Montreal's Ricketts Injured On International Duty

Possible some bad news on the MLS injury front for the Montreal Impact.  Their number one goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts was stretchered off the field in the 17th minute of Jamaica's win over Guatemala in World Cup Qualifying.  He apparently took a knock to the lower body.

Montreal manager Jesse Marsch has said that Ricketts experienced some pain in the top of his knee, and he expects the move was just a precaution.  He's expected to return to Montreal late Thursday night where the Impact medical staff will judge him for fitness for this weekend's MLS match.  Stay tuned to the MLS official site for developments.

Montreal will host Seattle Sounders at 7:30 Eastern Time on Saturday.  It will be the grand reopening of their home ground, Stade Saputo.

Euro 2012: Spain vs Italy

Antonio Di Natale scores Italy's goal in the second half (AP Images)

Sunday afternoon saw the defending Euro champions take the stage in Gdansk as Spain took to the pitch against Italy.  These two teams had also won the last two FIFA World Cups: Italy in 2006 and Spain in 2010.  However, nobody gave the Italians much of a chance in the shadow of their match-fixing scandal, but they put on a pretty decent show in the face of a slightly underwhelming Spain performance.

Spain came out in what announcer Ian Darke labeled a "false number 9" formation, featuring a 4-3-3 type with no actual strikers.  They had some success with this formation in the qualifiers, but it didn't seem to phase the Italians.  The Spaniards had a tough time getting good lucks at goal without a focal point up top. Manchester City man David Silva had the first two looks, sending a drive over the bar in the 9th minute and forcing a save out of Gianluigi Buffon in the 11th.

However Italy got more possession than you might expect an opponent to get against Spain, especially in the first half.  In the 22nd minute Antonio Cassano drug a shot across the face of goal that went just wide of Iker Casillas' far post.  Then in the 36th minute Claudio Marchisio sent in an absolutely blistering volley that would have given the Italians the lead, but he hit it right at the Spanish 'keeper.

The goals didn't come until the second half.  In the 56th minute Italy subbed Antonio Di Natale of Udinese for Mario Balotelli.  Balotelli had just royally mismanaged a look right in front of the Spanish goal, and the Italians had seen enough.  However Di Natale paid immediate dividends.  In the 60th minute Andrea Pirlo played him into the area and Di Natale scorched a shot past Casillas into the far end of the goal to give Italy the 1-0 lead.

Spain didn't panic though, and just 4 minutes later they showed exactly what their players were capable of in the "false number 9" formation.  David Silva slid a gorgeous little pass to Cesc Fabregas and the Bareclona man powered his strike past Buffon to tie the match at 1-1.  

After that Spain finally inserted a striker to try and force a winner against the fatigued Italian defense.  Unfortunately that striker was Fernando Torres, and he did not do well.  Actually, he looked pretty sharp on the ball, but one could tell his confidence in goal is not totally back yet.  His best chance came in the 85th minute.  He and Xavi did a nice little 1-2 that resulted in a great look, but Torres' chip shot not only floated over Buffon, but over the crossbar to consign the defending champs to the 1-1 draw at full time.

Euro2012: Germany vs. Portugal

Germany's Mario Gomez heads home the game winner (AP Images)

Euro2012's Group of Death continued Saturday night with Germany vs. Portugal.  With Denmark actually picking up three points earlier in the day vs. the Netherlands, it's likely that both of these teams knew they needed the full three points to keep pace in the group.  The Germans had the added pressure of being one of the favorites to win the whole thing.

Shades of Chelsea and the Champions League final began to emerge for the Germans, many of whom play for Bayern Munich.  Portugal played a pretty thorough defensive game for most of the match and frustrated Germany in front of goal.  Mario Gomez earned his first chance of the match on 2 minutes, as he headed a cross from Jerome Boateng on target, but Portugal 'keeper Rui Patricio made the save rather comfortably.  In the 9th minute Lucas Podolski tried his luck from just outside the area, but again Patricio was up to the task.

As for Portugal, they did enjoy a decent bit of the ball in the first half, but as usual, they seemed to struggle putting all of their individual talent together to carve out good chances on goal.  Their best chance of the first half came right on the 45th minute when Pepe managed to head a corner into the crossbar.  The ball bounced right back down on the line but the German defense was able to clear before it crossed, sending the two teams into halftime still scoreless.

The second half proceeded along much the same lines as the first, but Portugal did try to attack a bit more.  Cristiano Ronaldo sent a shot wide of the target in the 49th minute, then he had another chance in the 65th minute, being set up by a nice cross from Coentrao, but Boateng just got his foot in at the last second to block the shot.

Germany finally broke through the deadlock in the in 72nd minute.  With his manager prepared to sub him out, Gomez finally won his redemption.  Sami Khedira sent a nice cross into the middle of the box and Gomez rose to head it home brilliantly and give Germany the 1-0 lead.

At the point Portugal didn't really fancy their chances of advancement if they came away with nothing, so they started to pile on the pressure.  The last 10 minutes produced a flurry of chances.  In the 82nd minute, Ronaldo drove a shot in on goal that Manuel Neuer was able to parry away.  This resulted in a couple of corners that Germany managed to clear.  Then in the 84th minute Nani hit a cross/shot that again clanged off the crossbar.  Finally in the 88th minute Varela had a point blank look at Neuer's far post, but somehow the German 'keeper managed to dive in and save it just in time to preserve the 1-0 win for Germany.

NOTE:  In more bad fan behavior news, Germany has been cited for the fact that their fans tossed grapefruit sized wads of paper at the Portugal players. Those of us who have had our teams play in some Latin American countries think, "Well, at least it wasn't bottles of urine."  Portugal was also cited for delaying the 2nd half kick.

Euro 2012: The Netherlands vs. Denmark

Denmark's Michael Krohn-Dehli celebrates the game's only goal (Getty Images)

You wouldn't know it from seeing the end result of this match, but the Netherlands bulldozed most of their opponents in qualifying.  They featured the leading scorers from two of the world's top leagues. Klaas-Jan Huntelaar led the German Bundesliga, and of course Robin Van Persie led the Barclay's Premier League.  In the end, none of the Dutch big guns could break down Denmark.

Holland came out on the attack immediately, as predicted.  Netherlands youngster and PSV Eindhoven man Jetro Willems fired the first salvo of the match on three minutes, but saw his shot sail over the bar.  Van Persie also had a few chances early, one of the best coming in minute seven after a cross from Arjen Robben, but the Arsenal captain dismally put it wide.  Barcelona's Ibrahim Allefay also caused Denmark problems, but couldn't find the target either.

Despite the Dutch bombardment, the Danes were undeterred and pressed forward when they did get their chances on the ball.  In the 24th minute Simon Poulsen had his cross blocked, but it fell to Michael Krohn-Dehli, who expertly slipped the ball between the legs of the Dutch 'keeper to make it 0-1 to Denmark.

Holland continued to mount an assault in the second half.  Early on Van Persie had a great look in front of the Denmark goal, but tripped over his own feet as he tried to shoot.  Shortly after that chance Mark Van Bommel drove a strike in on target, but Danish 'keeper Stephan Andersen made a great save. 

Denmark wasn't done attacking either, and they managed to carve out a couple more chances on the counter.  In the 70th minute Krohn-Dehli managed another effort on target, but this time his shot was saved to keep the match at 0-1.

The Netherlands had one last good chance to equalize in the 89th minute, or at least thought they should have.  Denmark defender Lars Jacobsen appeared to handle a shot from Huntelaar, but the referee waived away the Dutch appeals for a penalty kick and the match finished 0-1 to the Danes.   The group of death became a lot worse for the favored Netherlands.

Euro 2012: Russia vs. Czech Republic

Russia's Alan Dzagoyev celebrates his first of two goals on Friday (AP Images)

The second game of Euro 2012 took place in Wroclaw, Poland, and had a lot to live up to after the dramatics of the first match.  In the end it really didn't have the drama, but it certainly provided the goals. The Czech's porous defense hung Petr Cech out to dry as the Russians ran rampant at full time.

It was actually the Czechs who settled first in the match, having some possession and making it difficult for the Russians to make anything out of it when they had the ball.  However, the men in red finally broke through on 15 minutes.  Alexander Kerzhakov headed a cross into the post and Alan Dzagoyev stepped up and smacked the ball into the net to give Russia a 1-0 lead.  It wasn't the end of the first half nightmare for the Czechs either.  They gave up the ball to Andrei Arshavin in the 24th minute.  The Arsenal man shuttled a pass through Kerzhakov and on to Roman Shirokov, who calmly chipped the ball over the Chelsea 'keeper to make it 2-0 to the Russians, which held into halftime.

The Czechs did make interesting for a little bit in the second half.   In the 52nd minute they managed to cut the lead in half.  Jaroslav Plasil sent in a gorgeous ball to Vaclav Pilar that opened up the Russian defense.  Pilar easily worked the ball around the Russian 'keeper and slipped the ball into the goal to make it 2-1.  After that the Czech side really got their act together, but couldn't find the equalizer.

The Russians finally finished the match off late on.  In the 78th minute Roman Pavlyuchenko grabbed a loose ball and passed over to Dzagoyev, who calmly finished off his second goal of the match to make it 3-1.  Pavlyuchenko himself would put the final nail in the coffin as he blasted a shot into the top of the goal on 82 minutes to make it 4-1 at full time.

Unfortunately, the match itself ended up being overshadowed by unruly fan behavior and alleged racism.  It just doesn't look like the tournament is going to be able to shake this.  First off, Russian fans were filmed fighting with and beating on Polish stadium staff after the match.  As a result, 4 members of the stadium staff were hospitalized, according to Bloomberg News.  Also, UEFA monitors at the match reported that Russian fans racially abused Czech defender Theodor Gebre Selassie, who is black.  UEFA has already charged the Russian soccer association with the beatings of the stadium staff, and they are seeking more evidence on the racism claim.  Apparently the fight started when the stadium staff tried to confront Russian fans who were using fireworks.  Punishments may range from fines to expulsion form UEFA competitions for repeated offenses.

Euro 2012: Poland vs. Greece

Poland backup 'keeper Przemyslaw Tyton saves a PK (AP Photo)

Turns out there was a little bit of everything in the opening match to Euro 2012.  Poland hosted Greece at the Polish national stadium in Warsaw, and both sets of fans had reason to walk away from the match disappointed, but also feeling very fortunate.

Both sides took the pitch to a Thunderous atmosphere after the opening ceremonies, but it was Poland who took charge of the actual football in the first half.   In the 5th minute Rafal Murawski got everyone's attention with a strike on target that the Greek 'keeper managed to tip over the bar.  For the most part the Poles kept applying the pressure in the Greek defensive third and it paid off in the 17th minute.  Jakub Blaszczykowski sent in a cross that found the head of Robert Lewandowski.  The Dortmund connection paid off for Poland as Lewandowski easily headed it into the net to make it 1-0.

There would be other chances for Poland in the first half as well.  Most notably Damien Perquis ended up with what pretty much was a sitter shot in the 37th minute.  Unfortunately for the cohost nation, he somehow put it wide.

However in the minutes leading up to the break, the Spanish referee inserted himself squarely into the match.  In the 44th minute he hit Greece's Sokratis Papastathopoulos with a very soft 2nd yellow card, putting Greece down to ten men.  His first yellow card was very questionable as well, but still Sokratis got an early shower.  Then in the first minute of stoppage time, a Poland defender clearly handled the ball while on the ground in the box.  The Greeks shrieked for a penalty, but none was given and the half ended 1-0 to Poland.

Greece came out totally different in the 2nd half.  There really was nowhere to go but up for them, and up they went.  In the 51st minute Vasilis Torosidis sent a cross into the six, and Poland 'keeper Wojciech Szczesny tried to claim it.  The Arsenal man totally bungled it, and Demitrios Salpingdis was there to slam the ball into the empty net to tie the match at 1-1.

It was not the last error Szczesny would make either.  In the 69th minute he brought down Salpingdis in the box.  He not only conceded the PK but earned himself the red card as well, evening up the sides on 10 men. That one was definitely the correct call.  Backup 'keeper Przemyslaw Tyton stretched and came on to face the penalty.  Giorgos Karagounis took the PK for Greece, but Tyton guessed correctly and dove to his left to make the save.  It wasn't the best PK in the world, but the 'keeper still had to save it.  There will probably be some toasts to Tyton throughout Poland tonight.

That save ended up preserving the draw, as neither side really threatened the goal again.  Greece did have a goal called back for offside, but it was the correct decision as well.  In the final minutes both teams seemed tired from playing with 10 men for an extended stretch and both settled for the 1-1 draw at full time.  Both teams probably could have won, but they'll each walk away with a point which keeps them square in the thick of things after day 1 at Euro 2012.

Aron Winter Out at TFC

Aron Winter has been relieved of coaching duties at Toronto FC

People have been waiting for the axe to fall at Toronto FC for a few weeks now.  The Reds got off to the worst start in MLS history, losing their first nine matches.  Somewhat curiously, the aforementioned axe did not fall until TFC won the Canadian Championship and earned their first MLS win over Philadelphia. 

Today that day finally came though as TFC announced that they were parting ways with manager Aron Winter.  Winter is a former Dutch International who came to TFC in January 2011, promising to implement  the Dutch "total football" style and lead the team to the promised land of the MLS Playoffs.  Neither happened.  In a year and half at the club, Winter won only 7 league matches.  The high point of his tenure was reaching the semifinals of the CONCACAF Champions League this year, where the Reds were dispatched at the hands of Mexican side Santos Laguna.  According to ownership, Winter was offered a different role with the club, but declined.

TFC has named Director of Player Development Paul Mariner as manager.  Mariner has an impressive footballing pedigree.  He's a former England International who represented the Three Lions in both the European Championships and the FIFA World Cup.  He also spent time with Arsenal during his playing days.  As far as coaching goes, he was an assistant to Steve Nichol in New England and also managed English side Plymouth Argyle in the League Championship before taking the development job at TFC in 2011.  His first match in charge will be at Sporting Kansas City on June 16.