Two footballers playing on the Côte d’Azur will compete in the final phase. They are the Monegasques Jerko Leko and Nikola Pokrivac. They will wear Croatian colors. No player from OGC Nice will be in the competition. However, it is worth mentioning Patrice Evra, who wore the red and black colors for two seasons (2000 and 2001), and Roland Linz (Austria) in 2004. We will keep an eye on their performance.
The competition is fierce. The sixteen teams are all on the same starting line. There are obviously big favorites like Italy, Germany, Spain, France, the Netherlands, and Portugal, but other nations can prove dangerous. Greece, in 2004, proved it.
During these three weeks, the pubs, bars, and terraces of Nice will resonate to the rhythm of the round ball while awaiting Nice’s possible candidacy in 2016. Nice-Premium offers you a brief presentation of the event with an analysis of Group C composed of Italy, France, Romania, and the Netherlands.
Group C: France, Netherlands, Italy, Romania
3 teams for 2 spots or 4 teams for 2 spots? In this group, called the group of death, 3 teams are part of the international elite: Italy, the Netherlands, and France. But Romania wants to play the spoilers. The team coached by Victor Piturca dominated qualifying Group G ahead of the Netherlands. The Carpathian players have a Latin culture of football with good technique and a quickly forward-moving game. They have nothing to lose in this group, and that suits them. They have good players in all lines with Christian Chivu and Carmin Contra in defense, Razvan Cocis in the midfield from Lokomotiv Moscow, and in attack, Adrian Mutu and Ciprian Marica, the center forward from Stuttgart, not to mention the AJ Auxerre goal scorer Daniel Niculae. The first match against France will be very important to assess the level of this team. The second against Italy will be very special given the tensions existing between the two nations.
Italy, with its status as world champion, can legitimately be considered a favorite. Everyone knows the squadra azzurra. It is composed of experienced players, a crucial factor in such a competition. Buffon, Gattuso, Del Piero, Zambrotta, Pirlo will know how to manage the event and guide the few newcomers to the Italian squad: Borriello, Aquilani, Gamberini, De Sanctis, Quagliarella. The last-minute withdrawal of Fabio Cannavaro is the only dark spot and wrench in the works. Coach Roberto Donadoni must consider his replacement and the defensive axis he will employ. It will need to be effective from the first match against the Netherlands and their offensive arsenal.
The Netherlands precisely. They have an impressive offensive potential, undoubtedly the best in the competition: Van Nistelrooy, Robben, Kuyt, Huntelaar, Van Persie, Sneijder in a piston role. However, the Oranjes are not very effective, and Marco Van Basten, the coach, is still seeking the right formula. He has managed to combine experience (Van der Sar, Van Nistelrooy, Melchiot, Bouma) with youth (Robben, Huntelaar, De Jong). The Netherlands always have an excellent squad with players who shine throughout the season. But, always favorites, they have not won anything since 1988. The 2004 semi-final hardly hides the elimination in the round of 16 of the 2006 World Cup and the non-qualification for the 2002 finals. What will the face of the Netherlands be in 2008? The answer begins on June 9 with a certain Italy-Netherlands match.
France… How to present the tricolor squad without repeating things said and re-said in newspapers over and over? We’ll simply say that the most important match is undoubtedly the first against Romania. If the blues are already thinking about the subsequent matches against the Netherlands and Italy, they risk a big surprise right at the start and might be forced into exploits against the Italians and the Dutch. We remember the poor beginnings in the competitions of 2002 and 2006.
In summary, in this group of death, the first match is crucial. The teams coming out victorious will have a significant advantage, in points of course, but especially psychologically.
Schedule
Monday 09/06/2008
in Zurich 18h00
ROMANIA –
FRANCE
in Bern 20h45
NETHERLANDS –
ITALY
Friday 13/06/2008
in Zurich 18h00
ITALY –
ROMANIA
in Bern
NETHERLANDS –
FRANCE 20h45
Tuesday 17/06/2008
in Zurich 20h45
FRANCE –
ITALY
in Bern 20h45
NETHERLANDS –
ROMANIA
The Stars
Ribéry, Toni, Van Nistelrooy, Henry
The Revelations
Marica, Benzema, Di Natale, Huntelaar
Nice-Premium’s Editorial Prediction:
1-Italy 2-France 3-Netherlands 4-Romania
