EURO 2008 PREVIEW

Germany is favorite to capture the championship

By Rob Hughes

Published: June 6, 2008

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You have to hand it to the Germans, and if the bookmakers' odds are right, the Euro 2008 trophy is destined to be handed to Michael Ballack and his team at the end of the month. Form and favoritism, however, do not always work out.

Cast your mind back four years to the Greeks - rank outsiders, stubbornly defying opponents to score against them. Greece erected what became known as Otto's Wall, possibly the most watertight defense in the tournament's history. Spain, France, the Czech Republic and Portugal couldn't break it down - and the builder, Otto Rehhagel, is of course German.

He is back with his Greek team for a second crack at the feat and that is an incentive to all 16 nations chasing the title. If Greece could win it, why not anyone?

The new tournament starts in Switzerland and ends in Austria. Between now and June 29, there are 31 matches in 8 cities, a million tickets have been sold, and billions of viewers around the world will watch on TV.

German expectation was spelled out by Franz Beckenbauer, the country's greatest soccer exponent, who has said he believes the team is again the best in Europe. The squad laid down a marker by booking probably the most exclusive accommodation - a five-star Swiss residence by Lake Maggiore. It means round trips from Switzerland to Austria for all of Germany's matches, each of them at least 640 kilometers, or 400 miles, away.

"Its not a bunch of school kids visiting a youth hostel," Theo Zwanziger, the president of the Deutscher Fussball-Bund, told journalists Wednesday. "You have to feed the cow up well, or you won't be able to milk it."

Captain Ballack and the boys might bridle at the bovine reference, yet their job is to emerge from pampered tranquillity to run like beasts when the whistle blows. Millionaires all, they will each bank €250,000, or about $390,000, if they get the cup.

The omens are good in that Germany came third at the 2006 World Cup on its soil, and its fans are on the doorstep of the hosts who might be the exception to the Greek myth that everybody starts equal. When the Fédération Internationale de Football Association, or FIFA, rankings were revised in the past week, the only teams in the top 13 of the world who were not playing this event were Argentina, Brazil, Cameroon, and England.

GROUP A

Switzerland (world rank 44, odds 20 to 1). Honest Jakob Kuhn said he would retire a reasonably contented coach if his players made the quarterfinals. Few give the Swiss a cuckoo's chance of winning, but beating their organized resistance proved impossible at the last World Cup, where the Swiss did not concede a goal in four games. It went out on penalty kicks.

Czech Republic (rank 6, odds 14 to 1). Karel Bruckner's side can play elegantly, but runs out of steam in tournaments. The retirement of Pavel Nedved, and injury to Tomas Rosicky, deprives the team of creativity to serve the giant striker, Jan Koller.

Portugal (rank 11, odds 15 to 2). Many neutrals, myself included, would love to see Cristiano Ronaldo, Deco and company dance and dazzle their way to triumph, because their flamboyance can be beautiful to behold. Often it flatters to deceive, and even with the toughening by the Brazilian coach Luiz Scolari, Portugal was squeezed out by Greece in 2004. It cannot help that Ronaldo is auctioning himself between Manchester United and Real Madrid when he should be leading his country.

Turkey (rank 20, odds 35 to 1). Generous odds because if there is a team that can emulate Greece, it could be Turkey. The question is, which Turkey will show up - the temperamental or the talented? At the World Cup 2002, the Turks ran Brazil close, but in 2005 Turkey and Switzerland fought a brutally ugly brawl. If Turkey sticks to sport, it has Yildiray Basturk, Hamit Altintop and Nihat Kahveci who should not be outclassed in this group.

Group B

Austria (rank 92, odds 100 to 1). Such a price for a host country is unprecedented, but Austria deserve these odds. Most people are too young to remember the 1930s "Wunder Team" of Hugo Meisl. Even Hans Krankl and Tony Polster represent a bygone era. Austrians settle for being a hospitable and hopefully profitable host. A nice line in self-deprecating humor is the clothing dreamed up by a young graphic designer: Its slogan "Hosted by Losers" is a play on Germany's 2006 "Hosted by Friends."

Croatia (rank 15, odds 12 to 1). Smart, tough and technically well prepared by coach Slaven Bilic, the Croats might be less motivated than the 1998 team that finished third at the World Cup. That side was spurred by the Balkans war. Now the Croats are well fed mercenaries of top European leagues. They will miss the injured Eduardo da Silva, but Luka Modric is the coming man.