In giving my prediction for the UEFA European Championship I have to say Deutschland Deutschland Uber Alles (it's an old song that existed long before the 3rd Reich, the "uber alles" referring to German unity at a time when such a thing hardly existed, but yes, the early verses are left out now for good reason). The tourney kicks off Sat with the 2nd match being an early highlight as well as a possible early upset as Turkey faces Portugal. Of course, there's no better match in the first round then Italy v France(with the Netherlands vs Italy running a close 2nd) on Tuesday the 17th at 2:45 ET. Les Bleus and the Portugeezers are the other favorites with the Azurri coming into the tournament a bit off from their World Cup winning form. I don't see a darkhorse taking this one. I'm thinking Germany v Portugal or Germany v France in the final with Podolski, Klose, Ballack,Carvalho, Ronaldo, Nani, Henry, Ribery all shining for their respective squads. I'm inclined to pick Klose, Ribery, or Ronaldo as a clear standout but this could be Podalski's tournament should the Germans go deep. Of course, the Azurri could regain form, and there's no discounting the Oranje, especially if Robin Van Persie can get back to fitness. I'd like to think the Spaniards will finally live up to their potential with a stacked squad that includes the likes of Xavi, Fabregas, Xabi Alonso, and the deadly Fernando Torres, but their weak showing in their lead up friendly against the US- admittedly though, team USA is quite adept at playing strong 1st halves against superior oppositions of late before dropping intensity in the 2nd- seems to indicate that we may keep wondering when they're going to grab major tournament glory. Getting back to the opening reference, I think the "1000 years of rivalry settled in 90 minutes" pitch for the Euro championship has never become tired(think of all the wars and continued tension in Europe since the song's inception in 1841). I look forward to missing a lot of work. Game on!
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