Posts Tagged ‘Mario Gómez’

Top 10 Flops of Euro 2008

Sunday, June 29th, 2008

Top 10 Flops of Euro 2008

Luca Toni‘s topping the charts again… only this time, it isn’t very flattering. English tabloid The Sun just dished out another Top 10 list, regrouping the “Biggest flops” of this Summer’s Euro championship tournament. The Italy striker tops the list, despite receiving a pat on the back from Bayern Munich chairman Karl Heinz Rummenigge.

It’s not [Toni's] fault if things didn’t go well, it’s Italy’s” said Rummenigge. “He was only served well in the game against France, he made mistakes but also won the penalty which changed the match. Against Spain he was very criticised, injustly: I did not see a single good pass played to him in that game to even have a chance of scoring. He was all alone, and he was missing Pirlo.” Still not enough for The Sun writers, and who can blame them? Going from 40 goals in his first season with Bayern to zero goals at Euro 2008 surely deserves some criticism…

Number 2 in the list is Chelsea and Czech Republic keeper Petr Cech, earning the spot thanks to his less-than-stellar performance vs. Turkey (Nihat Kahveci is still saying thank you). Completing the podium we find Barcelona and France defender Eric Abidal, who caused the penalty kick against Toni in the match vs. Italy, and the resulting red card that virtually cleared the road for the Azzurri’s victory.

In 4th spot, title holders Greece (knocked out in the first round), followed by Thierry Henry (“the man whose star continues to fade“) and Mario Gomez (“[Germany] were effectively playing with 10 men for their three group games“). At 7th spot are host countries Austria & Switzerland, for getting knocked out in the group stage “and barely raising a cheer from their own fans“.

Completing the “best of the worst” list, Fiorentina and Romania striker Adrian Mutu (who probably still hasn’t swallowed Buffon’s PK save), France’s Karim Benzema (a “wonderkid that failed to impress”) and the host TV broadcaster (for the power outage during the Germany-Turkey semi-final).

Here’s the full list with captions from The Sun article:
.

TV static Nº10: The Host Broadcaster
A massive electrical storm in Vienna saw Germany’s thrilling showdown with Turkey ruined for millions of armchair fans. At least 10 minutes of the rollercoaster semi-final was lost in the TV coverage, including Miroslav Klose’s goal.

Nº9: Karim Benzema French forward Karim Benzema reacts at the end of the Euro 2008 Championships Group C football match France vs. Italy on June 17, 2008 at the Letzigrund stadium in Zurich . Italy won 2-0. (AFP/Getty Images)
The France striker went into the tournament with a growing reputation as his country’s wonderkid. Fans were told he was the hottest property outside Italy, Spain and England. But Benzema failed to impress during his two dismal displays for the hopeless French.

Romanian forward Adrian Mutu is pictured during the Euro 2008 Championships Group C football match Netherlands vs. Romania on June 17, 2008 at the Stade de Suisse Wankdorf in Bern. (AFP/Getty Images) Nº8: Adrian Mutu
The former Chelsea striker was tipped to pull up trees with underdogs Romania. And with a penalty against Italy, he was one kick away from sending his side into the quarter-finals. But Mutu fluffed his effort and Romania later tumbled out against Holland.

Nº7: The Co-Hosts Host countries Austria and Switzerland
Austria and Switzerland were both among the first seeds for the tournament as the host nations but they barely raised a cheer for their own fans. Austria bowed out with a single draw, while Switzerland’s only points came against Portugal in a dead rubber following their own elimination.

German forward Mario Gomez (back) lays on the field next to teammate German defender Clemens Fritz during their Euro 2008 Championships Group B football match Germany vs. Poland on June 8, 2008 at Woerthersee stadium in Klagenfurt, Austria. (AFP/Getty Images) Nº6: Mario Gomez
Germany’s route to the final was no mean feat — especially when you consider they were effectively playing with 10 men for their three group games. Gomez contributed next to nothing, with boss Joachim Low seeing sense in the quarter-finals to finally drop him.

Nº5: Thierry Henry French forward Thierry Henry reacts after missing a goal opportunity during the Euro 2008 Championships Group C football match France vs. Italy on June 17, 2008 at the Letzigrund stadium in Zurich . Italy won 2-0. (AFP/Getty Images)
The man whose star continues to fade must take some of the stick for France’s disjointed campaign this month. Henry’s goal against Holland masked an ineffective showing, with his deflection against Italy condemning his side to an early exit from the group stages.

German coach of the Greek national football team Otto Rehhagel gestures during the Euro 2008 Championships Group D football match Greece vs. Spain on June 18, 2008 at the Wals-Siezenheim stadium in Salzburg. (AFP/Getty Images) Nº4: Greece
It seems a bit harsh for the surprise winners of Euro 2004 to be here but defeat in all three group games was truly woeful. And Greece’s arch-rivals Turkey rubbed the defending champions’ noses in it by reaching the semi-finals with a series of thrilling comebacks.

Nº3: Eric Abidal Slovak referee Michel L'ubos (L) hands a red card to French defender Eric Abidal (C) next to midfielder teammate Claude Makelele (R) during the Euro 2008 Championships Group C football match France vs. Italy on June 17, 2008 at the Letzigrund stadium in Zurich. (AFP/Getty Images)
Playing the world champions in a win-or-bust final group game is never easy, yet France did not help themselves. When defender Abidal chopped down Italy’s Luca Toni for a first-half penalty and straight red card, it was au revoir Les Bleus.

Czech Republic's goalkeeper Petr Cech reacts after their Group A Euro 2008 soccer match defeat to Turkey at Stade de Geneve stadium in Geneva June 15, 2008. (REUTERS) Nº2: Petr Cech
Leading 2-1 against Turkey with just two minutes left, Czech Republic had one foot in the quarter-finals— until Cech’s howler. The Chelsea keeper horribly fluffed a routine cross for the equaliser, before an injury-time winner sent his side packing.

Nº1: Luca Toni Italian forward Luca Toni heads for the ball during the Euro 2008 Championships Group C football match France vs. Italy on June 17, 2008 at the Letzigrund stadium in Zurich. (AFP/Getty Images)
The Italian hotshot came to the finals on the back of a golden season with Bayern Munich, notching 31 goals in the Bundesliga. But Toni endured a dreadful tournament, missing countless chances as well as looking like a man running through treacle.

.
Agree with the list? Tell us what you think below.

Robot-Goalkeeper Technology: Germany’s Latest Invention to Stop Luca Toni… Meet Goalias

Tuesday, May 6th, 2008

There could be tough times ahead for Luca Toni. The Bayern Munich striker, just recently crowned Bundesliga champion and currently leading the scoring charts with 21 goals, may soon be confronted with an unsurpassable obstacle… of the robotic kind. Its name is Goalias (or GoalIAS if you prefer), and it’s the first robot-goalkepeer capable of defending a regular-sized football goal.

IAS stands for Institut für Automatisierungs und Softwaretechnik (“Automation and Software technology Institute”, or something along those lines) and is the University of Stuttgart department responsible for the creation of the mechanical goalkeeper. If you’re thinking about a cyborg with a humanoid shape though, you’re way off. The robot in question is simply a cardboard on wheels, shaped in the form of a goalkeeper and moving alongside a track placed on the goal line. The real engineering marvel of GoalIAS comes from its three videocameras and computer processor, calculating with lightning-fast velocity (under 400 ms in fact) the best position to make a save every time a shot is taken.

It works like this: the player takes a shot, the cameras (placed on top of the crossbar) analyze the trajectory the ball is taking, and relay the information to the central processor. The computer then calculates the best position to make the save and moves the “goalkeeper” accordingly. All this is done in under 400 milliseconds.

GoalIAS was recently tested by somewhat of a VIP of German football, namely currently 2nd-ranked Bundesliga topscorer Mario Gómez (I guess Toni was unavailable). The German International took a series of shots on net, and it turned out robo-keeper saved 50% of Mario’s efforts. I bet he wasn’t bragging too much at practice the following week…

Anyways, after Mario Gomez the next test of ‘robo-keeper’ is set for May 22. This time GoalIAS will be facing the German Women’s National football team. Who knows? Perhaps by that time the robot (already in its second version) will have been perfected even more.