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On to the final

The final of the Euro 2008 football championship will feature a worthy team and a lucky one. The team that squeezed a 3-2 victory in the semi-final against a never-say-die Turkey was Germany, which has invariably risen to the big occasion and must never be underestimated. In the other semi-final, Spain played magical football in its 3-0 victory over Russia; it will enter the final as the favourite of most neutral spectators. The refereeing throughout the tournament has bee n of high standard, firm but also sensible. All the ingredients are in place to make the trophy game on June 29 a memorable event. This requires that neither team sits back in defence and relies solely on the counter-attack. The Germans are, on form, the pre-eminent representatives of the direct and robust European style. The Spanish game is more akin to the Latin American.

Germany won the semi-final against the run of play. The Turks were more resolute in their tackling and more purposeful in their attacking moves. For once, the Germans also looked the less organised side. Captain Ballack singularly failed to live up to the playmaker’s role, repeatedly lost possession, and did very little to win it back. With such a large hole in the attack-launching zone, the German mid-field had no choice but to boot the ball long in the hope that Klose, Podolski, or Schweinsteiger would chase it down. Rustu, Turkey’s goalkeeper, gifted a goal when he unnecessarily came off his line with Klose hovering in the box to head in Germany’s second. In the other semi-final, the Russians could not produce the intensity they had displayed against Holland. Once the attacking duo, Arshavin and Pavlyuchenko, were smothered by the Spanish defence, the team ran out of ideas. The steady rain might have constrained play and dampened spirits in the first half but the remaining 45 minutes saw the Spaniards use a tin-cutter on their inexperienced opponents. Their passing, incisive and instinctive, was a joy to behold and their finishing an opponent’s nightmare. Football lovers round the world fervently hope the weather will not play spoilsport on Sunday.

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