And so to Euro 2012. Where the amusingly named Lars Bender made the Danes bite his shiny metal ass and scored the winner ten minutes from time as Germany took their place in the quarter-finals as convincing winners of Group B. The twenty three-year-old Bayer Leverkusen player poked in a shot late on from Mesut Özil's pass to end plucky little Denmark's dream of repeating their heroics of 1992. Germany had taken a nineteenth-minute lead through Lukas Podolski, only for Michael Krohn-Dehli to head and equaliser six minutes later. For much of this game, this was a dominant display by Germany, inspired by Sami Khedira's midfield generalship, Thomas Müller's prodigious work on the wings and a work rate and ambition that shone throughout the team. They're a bit good this German side. The long journey from Germany's team base in Gdansk to Ukraine have reportedly not gone down well with the squad but having topped the group with their victory in Lviv, they have earned a quarter-final in the city where they are based. The last time Denmark and Germany met in a competitive fixture had been memorable for very different reasons. The final of the 1992 European Championship saw the Danes beat the Germans in the final to complete one of the most surprising tournament victories in history. Denmark have struggled to escape the shadow of that victory ever since but with the sublime young talents such as Christian Eriksen in the side there was a sense of optimism about the future. Germany were in no mood for a repeat, however. For long periods of this match sour-faced Joachim Löw's side were untouchable in possession with Müller and Bastian Schweinsteiger dictating from midfield. Whether breaking past an opponent from wide on the right flank, or erupting with dramatic suddenness through the middle of a defence, Müller's early runs were an exhilarating blend of grace and devastation. The Bayern Munich midfielder was a constant danger, but twice in the early moments he spurned good chances, failing to make clean contact when the ball broke to him six yards from goal and shooting narrowly over with the goal at his mercy. It was no surprise when Müller created the opening goal for Germany, exchanging passes with Özil, before cutting the ball back across the penalty area from the right where Podolski thumped it ruthlessly beyond Denmark goalkeeper Stephan Andersen. Denmark were bystanders for much of the opening period, unable to prevent or disrupt the German passing carousel and relying on intermittent long-range attacks. But what became clear quite quickly was their dominance at set-pieces. 
The Arse's Nicklas Bendtner had won an early header from a corner and when he rose again to meet a twenty third-minute corner, Germany were found wanting. The Dane rose majestically to head the back across goal, where Krohn-Dehli flicked the ball beyond Germany goalkeeper Manuel Neuer. But while Denmark visibly grew in confidence after the goal, Germany continued to dominate. Mario Gomez was always on hand to provide the German attack with a focal point and might have done better on two occasions before half-time when the ball broke kindly to him. Khedira was also guilty of wastefulness, exchanging passes with Gomez only to poke the ball wide with the outside of his right foot when the ball broke to him. Denmark were, however, unbowed. Starved of possession and chasing shadows, the clenched fist of their coach Morten Olsen at half-time said it all. It had been a gesture of unexpected defiance in the face of German domination but for his team the message was clear. Denmark looked a different side early in the second half and should have snatched an unlikely lead when Bendtner collected Simon Poulsen's clever pass in the penalty box before laying the ball off to Jakob Poulsen, who skimmed the outside of the post with his low shot. The fluency Germany had found for long periods was being disrupted by a Denmark side that tackled, battled and denied space, their uncomplicated, direct approach putting their more celebrated opponents under serious duress. The introduction of Bayern Leverkusen striker André Schürrle appeared to help Germany regain their dynamism. The twenty one-year-old almost made an immediate impact, gathering Khedira's delightfully weighted pass before directing a fierce, low shot across goal which Andersen did well to push to safety. Bendter was unfortunate moments later when he poked narrowly over after a delightful ball by Eriksen but Germany looked the more likely. With Denmark tiring, Bender broke forward, taking advantage of Simon Poulsen's slip and rolled the ball beyond Andersen to decide the outcome of Group B.
Meanwhile, an admittedly scintillating double by that odious cheating little shit Cristiano Ronaldo led Portugal into the Euro 2012 quarter-finals as they beat the worst Netherlands team to play a major championships in decades and send them back to the low countries with nul points. The Dutch needed to win by two clear goals to stand a chance of progressing and Rafael van der Vaart's lovely curling strike put them ahead.
But the Dutch faded badly thereafter and Ronaldo equalised by slotting in from João Pereira's precise pass. Nani set up Ronaldo to drive in another as a rampant Portugal eased to a win. Portugal will go on to play Group A winners the Czech Republic, while the Dutch will be left to pick the bones of a group stage in which they lost all three of their games, just two years after finishing as World Cup runners-up.
The Football Association will challenge UEFA over disciplinary proceedings relating to England fans' behaviour during the win against Sweden on Friday. The investigation surrounds an alleged attempted invasion of the pitch, according to a statement on the European governing body's website. UEFA's Control and Disciplinary Body will discuss the matter on 20 June. It is understood that the FA will submit written evidence to UEFA ahead of the hearing on Wednesday. The FA will cite the report from the UEFA match delegate, which described the behaviour of England fans as 'satisfactory.' Although the FA may accept that there was some encroachment by fans following the second and third goals during England's dramatic 3-2 victory against Sweden in Kiev, they will argue it was down to exuberance rather than maliciousness.
They will also be critical of the stewarding at the match and the lack of seat management. The governing body has issued a number of punishments since tournament in Poland and Ukraine began more than two weeks ago. The Football Union of Russia received a suspended six-point deduction for the Euro 2016 qualifiers after supporters set off fireworks and displayed illicit banners during the group A clash with the Czech Republic on the opening day. The Croatian Football Federation were fined twenty five thousand Euros following similar incidents during the Group C match against the Republic of Ireland. Further fines have been imposed on the German Football Association and Portuguese Football Federation after their supporters were found to have thrown paper missiles onto the pitch during their meeting.
There's a superb think-piece in the Gruniad by the broadcaster Danny Kelly - someone yer actual Keith Telly Topping has always had a soft spot for - on the ramifications of the Sky Premiership deal under the headline Football keeps getting richer, but it's the fans who pay for it: 'All parties are locked in a cycle of dependency. The media companies need football to expand their businesses. Fans just can't stop watching (and, after the incredible season we've just witnessed, who can blame us?) And football is obsessed with the getting and keeping of money. All of which would be a little more tolerable if, as Scudamore suggested might happen, some of this new cash were to trickle down, to help finance youth development, coaching in schools or better facilities at grounds.
Anyone harbouring such Utopian ideas urgently needs to look at the other important document that arrived in the world of football last week. Simon Jordan's book, Be Careful What You Wish For, is a hand grenade into the millpond of any such wishful thinking. In it, the former Crystal Palace chairman describes in painful, often self-flagellating detail how his vast fortune was envied, eroded and ultimately engulfed by the greed of footballers and their representatives. The synopsis is brutally brief – "I had it; they got it" – and it should be required reading for anyone who gives a tuppenny damn about what is, after all, a huge part of our national culture. The new dough pouring into the game will change nothing. Rather it will accelerate processes already out of control. The players will get richer, the clubs will grow ever grander and more remote from their fans (now rebranded as "customers") and theoretically clever businessmen will continue to run football clubs in a way that would disgrace the owners of whelk stalls. The party will continue apace, the glam and glitz blinding us to the occasional victim slumped in the corner. For the latest of these we need look no further than Glasgow, where Rangers, a global institution, have, thanks to a perfect storm of all the vainglorious pitfalls that beset our clubs, gone to the wall, the husk of its once proud body now being poked at by lawyers and taxmen.' What he said.
The Arse's Nicklas Bendtner had won an early header from a corner and when he rose again to meet a twenty third-minute corner, Germany were found wanting. The Dane rose majestically to head the back across goal, where Krohn-Dehli flicked the ball beyond Germany goalkeeper Manuel Neuer. But while Denmark visibly grew in confidence after the goal, Germany continued to dominate. Mario Gomez was always on hand to provide the German attack with a focal point and might have done better on two occasions before half-time when the ball broke kindly to him. Khedira was also guilty of wastefulness, exchanging passes with Gomez only to poke the ball wide with the outside of his right foot when the ball broke to him. Denmark were, however, unbowed. Starved of possession and chasing shadows, the clenched fist of their coach Morten Olsen at half-time said it all. It had been a gesture of unexpected defiance in the face of German domination but for his team the message was clear. Denmark looked a different side early in the second half and should have snatched an unlikely lead when Bendtner collected Simon Poulsen's clever pass in the penalty box before laying the ball off to Jakob Poulsen, who skimmed the outside of the post with his low shot. The fluency Germany had found for long periods was being disrupted by a Denmark side that tackled, battled and denied space, their uncomplicated, direct approach putting their more celebrated opponents under serious duress. The introduction of Bayern Leverkusen striker André Schürrle appeared to help Germany regain their dynamism. The twenty one-year-old almost made an immediate impact, gathering Khedira's delightfully weighted pass before directing a fierce, low shot across goal which Andersen did well to push to safety. Bendter was unfortunate moments later when he poked narrowly over after a delightful ball by Eriksen but Germany looked the more likely. With Denmark tiring, Bender broke forward, taking advantage of Simon Poulsen's slip and rolled the ball beyond Andersen to decide the outcome of Group B. Meanwhile, an admittedly scintillating double by that odious cheating little shit Cristiano Ronaldo led Portugal into the Euro 2012 quarter-finals as they beat the worst Netherlands team to play a major championships in decades and send them back to the low countries with nul points. The Dutch needed to win by two clear goals to stand a chance of progressing and Rafael van der Vaart's lovely curling strike put them ahead.
But the Dutch faded badly thereafter and Ronaldo equalised by slotting in from João Pereira's precise pass. Nani set up Ronaldo to drive in another as a rampant Portugal eased to a win. Portugal will go on to play Group A winners the Czech Republic, while the Dutch will be left to pick the bones of a group stage in which they lost all three of their games, just two years after finishing as World Cup runners-up. The Football Association will challenge UEFA over disciplinary proceedings relating to England fans' behaviour during the win against Sweden on Friday. The investigation surrounds an alleged attempted invasion of the pitch, according to a statement on the European governing body's website. UEFA's Control and Disciplinary Body will discuss the matter on 20 June. It is understood that the FA will submit written evidence to UEFA ahead of the hearing on Wednesday. The FA will cite the report from the UEFA match delegate, which described the behaviour of England fans as 'satisfactory.' Although the FA may accept that there was some encroachment by fans following the second and third goals during England's dramatic 3-2 victory against Sweden in Kiev, they will argue it was down to exuberance rather than maliciousness.
They will also be critical of the stewarding at the match and the lack of seat management. The governing body has issued a number of punishments since tournament in Poland and Ukraine began more than two weeks ago. The Football Union of Russia received a suspended six-point deduction for the Euro 2016 qualifiers after supporters set off fireworks and displayed illicit banners during the group A clash with the Czech Republic on the opening day. The Croatian Football Federation were fined twenty five thousand Euros following similar incidents during the Group C match against the Republic of Ireland. Further fines have been imposed on the German Football Association and Portuguese Football Federation after their supporters were found to have thrown paper missiles onto the pitch during their meeting.There's a superb think-piece in the Gruniad by the broadcaster Danny Kelly - someone yer actual Keith Telly Topping has always had a soft spot for - on the ramifications of the Sky Premiership deal under the headline Football keeps getting richer, but it's the fans who pay for it: 'All parties are locked in a cycle of dependency. The media companies need football to expand their businesses. Fans just can't stop watching (and, after the incredible season we've just witnessed, who can blame us?) And football is obsessed with the getting and keeping of money. All of which would be a little more tolerable if, as Scudamore suggested might happen, some of this new cash were to trickle down, to help finance youth development, coaching in schools or better facilities at grounds.
Anyone harbouring such Utopian ideas urgently needs to look at the other important document that arrived in the world of football last week. Simon Jordan's book, Be Careful What You Wish For, is a hand grenade into the millpond of any such wishful thinking. In it, the former Crystal Palace chairman describes in painful, often self-flagellating detail how his vast fortune was envied, eroded and ultimately engulfed by the greed of footballers and their representatives. The synopsis is brutally brief – "I had it; they got it" – and it should be required reading for anyone who gives a tuppenny damn about what is, after all, a huge part of our national culture. The new dough pouring into the game will change nothing. Rather it will accelerate processes already out of control. The players will get richer, the clubs will grow ever grander and more remote from their fans (now rebranded as "customers") and theoretically clever businessmen will continue to run football clubs in a way that would disgrace the owners of whelk stalls. The party will continue apace, the glam and glitz blinding us to the occasional victim slumped in the corner. For the latest of these we need look no further than Glasgow, where Rangers, a global institution, have, thanks to a perfect storm of all the vainglorious pitfalls that beset our clubs, gone to the wall, the husk of its once proud body now being poked at by lawyers and taxmen.' What he said.
