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Section 2: business, health and environment sPorts eUro 2012 <strong>the</strong> best soccer teams in europe square off this summer England's start striker Wayne Rooney was suspended for <strong>the</strong> first two games for an egregious foul in a qualifying match. Photo by ian C. (CC) by tyler allen big <strong>Sky</strong> weekly contributor It looks like Americans are finally paying attention to <strong>the</strong> most popular sport in <strong>the</strong> world. Sure, every four years <strong>the</strong> FIFA World Cup inspires a spike of interest in <strong>the</strong> global game here at home, but that tournament can hardly be ignored since it usually includes our national team. Yet through <strong>the</strong> first six matches of Euro 2012, ESPN’s live coverage averaged 1.3 million viewers from <strong>the</strong> U.S., a three-fold increase over <strong>the</strong> network’s presentation in 2008. The tournament is being held in Poland and Ukraine, and <strong>the</strong> storylines surrounding <strong>the</strong> contest are as compelling as <strong>the</strong> soccer matchups. Many European leaders have boycotted <strong>the</strong> matches played in Ukraine over <strong>the</strong> continued imprisonment of former President Yulia Tymoshenko. UEFA officials have denounced stories of price gouging for accommodations in Ukraine in <strong>the</strong> months prior to <strong>the</strong> start of <strong>the</strong> tournament; concern over racial targeting <strong>the</strong>re has proven accurate; and <strong>the</strong> rancor of nationalism that often accompanies European soccer has made headlines. Russia was fined after its first match when fans taunted a black player from <strong>the</strong> Czech Republic and beat up a security guard. Dutch players were also targeted with racial chants by a few of <strong>the</strong> 25,000 spectators at a practice pitch before <strong>the</strong>ir first game. Polish officials will likely rethink <strong>the</strong>ir decision to allow Russian fans to march through <strong>the</strong> streets of Warsaw on Russia Day, prior to <strong>the</strong> match between <strong>the</strong> two countries. Nearly 200 supporters from both sides were arrested for fighting and disorderly conduct as police used tear gas, water cannons and rubber bullets to prevent an all-out riot. As far as <strong>the</strong> soccer goes, 16 teams qualified—including automatic bids for <strong>the</strong> two host countries—to compete in four groups, with <strong>the</strong> top two teams in each group moving on to <strong>the</strong> knockout stages. The teams played each opponent in <strong>the</strong>ir group once, being awarded three points for a win and one for a tie. Spain, <strong>the</strong> defending champion, was one of <strong>the</strong> favorites going into <strong>the</strong> tournament, having been winners of <strong>the</strong> last World Cup and looking for a third consecutive major championship. However, that team had a lackluster performance in <strong>the</strong> group stage, including a 1-1 tie with Italy and a tense 1-0 win over Croatia that was in question until a goal in <strong>the</strong> 88th minute. While Spain won Group C, <strong>the</strong>y created surprisingly few chances and had to rely on goalie Iker Casillas to bail <strong>the</strong>m out a few times. Italy also survived that group, looking more dangerous this year than most expected. Germany was ano<strong>the</strong>r pre-tournament favorite, with a talented, youngbut-maturing team that won all 10 of its qualifying matches. They emerged victorious from <strong>the</strong> “Group of Death” by beating Portugal, <strong>the</strong> Ne<strong>the</strong>rlands and Denmark, each by one goal. Runners-up in World Cup 2010, <strong>the</strong> disappointing Dutch failed to earn a single point in <strong>the</strong> group stage after losing a shocking opener to Denmark 1-0. They reached <strong>the</strong> knockout stages in <strong>the</strong> 11 previous major championships, but <strong>the</strong>ir porous defense and lack of cohesive offense proved fatal. Portugal was <strong>the</strong> runner-up in Group B, with Christiano Ronaldo, arguably <strong>the</strong> best player in <strong>the</strong> tournament, finally able to finish in <strong>the</strong> team’s last group match against <strong>the</strong> Dutch. After wasting easy chances against Denmark and early misses in <strong>the</strong> Ne<strong>the</strong>rlands match, he broke through with two goals and clinched explorebigsky.com <strong>Big</strong> <strong>Sky</strong> Weekly June 29, 2012 Volume 3 // Issue No. 13 Portugal’s entrance into <strong>the</strong> knockout round. Group A saw a catastrophic collapse of Russia, who opened <strong>the</strong> tournament by crushing Czech Republic 4-1, <strong>the</strong>n could only manage a tie against Poland, and finally lost to a surprising Greek team 1-0. Greece took runner-up in <strong>the</strong> group with scrappy defense, and <strong>the</strong> Czechs rebounded after <strong>the</strong>ir first loss to win Group A. England stormed into <strong>the</strong> knockout stage thanks to a header from returning star striker Wayne Rooney; he was suspended for <strong>the</strong> first two games for an egregious foul in a qualifying match. They beat host Ukraine on <strong>the</strong> last day of <strong>the</strong> group stage, silencing a stadium filled with yellow and blue. France was <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r survivor of Group D, after <strong>the</strong>y limped into <strong>the</strong> quarterfinals following a 2-0 loss to an already eliminated Swedish team. Germany continued its dominant play in <strong>the</strong> quarterfinals, as <strong>the</strong>y trounced Greece 4-2, and Spain had a methodical 2-0 win over a French team that could only muster a few inspired counter attacks. Portugal won a tight match over <strong>the</strong> Czech Republic 1-0 off <strong>the</strong> header from Ronaldo, and Italy beat England in penalty kicks after both teams failed to score in 90 minutes or extra time. As this issue went to press, Spain had beaten Portugal in penalty kicks after a scoreless draw and will look to defend its crown against <strong>the</strong> winner of <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r semifinal contest played Thursday between Germany and Italy. The final match will be Sunday July 1 in Kiev, Ukraine (at 12:45 p.m. MST), and is sure to be a quality of soccer you won’t see again until World Cup 2014.
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