The biggest news to come out of Euro 2008 so far is the announcement that came earlier this week that Luiz Felipe Scolari will stand down as Portugal coach and take over the reins of Chelsea - the day after the tournament final. This is excellent news in general for the English Premiership (but maybe not such a reason to celebrate for Chelsea's rivals). Click to continue reading...

If ever there was a game in need of a strong leader to take it by the scruff of the neck it was Thursday night's Group B match between Germany and Croatia. The chaotic early pace, the slipshod passes, the ill-timed tackles; the match needed a firm master, someone who would play the ball and control movement. Click to continue reading...

As a downpour equivalent to last night's in Basel roars outside my window here in Bonn, I can only think how sweet it is to be not out in it playing football.
I would love to see a video compendium of the hapless looks on players' faces after their neat passes skidded astray, or died in puddles long before reaching their intended targets. Click to continue reading...

While watching the coaches of Switzerland and Turkey attempt to adapt their tactics to the Alpine monsoon which descended on Basel on Wednesday evening, a question entered my mind. Which one of these two blokes would I most want to share an evening down the pub with? This is, of course, the age-old way that males determine the compatibility of characters and so what started out as just a stroll off the path of concentration soon turned into an exercise in finding my coaching "soul mate". Click to continue reading...

In terms of a wake-up call, Zlatan Ibrahimovic's stunning 67th-minute strike against the Greeks on Tuesday night rates up their with a bucket of ice-cold water in the face.
I was slowly slipping into a comatose state when the lanky Inter Milan forward struck his sweet half-volley to finally inject some dynamism into one of the most boring matches I have ever had the misfortune to dribble into my beer in front of. Click to continue reading...

While I agree with Nick that Italy didn't look nearly as bad as the headlines following their 3-0 defeat have suggested, the result of the fan fashion battle on the streets of Bern where the match took place was indeed a blowout.
Holland's supporters were, like their heroes, mighty offensive. Click to continue reading...

The soccer world is still reeling from the 3-0 "thrashing" the Netherlands handed out to world champions Italy last night. I emphasize the "thrashing" because this is the operative word in the majority of press reports that followed the Dutch victory (DW-WORLD.DE deviated slightly to say that the Italians were "crushed"). Click to continue reading...

Hopefully the 2-0 win over Poland will finally put to bed those ridiculous claims that Joachim Loew is coasting along with the team Juergen Klinsmann built. Despite the fact that Loewie was the brains behind the attacking formation and tactics which turned Germany into an entertaining team, some people still see it as Klinsi's team due to the number of players still in the squad who featured under the former coach. Click to continue reading...

The fans and media in Germany will quite rightly lavish praise on a handful of heroes after their team's efficient but hardly earth-shattering win over Poland on Sunday night.
Two-goal hitman Lukas Podolski can expect plaudits for his well taken double, his ability to adapt to the left-sided midfield role he is now being deployed in and the fact that he didn't ram his success down the throat of the country which bore him. Click to continue reading...

Once they'd got bored with kicking lumps out of each other last night, Portugal and Turkey actually put on a show worthy of the European Championships. To be more precise, Portugal showed the attacking, incisive flair which makes soccer such an exciting game to watch while Turkey did their best to keep up. Click to continue reading...

Matt is a sometime host and producer of Deutsche Welle's Sports Report, and has written about soccer for Greenpitch magazine and The Guardian among other places. Being an American, he has no horse in this particular race and will thus praise the deserving and bash the un- with impunity. Click to continue reading...

Nick has been covering soccer tournaments for Deutsche Welle since the 2002 World Cup and has written many articles about how disappointed he is that England always fails miserably. As his team won't be in Euro 2008, the challenge this year is to find a way of keeping his bitterness out of his reporting while remaining upbeat and enthusiastic about all the other teams' chances. Click to continue reading...

Welcome to Alpine Kicks – DW.WORLD.DE's Euro 2008 Blog.
Well, the 2008 European Championships are almost upon us and we know this because the official tournament song has been announced. "Can You Hear Me?" by Enrique Iglesias will be the soundtrack for Euro 2008 and UEFA can barely hide their excitement at getting the Spanish pop star to lend his dulcet tones to the championships: "Enrique is the perfect choice for us," said UEFA commercial director Philippe Margraff. Click to continue reading...

Training camps and friendlies are a necessary evil in the prelude to a major competition and while they give a coach time to refine his strategy and finalize his starting line-ups, each session and every game comes with the risk that instead of cementing plans, they can throw a whole campaign into chaos. Click to continue reading...

Given that they haven't won a major tournament in 44 years and have consistently been one of Europe's serial underachievers in major competitions, the fact that Spain are being touted as second favorites for the Euro 2008 title may come as some surprise.
But then the Spanish have always flattered to deceive. Click to continue reading...