Then and Now

My last delving into international soccer came two summers ago, in a stuffy hostel room in San Sebastian, Spain. It was here that I watched the Italy-France final, the culmination of a month-long privilege I had to follow the World Cup as I backpacked across Europe. I remember where I was when Maxi Rodriguez scored this goal (in a friend's friend's cousin's Berlin apartment, with a guy who was nursing a glass of red wine and didn't seem to really care about the game), Joe Cole scored this one (didn't actually see it, the one time they decided to switch over to coverage of the meaningless Paraguay-Trinidad and Tobago game in the Vienna ice cream shop where I watched, Cole hit his 40-yard beauty), and Marco Materazzi managed to put a bulls-eye on his sternum by saying something about Zinedine Zidane's sis.

But that was two summers ago, and now it is time for the next major international tournament (no disrespect to the African Cup of Nations, but it ain't quadrennial and it ain't televised). Maxi Rodriguez won't be there (not from a European country), Joe Cole won't be there (not from a nation who qualified...more on this later), and Zinedine Zidane has hung up his international boots. Yes, friends, it is Euro 2008, and it is upon us. Three weeks and sixteen teams to determine the champion of Europe. Every game on an ESPN channel. Every kickoff at a time of day when the sun is actually shining in the western hemisphere. There's a lot to like about this one, boys and girls. Don't like baseball? Sick of Lakers-Celtics even though the series has yet to begin? Bored with stories about NFL players beating burglars with bedposts? Well then, Euro 08 just might be the tonic you need to get through the long, sweltering summer.

Since I don't follow club soccer with anything resembling regularity, I'm not going to react to the Euro matches on this blog as if I'm an expert. I watched the Champions League Final, I watched a few other times, but for the most part, I have been on sabbatical since my summer in Europe. This blog will be for random thoughts, analysis of the game, and perhaps the occasional entertaining tidbit. It's not going to be like the Final Four, where I know (or think I know) every tendency of every player on every roster. I will familiarize myself as best I can, and hope to provide some insight along the way. Before we get to the games on Saturday, I'll provide some random thoughts, an invitation to join me in a March Madness-style pool, and a prediction or two. Bring friends, bring opinions, and bring the heat. Join me, please.