Euro 2012: Group of Deaths Make Tournaments More Fun

The Group of Death in Euro 2012 bears the mark of 'B' and includes Germany, Holland, Portugal and Denmark.

by Jack Murray
Every tournament has one: a group of inevitable heartbreak and pulsating football that excites the neutral, haunts the fans and turns the worlds biggest stars into torso-showing sulks and anonymous bookmakers into twisted giggling goblins. The Group of Death in Euro 2012 bears the mark of 'B' and includes Germany, Holland, Portugal and Denmark and will see two of the top 10 teams in the world (Fifa Rankings 2012) going home early - but it faces stiff competition if it is to be regarded as the most deathly group in the European Championship's history. The last group to contain all four teams from the Fifa ranked top ten, widely regarded as one of the great groups of tournament football was in Euro 1996 with Group C containing the Czech Republic, Germany (eventual winners) Russia and Italy. A similar occurance happened in 2000 with reigning World Cup champions France joined by the Czech Republic, Denmark and Holland, and yet like Germany, their immediate face off with top-class opposition proved to be the catalyst for success rather than the beginning of a slow burn to disappointment. Largely due to a man with penchant for headbutts. Over the next few weeks, Group B will reign supreme as the 'deadliest' - with six thrilling looking fixtures that promise to show off the foursome's individual strengths: the German's energy, the Dutch's efficiency, the Portuguese's Ronaldo and the Danes silken surprise - and though most experts have Germany and Holland as the top two, the lack of expectation on Portugal and Denmark should mean that the countries will let loose their respective playmakers, Ronaldo and Eriksen, and try to stick a knife into the expected dominance of Dutch and Deutschland. Equally, the highly fancied Germans and World Cup finalists Holland may, though it's unlikely, slack and suffer from the sting of favouritism and prove that when four teams like this are grouped together, it becomes as much a Group of Suicide as it does a Group of Death; the games most gifted players tiptoeing on a tense tightrope, favourites falling early, the same old mistakes, brand new martyrs and superstar tears falling onto freshly cut grass.€€Who said death couldn't be fun?
Contributor

Jack is an angry young sod, a football fan, a sneering observer, an ambitious sucker and more than anything; he's a man with girly eyeballs, tired hands, too many ties and not enough time.