The Best and Worst of Euro 2012: Top 10 Things we will Remember

Published by William | Filed under Euro 2012, Football (aka soccer), Top 10

Spain celebrates their Euro 2012 win against Italy

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Now that the Euro 2012 tournament is over, many of us feel deprived of football. The Spanish have made history and we can all attest, Spain is not dull and definitely not boring. Tiki-taka is the now and future of football. While we all wanted a more competitive final, Spain has demonstrated that when tiki-taka is played to perfection, they are next to impossible to beat. One can only think that Spain, even without their Euro 2012 stars, will go on to dominate the Olympics in a month. Here are the Top 10 things that we will remember from this very fine Poland/Ukraine Euro 2012.



10. Nicklas Bendtner’s £80k Fine For ‘Paddy Power’ Underwear





9. Better referring than in previous tournaments (well except #7). You can say less diving too.


8. Chinese fan dies of watching too much of the Euros. Group stage games started at 12:00 and 2:45AM in China. After 11 all-nighters, the poor kid didnt even make it through to the end.


7. Shevchenko scores two massive headers in opening match and perhaps his last for country ever. Oh, and how Ukraine was robbed of a goal against who else but England. And, the little boy celebrating his hero is one for the ages.





6. How bad the Dutch were and how little lack of spirit they played with. Oh, and that when France has a problem in the dressing room and subsequently a problem on the pitch.


5. Italian spirit. The Italians sang their national anthem like it was their last. Besides the final, the Italians were a complete team. They played an uncharacteristic attacking football that was easy on the eyes.





4. How we will remember Cristiano Ronaldo. The penalty that was never taken. Not for single-handedly taking Portugal out of the group stages and into the semifinals, but for his choice at going 5th in the penalty shootout.


3. Balotelli’s new photos. And of course his goals and breakout moment against ze Germans.





2. Pirlo’s wizardry in the midfield. And his PK. Pirlo before the final, was easily the player of the tournament. The way he strolled and floated around the pitch at 33 years old, it was clear he was on another level.


1. Spain’s dominance on the world football stage. And, they did it without a true striker. Iniesta finally got the praise he has deserved. In the past, it was Iniesta who always came up big in big games (Champions League against Chelsea, 2010 World Cup final) but now, without even a single goal in Euro 2012, it was Iniesta who attacked and picked his team up when they were having trouble. Casillas also deserves a pat on the back. Spain conceded only one goal the entire tournament. In the knockout stages, Spain has not allowed a single goal in their last three tournaments. Well done. See you in 2014!





Honorable Mention: Ireland fans in despite of how bad Ireland played on the pitch.