It’s been 16 years since Germany rudely gatecrashed our Euro 96 party and waltzed off with the trophy for a record third time, but they’ve drawn a European (not to mention a World Cup) blank since then and Joachim Löw’s boys will be acutely aware that a nation expects this Summer.

Defeat to the matadors of Spain in the final in Vienna four years ago certainly tested the Germans’ famous sense of sang-froid but they were imperious in qualifying with ten wins in ten and thirty-four goals in the process, and their trademark teutonic efficiency embodied by Bastian Schweinsteiger married with the more expansive and youthful talents of Mesut Özil, Sami Khedira, Toni Kroos and Mario Götze make them a potent force. Veteran striker Miroslav Klose led the way in qualifying with nine goals but the team are far from reliant on the 33-year-old.

Löw finished second at Euro 2008 and led Germany to the semis of the last World Cup in South Africa. His team is stronger than it was two years ago and, ominously, the infuriating German aura of invincibility seems to be slowly returning.

Redemption will be on the cards for Bert van Marwijk’s Netherlands side after they discarded decades of Dutch football tradition and tried to kick their way to victory against Spain in the 2010 World Cup final. The purists back home were throwing their clogs at the television in outrage and the big question is whether the team will return to its more aesthetically pleasing roots this Summer.

The coach is undeniably blessed with an embarrassment of attacking options but it was his first-choice back four of Erik Pieters, Joris Mathijsen, John Heitinga and Gregory van der Wiel, shielding the ever reliable Maarten Stekelenburg between the sticks, that provided the platform for an almost faultless Group E qualifying campaign.

Surprisingly Robin van Persie was eclipsed by Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, who scored 12 times en route to the finals compared to six from the Arsenal man, but goals will not be Holland’s problem in Ukraine and the onus is firmly on Van Marwijk to remove the shackles.

For Portugal, the finals seemed a forlorn hope after they took just one point from their opening two Group H qualifying games but the decision to hand Carlos Queiroz his P45 and replace him with former Sporting Lisbon manager Paulo Bento in September 2010 was a timely one.

Bento masterminded five wins on the bounce after getting the top job and although Portugal still needed to get past Bosnia and Herzegovina in the play-offs, they did the business in style with a thumping 6-2 aggregate win.

The suspicion however remains they are a team in decline and should a certain Cristiano Ronaldo break a nail or rupture an eyebrow during the tournament, the Portuguese cupboard begins to look very bare indeed.

Porto’s João Moutinho was a mainstay of the side throughout qualification alongside Raul Meireles in the midfield but the defence which conceded four at home to the minnows of Cyprus and another three against the might of Iceland in Porto remains a real concern.

There are few more wily operators in the tournament than Denmark boss Morten Olsen and he’ll need every one of his 12 years of experience as an international manager to get his side out of this group.

The likes of Copenhagen’s Lars Jacobsen, Roma’s Simon Kjær and Liverpool’s Daniel Agger ensured the Danes conceded a miserly six times in eight qualifying games but they were far from frightening going forward.

At least old stager Dennis Rommedahl enjoyed a vintage qualification campaign in the final third. The 33-year-old may be plying his trade in the modest surroundings of the Danish Superliga with Brøndby these days but three goals and five assists en route to the finals proved age has not yet withered his attacking talents.

Denmark did relegate Portugal into second place in Group H but despite their defensive durability, Olsen’s tactical nous and Thomas Sørensen’s vast experience in goal, the colour of Nicklas Bendtner’s boots could yet prove the highlight of the Danes’ Ukrainian adventure.

IAIN’S PREDICTIONS

9 June
Netherlands 3 Denmark 1
Germany 2 Portugal 0

13 June
Denmark 2 Portugal 2
Netherlands 1 Germany 1

17 June
Portugal 2 Netherlands 2
Denmark 0 Germany 2

When Roy Hodgson was announced as England manager recently you could prick your ears and almost hear the nation’s over-inflated balloon of hope deflating. The unfulfilled expectation of Tottenham Hotspur manager Harry Redknapp taking over from Fabio Capello, and the subsequent appointment of Hodgson, disappointed many who thought the West Brom manager was more suited to exceeding expectations with underdogs than taking on much bigger roles. The evidence is there (at Liverpool and Inter (and, to a degree, at Blackburn Rovers)) but all of this is, of course, absolutely unjust.

Whilst us English will once again be inclined to hope for a semi-final revenge clash with Germany on route to the final, Hodgson’s England must be more cautious, diligent and, above all else, unexpectant in the short-term. After all, with Redknapp flying high(ish) with Spurs, the average English fan would be pinning all his/her optimism into ‘Arry guiding Rooney, Lampard, Terry, et. al. to the championship, and no doubt we’d still get knocked out by Portugal on penalties at some stage. Roy, however, is the perfect appointment.

In 2008, Hodgson took Fulham from the brink of relegation to a seventh-place finish within a season and subsequently to the Europa League final of 2010 where they were beaten 2-1 by a strong Atlético Madrid side comprising of David de Gea, Diego Forlán and Sergio Agüero. This, however, wasn’t the first time that Roy had ‘turned water into wine’ as in 1976, his first season as a manager, he guided relegation-tipped Halmstads BK of Sweden to the Championship title.

Whilst his appointments at Inter Milan and Blackburn Rovers in the mid-nineties weren’t anything to write home about, Roy has been a quite dependable coach on an International level before. Although his win record of only 27% was the worst in Finland history (though most were draws, not losses), he almost guided them to Euro 2008, narrowly missing out on qualification by just three points. His time as coach of Switzerland was more than respectable too, famously qualifying for USA ’94 and taking four points from Italy along the way.

The point is England aren’t often as good as we’d all like to hope, and haven’t been for a long time. With Roy, the expectation isn’t unreasonably high and if we reach the semi-final, it’ll be quite an achievement. This isn’t, of course, a critique of Hodgson’s management style and record, quite the opposite in fact. It’s about time England are seen as an underdog rather than a favourite, and Roy, with his disciplined and organised style of play, is probably the man to propel these underdogs back to favourites status.

- Ryan

This will be Dick Advocaat’s first and last tournament at the helm of Russia. The veteran Dutch coach will leave for PSV next season after just two years in charge and he will expect to leave on a high. The Russians are powerful, focused and fresh and they should breeze through this group. Their biggest strength is the defensive triangle of world class shot-stopper Igor Akinfeev in goal and the twin pillars of defiance, Sergei Ignashevich and Vasili Berezutsky, at the back. Russia conceded just four goals in ten qualifying games and kept six cleans sheets in their final seven matches. Against stronger teams, there are weaknesses that can be exploited but in this group they should be just fine. Keep an eye out for Alan Dzagoev, he’s been one of Russia’s hottest prospects for several seasons and this might be the tournament in which he finally makes a wider name for himself.

Host nation Poland are the lowest ranked team in the tournament but it’s their party and they’ll win if they want to and luckily they’ve landed in the only group where they might actually have a chance of qualification. That’s not what manager Franciszek Smuda says, mind. He thinks it’s ‘treacherous.’ There’s a streak of Borussia Dortmund running through this team, with right-back Lukasz Piszczek, winger Jakub Blaszczykowski and striker Robert Lewandowski, but some areas of the team look distinctly patchy. Ludovik Obraniak brings some class to the middle and Wojciech Szczesny is a fine stopper, but the rest of the squad is a patchy mash-up of rookies and newly converted ‘plastic Poles’ like French-born Damien Perquis. Lewandowski is the star man, a powerful striker who can quickly bring others into play. But if he gets injured, Poland are jiggered. There’s not much in reserve behind him. Still, hats off for their final choice of warm-up opponents. Andorra? That should get morale up!

It’s rather tempting to ignore Greece, or simply write them off on the basis that what happened in 2004 can never, ever happen again, but that would be a grievous error. Much has changed since the abdication of King Otto Rehhagel. New boss Fernando Santos (Portuguese, but a veteran of the Greek domestic scene,) has revitalised the team, qualifying unbeaten from a tricky group. This side can hardly be described as cavalier but they play with more freedom than they used to under the last bloke. Sotiris Ninis is one of a number of rising Greek stars, though the creative midfielder, barely used by Rehhagel, has had to fight his way back from a cruciate ligament injury. Schalke starlet Kyriakos Papadopoulos is another talent, a versatile and intelligent defender. Of course, any team forced to play Giorgos Samaras up front is never going to be heavily backed, but Greece will cause problems.

Pressure is nothing new to Czech Republic coach Michal Bilek. He’s been battling suspicious supporters and negative headlines since he took the national job back in 2009. It’s hardly surprising. The Czechs were profoundly disappointing in qualifying, only just finishing above Scotland thanks to a highly contentious penalty at Hampden Park. That said, they beat Montenegro comfortably enough in the play-off and this isn’t the hardest group. But goals are a huge problem for this team. Milan Baros leads the line but he’s been out of form for a long time and the men behind him, Tomas Pekhart, Thomas Necid and David Lafata, aren’t much better. The Czech’s top scorer in qualifying was impressive Leverkusen left-back Michal Kadlec with four although three of them were penalties. The bad press that Bilek has experienced so far will be nothing compared to the backlash he’ll face if he can’t find a winning formula.

IAIN’S PREDICTIONS
Poland 1-1 Greece
Russia 3-0 Czech Republic
Poland 1-1 Russia
Greece 0-0 Czech Republic
Greece 0-2 Russia
Czech Republic 1-1 Poland

STRskillSchool continues his Euro 2012 skill videos. In this video, he shows you step-by-step how to do La Croqueta, often seen used by Barcelona and Spain star Andrés Iniesta.

To buy the kit used in this video, check the links below:

Spain Home Kit
http://kitb.ag/IS7dvE

Nike CTR360 SG boots
http://kitb.ag/KX03Cd

Holland away
http://kitb.ag/LKER4U

Nike T90 boots
http://kitb.ag/J5PLEt

Adidas Tango Euro 2012 ball
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Here’s STRSkillschool taking you step-by-step how to perform the Cristiano Ronaldo chop.

Portugal Away kit
http://kitb.ag/Im78LI

Nike Mercurial boots
http://kitb.ag/Kr5LLU

Adidas Tango Euro 2012 football
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What do you think of the new design?

Pre-order the new Manchester United home shirt here. Available to buy from 31st May 2012.

Mike

Favourite team: Wigan Athletic
Favourite player: Peter Shilton
First game attended: Wigan vs. Bolton Wanderers, Boxing Day 1984
Most likely to say: “Get in!”
Least likely to say: “Sorry boys, I’ll have to give this one a miss.”
Memorable moment: Taking his son to his first footie match.

Born and bred in football’s spiritual heartland Wigan (who’s going to argue with him?), Mike sees the beautiful game as a reflection of his life growing up in a pub. If you work hard, listen to the gaffer, and remember who’s paying your wages then sure enough, the rewards will come. He’s a dyed-in-the-wool traditionalist when his boy plays too. Much preferring to see some quality holding or tracking back from his little lad than all that fancy showboating you see nowadays, you’ll never catch him missing the Poolstock Devils under 9′s Saturday morning fixture for love nor money. Mike breathes football. Pure and simple.

Dennis

Favourite team: England
Favourite player: George Best
First game attended: Arsenal vs. Ipswich, 1985
Most likely to say: “Did I ever tell you about my trial at Charlton?”
Least likely to say: “I love you.”
Memorable moment: Scoring the winner for The Dog and Partridge in the Regional Non-League Cup Final.

Deninho, Denaldo, Dirty Den, an estate agent by trade, deadly striker for his local pub team come Sunday, Dennis loves the game like a player. And behaves like one too. Leading goalscorer for The Dog and Partridge, Dennis aka Geezer, never misses a game, even with a raging hangover he could nutmeg the last defender before firing home the winner in the 93rd minute. Remember those boots you picked up and thought were a little too flash for your modest five-a-side game? Well Dezza has them in flouro green, as well as purple and pink, and has been known to wear one of each on each foot. You’d probably call him a bit of a mug if he didn’t score so much.

Owen

Favourite teams: Real Madrid (1953-1960), Ajax (1971-72 and 1994-95) and Nottingham Forest (1978-1980)
Favourite player: Franz Anton Beckenbauer, Ferenc Puskás or Alfredo Di Stéfano
First game attended: England vs. Chile, 23rd May 1989
Most likely to say: “Blimey, that’s the first header he’s scored in the second-half all season!”
Least likely to say: “Never heard of him.”
Memorable moment: Finding the 1981 Cup Winners’ Cup final between Dinamo Tbilisi and Carl Zeiss Jena on VHS on eBay.

‘Stat-O’ to his friends, big head to his mates and all-round know-it-all to his pals, Owen grew up on diet of Panini sticker books, 1001 Goals videos and football Top Trumps. He now knows considerably more about the beautiful game than most commentators and paid statisticians. Sure, you can do more kick-ups than him, but try naming every player in the starting eleven of the 1976 European Championship final, or the amount Leeds United paid for Brian Deane and he’ll destroy you. The yin to every fan’s yang – you love Gazza, he idolises Motty.

Be sure to check back regularly over the next few weeks to see what these guys get up to during the Euros.

With Euro 2012 just four weeks away, Back Page Football‘s Neil Sherwin takes a look at the very first Euro tournament in 1960.

The European Championships, as we now know them, started out as the ‘UEFA Nations Cup’ when the first tournament kicked-off in 1960.

The UEFA Nations Cup was initially the brainchild of the French Football Federation’s Henri Delaunay as far back as 1927. Unfortunately, Delaunay died in 1955, some three years before a formal plan was drawn up and his name given to the competition’s trophy.

Seventeen teams entered the qualifying process, though England, Italy and West Germany were some of the bigger names not involved.

Politics played a part in how the qualifiers panned out with Spain refusing to travel to the Soviet Union for the away leg of their second round tie. The Spaniards were still under the rule of Francisco Franco’s dictatorship and the Soviets had been vocal supporters of his opposition during the Spanish Civil War.

Consequently, the Soviet Union was given a walkover and thus a place in the last four where they were joined by France, Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia, with the former chosen as the host for the single game semi-finals, third place playoff and final.

The semi’s took place on the same day and the France vs. Yugoslavia clash turned out to be a thrilling affair with the Eastern Europeans coming from 4-2 down in the second half to claim a dramatic 5-4 win. Drazen Jerkovic was the hero, notching two goals in the space of two minutes to turn the match in his side’s favour.

The other semi final game was a more straightforward affair as a brace from Valentin Kozmich Ivanov and a Viktor Ponedelink strike gave the Soviet Union a comfortable 3-0 win over Czechoslovakia.

The final pitted the Soviet Union, led by one of greatest goalkeepers ever seen in Lev Yashin, against Yugoslavia with the game taking place at the Parc des Princes in Paris in front of just under 18,000 spectators.

The Yugoslavs went ahead through Milan Galic on 43 minutes but conceded an equaliser to Slava Metreveli just after half time. The then-30 year old Yashin was in typically fine form throughout and pulled off a number of important saves, most notably from a goal bound Bora Kostic free kick.

At full-time, and with the score deadlocked at 1-1, the game moved into extra-time where Ponedelink headed home in the 113th minute to claim victory for the Soviets. As well as having a final-winning goal to his name, Ponedelink was the first player to be called up to the Soviet national team while playing for a second division club. Czechoslovakia beat hosts France 2-0 in the third place playoff.

Just Fontaine, famous for his 13 goals in the 1958 World Cup, finished as the competition’s joint top scorer with compatriot Jean Vincent on five goals, while the Team of the Tournament consisted only of players from the two sides who contested the final.

Despite a few hiccups, the tournament laid some strong foundations for what is now one of the biggest international tournaments after the World Cup.

You can buy the current Russia home and away shirt for Euro 2012 here.

Newcastle United have revealed their latest away kit for the 2012/13 season, and we rather like it! Manufactured by Puma and featuring a burgundy colour with black shoulder trim, we may well be seeing the likes of Papiss Cissé, Demba Ba and Hatem Ben Arfa lifting silverware next season in this kit if this magnificent season under Alan Pardew in anything to go by.

What do you think of the new kit? You can buy it here right now: Newcastle United away kit 2012/13.

Below are the products that STRskillSchool uses in this video:

Spain Home Kit
http://kitb.ag/IS7dvE

Nike Mercurial boots
http://kitb.ag/Kr5LLU

Adidas Tango Euro 2012 ball
http://kitb.ag/KNZ0c7