Mon 30 Jul 2012
London, beside its football history has a big tennis tradition. We may say that tennis is coming home. Wimbledon is one of the best and most difficult tennis tournaments. Tennis fanatics will book their places at the courts, and the satisfaction will be guaranteed. There is only one bad thing about London Games- the absence of Rafael Nadal, due to injury problems. People wanted to see a final between the two excellent players- Nadal and Federer.
Hours before the start of the Olympic Games, one of the favorites- Federer said that winning the tournament is much harder than the major Grand Slam victories. Everyone wants to show the best play and gain fame, maybe because the London Games will be watched by four billions of people all around the world. Federer is one the biggest names in London, moreover he is the last Wimbledon Champion.
At the Olympic Games Federer won 4th place in the 2000th Games. He won Olympic gold in doubles in the previous tournament. Maybe London could become his luckiest city even more his opponent Novak Djokovic named Federer as the biggest tennis title challenger. Months ago the Swiss player took all the glory on the grass of Wimbledon and many fans are expecting more titles from their favorite.
We will not be able to see a Nadal-Federer match, but the rivalry between the two players could be the main attraction in the London tennis tournament. Federer has a slight advantage in the matches against Djokovic. He leads by a victory in the Grand Slams matches. They had only one match on grass, and London could become the battleground for another memorable battleground for Federer and Djokovic. Many specialists consider the rivalry between the two players, as the biggest rivalry in the Open Era.




It does not matter if you like German football or not, you must admit the German influence on the world soccer. Germany is considered as title pretenders on any major tournaments. Germany football is all about physique and collective play. Germany players are known for their obedience of the game schemes. Germany is always a tough team to play with. They have strong defense, intense middle field corresponding between the defenders and attackers. Germany has never played lovely football… until now. The “mandschaft” is known for well organized and correctly executed games. They are not demanding success, they just believe in it. Today the German team plays total football and the teams they play with are lucky if they keep the net goalless. German team is like the German made automotives, they work properly and flawlessly. There is no remorse for the opponents. Fans and journalists are considering Germany as the only team that could overcome the Spanish champions. German players, with a solid backing of Bayern Munich players want a title at last. German national team has not won a title since 1996 that`s when it has become European champion. Euro 2012 will be special for most of the German players. They want a revenge for the missed opportunities during their season. Bayern Munich failed to win the Champions League on their home ground. During the Euro 2012 qualifications the German games were like shootouts. German team is one of the teams with the most scored goals. The German machine is going on a mission. It is “now or never” thing. They have the experience and ability, world class coach and self determination to get revenge. Let`s remember the Gary Lineker`s words: “tournaments are nice experience, teams come and play and finally the winner is… Germany!” The German invasion starts soon. Watch out for it!
Greece is coming to Euro 2012 with modesty and mixed feelings. Greek fans do not expect great thing from its national team but who knows what is going to happen. Greeks were underdogs during the Euro 2004 and surprisingly even for them, they won the title. It is usually for the Greeks to play erratic and to show sometimes great quality football. Greek football has been always somewhere in the middle of the European rankings. It`s true that there are few Greek team that could afford expensive and famous World top class players and coaches. Greek way of conduct football games is always been some kind of carefree style. Greek players are considered as good European players and nothing more. The national team played as a great collective during 2004th European Championship. They did not have extraordinary individuals, but have impressed as a whole team performance. Some European experts believed that it could be the milestone for the whole Greek football. But after the title, Greeks failed to qualify for the World cup in 2008th, despite the fact that they were pointed as favorites in their group. Most of the national team players come from the Greek championship. Their names sound unfamiliar for most of the players and experts at Euro 2012. But Greek fans know them and want decent performance form their heroes. No one is expecting a new breakthrough like it was in 2004. The first match is against the co-host Poland. The result is more likely to be a draw because both teams are going to show all the quality they have in the first match. Even though Greek re one of the previous European Champions they won`t make it through the Final rounds, the group seems to tough for their potential. Greeks play hard against the favorites but fail to impress against the same level teams.