U21 Euro2007 qualifying playoff draw (R)

[Daz]

Just look at England's Under-21 lineup:

Carson

Richards - Steven Taylor - Ferdinand - Baines

Routledge - Huddlestone - Reo-Coker - Milner

Walcott - Nugent


With Peter Taylor in charge, this team will go far, the majority of that line-up playing regularly in the premiership.

 

[Hendrik]

Germany 0-2 England FT

England scored twice in the last ten minutes of the games, Walcott nicely finished two counter attacks.

Germany missed a pen in the first half, shouldn't have let a Spaniard take it.

 

[MaSsiVe]

Portugal 1-0 Russia HT

Russia is one man down, we just need to score two more to get through.
Come on boys, you can do it

 

[Vinnie Jones]

Portugal 3-0 Russia with 15 mins to go. Cmon guys hold, you can do it. Fantastic performance so far.

 

[Vinnie Jones]

3-0 FT We did it. The best team went through and it was clear that it was ours. Great effort and spirit by the team. The only sad thing is that Couceiro will try to get credit. Força Portugal.

 

[Virgo]

wow crazy stuff, never thought we'd make it.

 

[MaSsiVe]

GET IN THERE!!

FT 3-0
great game by our kids, they gave their all

that russian with the #5 shirt did nothing but release his frustration on our players' legs, f'ck him and f'ck those sore losers who at the end surrounded the ref complaining for who knows what

anyway I'm really happy for this win and performance, congrats boys!

 

[Moreira_Benfica]

wow great performance we just played great, russia had no attack till the last few moments. can't believe this still

 

[Juventino]

Italy is through too after beating Spain 2-1. Amazing goals by Chiellini and Montolivo.

 

[Tiago_10]

I'm surprised we did it, but of course happy as well!

Absolutely deserved, a very convincing performance.


I'm not sure if anyone else noticed but after the russian player scored the own-goal, his coach grabs the cellphone and makes a call and then that player starts to cry. KGB maybe?

 

[Nakamura]

3-0 FT We did it. The best team went through and it was clear that it was ours. Great effort and spirit by the team. The only sad thing is that Couceiro will try to get credit. Força Portugal.

That's silly! Of course he has credit, he's the coach! It's not as if the players were selected by a divine entity and just told to get in there and do whatever they felt like. It's obvious he deserves credit, just as Agostinho deserves praise for his awesome job leading up to the Euro and criticism for the awful job at the actual competition.

Anyway, great display by our boys today! You made your country proud! They always believed it was possible, they played their hearts out and had a great display! We have yet another bunch of great youngsters, I wish them all the luck in the world.

PORTUGAL!!!

 

[Vinnie Jones]

I'm not sure if anyone else noticed but after the russian player scored the own-goal, his coach grabs the cellphone and makes a call and then that player starts to cry. KGB maybe?

I bet he got assigned to Chechnya

 

[MaSsiVe]

I'm not sure if anyone else noticed but after the russian player scored the own-goal, his coach grabs the cellphone and makes a call and then that player starts to cry. KGB maybe?

I did, laughed my arse off

 

[Vinnie Jones]

That's silly! Of course he has credit, he's the coach! It's not as if the players were selected by a divine entity and just told to get in there and do whatever they felt like. It's obvious he deserves credit, just as Agostinho deserves praise for his awesome job leading up to the Euro and criticism for the awful job at the actual competition.


PORTUGAL!!!

Plz it was clearly the players work, it was inspiration more than anything. He may have a little credit but i have no doubt that the players were definitely the driving force behind it.

 

[Nakamura]

Plz it was clearly the players work, it was inspiration more than anything. He may have a little credit but i have no doubt that the players were definitely the driving force behind it.

Obviously, because they are the ones that actually play! And there's no doubt they were the heroes! The main credit should always go to them, but the coach plays its role also. It just doesn't make sense to me that people only give credit to coaches when they like them and constantly downplay them when they don't...

 

[Vinnie Jones]

That´s not what i meant ok? When i said they were the driving force its because that i doubt that Couceiro´s tactical work was a genious stroke that lead us to victory. Our victory was based on individual plays by the players and by their individual inspiration. That and the russian player getting sent off. And Couceiro is no stranger to incompetence, he has proved it in every team that he coached that he is a plague (Alverca, Belenenses, Setúbal). His work on the first leg was laughable and his player selection all wrong (João Pereira who played one competitive game this year and Rolando who is in Belenenses bench). His defensive scheme was a joke.

 

[MaSsiVe]

Vinnie you forgot about Porto, especially that 4-0 home loss to Nacional which is the most embarassing moment I ever went through as a fan of the club.

 

[Vinnie Jones]

Yes Massive, i´m just downplaying Couceiro because i don´t like him, he isn´t incompetent at all

 

[Nakamura]

Actually, Couceiro did a good job with Alverca (getting them promoted and managing to keep them in the 1st Division) and Setúbal (which, in the season he was coaching them, was 1st in the League and when he left for Porto, in 4th). Doesn't seem like a disaster everywhere he went, but whatever. You have your opinion and your reasons, you back them up, it's fine. I'm nobody to say you're wrong, because it's only a matter of opinion.

I'll just say that the main reason you mention (bad results in most places where he coached) is much mroe obvious with Humberto Coelho and many people still say he's great and give him tons of credit for Euro 2000...

 

[Vinnie Jones]

Really? He relegated Alverca if you don´t remember. And in Setubal his team was already built. And i have no doubt that Coelho is a better coach than Couceiro, we reached a semi final with him even if the players were in their peaks. What does Couceiro has to show for? Being compared with Luis Campos and being an all round joke as a Coach.