Euro Cup 2008

It is a game of heartbreak and passion. Michael Ballak and the German team has stolen my heart, and once again I am deep in the throws of Football Love. Watching Euro Cup enables me to call it football, because it is so different than watching MLS Soccer. ( I do have to say that America has come a long way, and I am hopeful for the future, but the United States still has a long way to go until they play as beautifully as some of the European teams. And South America for that matter.) 

I love this game. There is a pace to it that is unmatched, and the players are holding up more than the hope of their teams. Their fans are passionate to teh point of obsession. 

  It is about the pitch - the green of it and size of it and how the ball and players use every single part of it to control the game. it is about the Uniform - how the players grab uniforms whenever they can, or how a player leans down to fix a sock just to catch his breath, or how the jersey hangs outside the shorts for some players, and is tucked in for others. It is about the chanting crowd and how their every breath lingers on a single cross. But mostly it is about the ball. The way players move for the ball even when it is on the other side of the field. The way plays are anticipated and carried out, and then when the ball bounces strangely the game is altered to a new path, and the players adapt. The momentum of the game is like a techno beat. it starts out slow and methodically, and slowly moves and grinds its way to a pitch until you are on the edge of everything just waiting for the shot, the save, the volley. And then it breaks, and the players know it, and the ball crashes into the back of net, and the players are overcome with emotion. 

Michael Ballak and Germany have an amazing team. They play with a confidence that is so fun to watch. They have so many weapons, and Ballak is the steadfast among them. Germany is a team that can play beautifully and link passes together and look composed, yet they are also a team that even when back on their heels can whack the crap out of the ball and hit it into the net with their thigh. Not exactly pretty, but awesome. Ballak is the anchor. The quiet storm that links things together on the field. 

Germany and Spain . . . Should be a great game to watch, and I am looking forward to it. Euro Cup Final 2008. After this MLS just won't be the same. But hey, World Cup is only 2 years away. 

And we should still have hope that Americans will some day fully appreciate the beauty of this game.