1. Euro 2008 Dream Team
2. Continued posts of the New Zealand Travel Diary
3. Medicamp 2008 Photographs
Oh yeah... Not forgetting to remember where MY place is (:):):)) and not to OFFEND people by first thinking of what I want to say before saying it. Right? (:):):):):):)) HMM!!! (what a jackass)
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Euro 2008 was a real blast... The only (huge) downside being having to wake up at the ungodly 0245 hours to watch the bulk of the matches... As a result, I spent a lot of time sleeping in the rocking chair in front of the television set.
This European Championships did football justice, as the team that arguably played the best football won the trophy (not saying that Greece didn't play good football in 2004, you have to give them credit for being able to knock down the big guns with their stoic and solid play).
Many stories rose from this championships, what with, from Portugal, Luis Felipe Scolari's untimely announcement of his contract to Chelsea and the heated debate (that's still ongoing) over Cristiano Ronaldo's future, from Germany, Ballack the "nearly man", from Spain, finally breaking the underachiever's curse, from Holland, the perennial underachievers story, from Turkey, the last-minute giant killers, from Russia, the rise of Andrei Arshavin and so on. This European Championships gave us a lot to appreciate, as well as many wonderful memories, and with all these in mind, I present to you my European Championships 2008 Dream XI.
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Goalkeeper: Iker Casillas (Spain)

The Spanish captain never had a bad game for Spain and was always assured and reliable at the back for them. Produced great reflex saves in crucial moments in matches, especially in the final, to keep Spain in the hunt for their Euro Championship trophy.
Right back: Sergio Ramos (Spain)

The Real Madrid man was a revelation down the right hand side for the Spanish team, making excellent overlapping and penetrating runs down his flank. Is also an excellent header of the ball, which gives him great covering ability for his centre backs. He had an excellent tournament.
Left back: Yuri Zhirkov (Russia)

Watching him play, one would not be faulted for mistaking him for a left midfielder. The Russian practically owned the left flank whenever he played, making surging overlapping runs into the opponent's half, and tracking back whenever necessary.
Centre back: Carlos Puyol (Spain)

The Caveman, as he is affectionately known, had a fantastic tournament. not the tallest or quickest of defenders, but he was always on hand to challenge those who posed a threat to his country's goal. Arguably the tournament's best defender.
Centre back: Ricardo Carvalho (Portugal)

One of the best readers of the game, he displayed that talent countless times during this tournament. A real classy defender, with bags of composure, who never seems to miss an opponent's run or mistime a tackle.
Right midfielder: Bastian Schwiensteiger (Germany)

Without their No. 7, Germany would not have made it far in this tournament. Left out of the team and earning a red card as well as a one-match ban in the group stages, he turned over a new leaf in the knockout rounds and was a revelation for Germany. Was a constant menace to his opponents down the right flank, and one of the essential cogwheels of the German attack.
Left midfielder: Lukas Podolski (Germany)

Was Germany's sole scorer in the group stages and although not happy in the left midfield role, shone in the position, providing crucial attacking power down the left flank. Always seems to know when to be in the right place at the right time, hence his finish as Germany's top scorer in the tournament.
Central midfielder: Xavi Hernandez (Spain)

The player of the tournament. Whenever you see this guy, he has the same calm expression on his face. A classy player who never seems to get hustled or frantic, producing pinpoint passes and to his fellow teammates. Has excellent ball retention and a great range of accurate passing, making sure that Spain kept possession for majority of the tournament.
Central midfielder: Wesley Sneijder (Holland)

The Real Madrid man was the biggest threat for Holland as he tormented opponent's defenses with his excellent runs, accurate passing and link up play with Rafael van der Vaart, and hard-hitting shots. Took his two goals in the tournament well, especially the world class effort against France.
Striker: Andrei Arshavin (Russia)

Russia's favourite son, this tournament proclaimed the rise of the Zenit St. Petersburg man, who is now subject to a move to many clubs, to name a few, Barcelona, Chelsea, Tottenham and Arsenal. The 27 year old is now football's new poster boy, with world class performances against Sweden and Holland, which put Russia through to the semi-finals to face the eventual winners, Spain.
Striker: Fernando Torres (Spain)

Sure, David Villa might have been top scorer of the tournament, but even he said so himself that he would not have scored 2 out of the 3 goals he did against Russia if not for Torres. The Liverpool man showed just how suited he is to the lone striker role in the Final, hitting the post with a towering header and clipping the ball over Lehmann for the eventual winner. Is now arguably the best striker in the world.
Substitutes:
Gianluigi Buffon (Italy)
Josip Simunic (Croatia)
Robert Kovac (Croatia)
Marcos Senna (Spain)
Francesc Fabregas (Spain)
David Villa (Spain)
Roman Pavlyuchenko (Russia)
"You'll Never Walk Alone"
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