Euro 2004 : Best Match so far ?

Stage one: Best first Match?

My pick is Germany vs the Netherlands: a Thriller and a "just" result.


On Edit: I loved the Dutch T-Shirts with the German and the Dutch Flags side-by-side - I have to look if they're for sale.

It seemed like a good match. I'm a little surprised by the results. The BBC made it sound like Kahn was struggling, what do you think? I hope to watch the match in replay later.

How's Berlin these days?

He did a few good parades tonight, but IMHO he should not have played in the World Cup and should not have been nominated for the Euro. The Dutch goal could have been stopped; most of Kahn's predecessors would not have fumbled that shot.

Hildebrand is a better Keeper today and he has more than a decade left to grow in skill; the other Kahn alternatives are either too old or too unpredictable.

Bottom line: if they can be made to take the opponent seriously, the German team can match other European Top Teams. The next two games will be interesting.

What's that on this guy's face?

They might not have improved his play, but his income was improved by them for sure.

It has a reason: he has an eye disease, that earned him a waiver on doping and attire rules.

I must agree, I think he is no longer at the top of his game. I thought he had a decent run during the World Cup, but even then, I thought his play was a little sloppy.

I would love to see Germany win the Euro, but I've got a feeling it might just be France this year.

It'll be interesting to see the next matches; England traditionally has bad luck during Euro Championships - and I'd say the team even suffers from too positive press at home.


Re: your question about Berlin: The city or the soccer teams?

My family and I got to go to Berlin back in the early 80's (obviously West Berlin) and love to keep up on the city. I hope to be able to get there in 2006 during the World Cup.

The city is certainly among the best places to live in Europe. First grade cultural institutions, yet low rents and low costs for food etc. .
More parks and green than almost any other city of it's size (from a plane it can look like a forest with roofs in between ), excellent public transportation and no other European city has so many bars and Restaurants - many of them better than the usual German dining place. Another Berlin highlight are the frequent open-air parties, sometimes drawing over a million guests.



Socially the city is still pretty much divided, new Berliners (like me) are generally more willing to switch halves. The Western half has changed far less, and has preserved a certain mellow atmosphere.
The Eastern Districts with a high percentage of new-Berliners are wonderful places to be: little to no conservative party groups at all, more children than anywhere else in Germany; many artists and students.

West Berlin, suffering from the loss of the past subsidies, has the higher unemployment rate (very high in all of Berlin), not to mention quite corrupt politicians. West-Berlin corruption is the reason for the current empty treasury, yet the major parties have almost no members from East-Berlin in higher positions.
The wall resulted in a practically total lack of suburbs, the city is still very compact, yet underpopulated.


The frantic search for money makes it relatively easy for companies to request the removal of protected buildings.

Novotel got the senate to permit the removal of the famous "Ahornblatt" (Maple Leaf); the Airport Tempelhof and the Palace of the Republic (currently being used by the German main industry Lobby group :puke:)are endangered.

Really, who cares?

Sigh.

If you're not one of them: that's your loss :evilgrin:

The Euro is an international competition with one of the highest concentrations of top teams.
The participating teams are far more evenly matched than in the World Cup, excellent matches are almost guaranteed.

And of course: It is thought to be pretty important in Europe.

.. not all of Europe.

Truth be told.

Still, go Detroit!

This is a world class tournament. Unlike your Pistons, most of the world cares who wins.

and was it QUIET outside on the streets....

The Dutch were not so strong, and we are lucky to have gotten away with 1-1!

The competition is very exciting though, isn't it???????

DemEx

one surprise a day.

The streets were dead silent as well in Berlin; just a little fireworks after the 1-0. I have to say the result was deserved, the Oranjes played better in the 2nd half and van Nistelrooy is known to be the best striker in Europe. For the fans it was the best result: there even was a spontaneous joint party started at one of the main public places (where all games are shown) - while the police expected a riot. Of course the whole Brandenburg region is considered half-dutch by it's inhabitants, so it is not typical for Germany in general.

:mad: