Whiiiiiiiistle BOOM

Think of a bomb dropping. That's more or less what happened to the logical answers to the quarterfinals.

My quarterfinal picks were, for all intents and purposes, spot on. But semifinal picks...Jesus Murphy!

I got Germany right, I'm happy about that. The Turkey result, well, I've already given my opinion on that. Now for a brief rundown of the other two matches.

Netherlands v Russia

Netherlands got bowled out by an absolutely superb Russian side. The basics of football, mixed with just the right amount of skill and speed, are showing their worth. That said, the Dutch were way off their game. Whether it was because of a lack of chemistry, or a lack of heart, I don't know, but something was very different between that team and the side that dismantled France and Italy.


Russia...well what more can you say about that? Fast, skilled, more impressive football than I've seen in a while. Guus Hiddink took a team who got bowled over 7-1 by Poland, and turned them into a world class bunch. Concentrating on fitness and basic tactics, not to mention getting the players to leave their egos at the door, was all they needed to realize their potential. Russia is fantastic, I'm looking forward to their next few matches. Downside - they knocked out the team I called to win it. Shit.

Spain v Italy

What a boring game. This one was entirely up in the the air, defense vs attack. It was a snoozer to watch. Both teams seemed more than happy to play for penalties...unfortunately. I don't really know what else I can say about it. Torres was completely uninspired, his replacement was more than worse. Toni should be given a PhD in wasting chances. Di Natale was Italy's attacking saving grace, it was more than obvious that they were missing Pirlo. There were a few freekicks around the box they desperately needed to do convert, or at least create something, with.

Semifinal - Spain v Russia

The Spanish defense is showed a lot of holes against Italy, and they can't continue to rely on Puyol and Casillas to save their asses, especially against the talent posed by the invigorated Russian side.

The attack also needs to wake up, the Spanish can exploit the Russian counterattack for chances of their own. The Russians have a terrible habit of bringing everyone forward on the attack...which is great unless it doesn't work.

Russia has a lot of space to work in against Spain, I'm more than excited to watch two inspired, attacking sides face one-another. Hopefully they both bring their A-game!

As for a winner? Who the hell knows. Fuck it. Russia. Come on you (former) Reds!

Semifinal - Germany v Turkey

Well, I hate the Turks. I seem to be the only person who doesn't think they deserve to be where their are. The Germans have too much class for this ragtag bunch of non-deservants (is that a word?). Come on Germany.

To be featured later in this blog

All kinds of stuff in the world of sports making me scratch my noodle lately. Upcoming articles: Chelsea's everlong pursuit of buying the title through theft of Arshavin (sp?). Christiano Ronaldo's never-ending run to become the most dissapointing, annoying, godforsaken waste of talent the world has ever seen. Hell, who knows, maybe a little delving into the world of hockey too. Stay posted!