Dr. Cajetan CoelhoJun 16th, 2008 - 15:54:04

Playing or watching Jogo Bonito is a wonderful experience !

Even without the ball, Dutch footballers have been running fast throughout the 90 minutes duels. The Portuguese in contrast have been running only with the ball and as a result the kilometers covered by the Portuguese could be much fewer than say the number covered by the Dutch, Russians and the Poles in about the same time.

The concept of total football by Marco Van Basten's Men in Orange or Leo Beenhakker's Polish side or Guss Hiddink's Russians is certainly setting these three sides apart from those who also ran.

Not so long ago I was amazed to see the speed with which Russian side Zenit Petersburg mesmerized every opponent and scored huge victories on their way to lifting the UEFA Cup at the Football Stadium in the city of Manchester. Zenit Petersburg was a team coached by Dutchman Dick Advocaat who without any big names had nicely adapted themselves to the Dutch way of proceeding. The Russian champions will be playing in the Champion's League in the coming season and they are bound to give every opponent a real run for their money.

Less known Austria and Switzerland have done fairly well and have won the hearts of many with their never-say-die spirit. With massive home support they could have done the unthinkable in the QFs where they to reach that far.

Spain and Croatia have looked formidable up until now. Turkey has shown great fighting qualities in their epic battle against the Czechs last evening.

Germany, Sweden, Russia and Romania have played well but did not get the expected results thus far. World champions Italy and Runners up France as well as Euro 2004 Winners Greece are yet to show their true potential.

Let us wish all the footballers, fans, referees, coaching staff, pitch curators and organizers of Euro 2008, a jolly good time in those beautiful cities and football arenas in Switzerland and Austria.

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