Random Thoughts 1.0

• Good news, loyal readers. I am pleased to announce that we will have the opportunity to interview Grant Wahl, a senior writer/soccer authority at Sports Illustrated, about this tournament. Anyone who talks sports with me regularly knows that I think Wahl is one of the best sports writers around, so the fact that he will be contributing his insights to this blog is pretty sweet. Stay tuned for more details.

• Speaking of Grant Wahl, he says in a recent article on SI.com that the European Championship is the best soccer tournament in the world. I've heard this declared by other writers as well; the thinking here is that while you don't see South American powerhouses Argentina and Brazil, you also don't have nearly as many easy matches in group play against the weaker squads from other continents (remember Togo and Saudi Arabia in the 06 World Cup?). I don't think anything beats the World Cup, but a glance at June's FIFA world rankings shows you that there aren't going to be many pushover matches in the coming weeks. The World Cup might be the best tournament to follow and watch, but the European Championship may very well have the best competition. With 10 of the top 12 ranked squads in the world, the level of play figures to be outstanding.

• In every international competition, there seems to be an impossibly difficult group; this is usually known as the "Group of Death." In this tournament that honor undoubtedly goes to Group C, which boasts France, Italy, the Netherlands and Romania as its members. They are ranked 3rd, 7th, 10th and 12th in the world. While this makes for some dynamite matchups (see: World Cup Final rematch on June 17th), it definitely calls into question how the groups are chosen. Surely there is a way to seed teams so that we don't have a loaded Group C and a mediocre Group B (Germany got a great draw with Austria, Croatia and Poland). If you want to figure out a way to reward teams for how well they perform in Euro qualifying, that's fine; but there has to be some consideration for world ranking and recent form in international tournaments. If they did this, we'd get groups that were more even and later rounds with juicier matchups.

• As you familiarize yourself with the groups and teams in Austria and Switzerland this summer, you may notice the glaring absence of England. Their failure to qualify for Euro 08 was both shocking and embarassing for their soccer-obsessed fans, and it's also a disappointment for many Americans following. Not only does England present the most logical team to root for, as one of the only English-speaking nations in Europe, they also have a roster loaded with stars whose skills draw attention wherever they play. No Frank Lampard or Wayne Rooney or Steven Gerrard is a big loss for this tournament. There's no getting around it.

• I realize that nearly all of the links lead you to ESPN content, and I swear I'm not pimping their stuff for any personal gain, but isn't it awesome that every game is going to be on ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, or ESPN Classic? This is just what this tournament needs: more exposure stateside.

• One of the reasons international soccer is so difficult to follow is the lack of fluidity in terms of teams and individual stars. In the time between World Cups, a guy can go from being a world class player to irrelevant (looking at you, Rivaldo). If you don't follow club soccer closely, as I suspect most reading this blog do not, you're basically looking at following teams for one month every two or four years. Can you imagine how skewed your perception of the NBA or NFL would be if you only saw them play at that clip? If you'd picked up the NFL for a month in 2006 for the first time since 2002, you'd be wondering what the heck happened to Rich Gannon. It'd be hard to follow the stars, let alone the role players. While there are plenty of stars in Euro 08 who were prominent in the World Cup, guys like Cristiano Ronaldo, Fernando Torres, Thierry Henry and Michael Ballack, there has also been a decent amount of roster turnover on some squads. Others, like Russia, Romania and Turkey, weren't even in the World Cup, so we're being introduced to completely new peeps. It'll be interesting to see the stars and names that emerge over the coming weeks, but rest assured that this competition certainly won't be lacking in names in the beginning, middle or end.

• All the group previews will be up before their first day of competition. (Group A before Saturday, Group B before Sunday, etc.) Anybody have any initial thoughts as they're perusing the schedule? Favorites? Sleepers? Teams who are going to gag? Feedback is encouraged.

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.