor concluded by wondering if the national coach was worried Warsaw might soon be added to the list, delivered the curtest of responses: “Nein, nein.”
So much for a mental block. The Germans have their own hoodoo to banish on Thursday night as they attempt to secure a first competitive victory over Italy at the eighth attempt. There have been finals and semi-finals of World Cups and European Championships lost in that sequence of four draws and three defeats, with the disappointment of late elimination from the last four at the Westfalenstadion in 2006, when Löw was Jürgen Klinsmann’s assistant, still raw. Yet such is the unswerving belief within this set-up, even with a confrontation against canny opponents ahead, that these sorry statistics can be dismissed out of hand.
Instead, the Germans take to the National stadium on Thursday convinced they will buck that trend. The youngest squad at Euro 2012, with its gloriously fluid attacking style and jaw-dropping strength in depth, believes it will succeed where England succumbed against the Azzurri and force passage to Kyiv for Sunday’s final. Then they can dismiss any notion that they tend to choke. In the last decade this team has succumbed in two finals and three semi-finals, but they will be nearly men no longer. “Since 2005 the standard has been going up and up,” said the captain, Bastian Schweinsteiger. “We don’t have the ‘crown’ yet, but we’re getting closer and closer.
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