Rivals – Bosnia-Herzegovina and Armenia in España

I am Armenian-Spanish-American (and a bunch of other stuff) and I am with Spain through and through (mostly because Armenia dosn’t make it to Euro or WC finals). That isn’t to say I don’t root for Armenia. I am now torn between my 2 countries and would like to see both of them go through (that would be a miracle). Anyways, the reason I’m writing this is to warn Spain that Armenia are not a pushover team. They don’t win games against big teams often but it’s happned more then once that they steal points from big teams with draws. Need proof?
Greece 0-0 Armenia
Portugal 1-1 Armenia (Beautiful Armenia goal)
Moldova 2-2 Armenia
Belarus 1-2 Armenia
Malta 0-1 Armenia
Kazakhstan 0-1 Armenia
These are all recent results.
Also the under 21 team beat Turkey 2-1 with 2 late goals and I must say, they wern’t luck goals.
Be carefull Spain.
Hawk

Hi Elisa, are you and Cesar looking for a co-blogger? I just joined Real Offside, where I’ll be doing live blogs for each game, but since I also write them for the Spanish NT, I would love to add to this space as well! We don’t have nearly as many posts as some of the other teams – we’ve got to catch up! For a sample of my game blogs, including the recent Spain v Denmark friendly on Aug 20, please check out my livejournal here: http://astoria26.livejournal.com/596.html

Thanks!

Sure Dancy. Cesar is quite busy with his Valencia blog while I have Athletic Bilbao to do, as well as the forza futbol weekly podcast and blog, so we would love help. Can you contact daryl@the offside.com for the setup info? Thanks!

Hawk,

No team is a sure thing or easy. I was just trying to be positive and pump up our fans. But thanks for your comments.

I understan Elisa. Im just saying is all. I’m sure spain will be on top of their group.

Well as a fellow Spaniard I’ve come to take nothing for granted when it comes to the ‘La Furia Roja’. Despite their recent achievement in winning the Euro Tournament – following this team is like taking a trip to dentist – not something you look forward but inevitable and necessary.

And having followed this team for all my life I know better than to puff my chest out and walk around with a chip on my shoulder. Because just when you start to “believe” and get your hopes up this team will only dissapoint and break your heart. “La Furia” should have been retitled as a Greek tragedy because essentially that is what they are – a calamity of the most unexpected sorts just waiting to happen; (see South Korea 2002).

I’m thrilled that “we” won SOMETHING after 40-something years of “misery” but to expect a similar ending in Africa is not even a bet I would make on behalf of my worst enemy. I hope I’m proven wrong, but for now I will continue “supporting” them as always…expecting the worst and hoping for the best.

Agreed C. Looks like we grinded out a one – nil win vs Bosina-Herzegovina. Not the most convincing win. Fabregas and Iniesta were invisible during the first half. But as soon as Cesc woke up and played that beautiful ball to El Guaje to score, (from that acute angle – what a shot!) Del Bosque took him off. Del Bosque’s tactics and subs are definitely looking a bit rusty and shakey. He’s gotta do a lot more. All in all, an unconvincing win. Possession but execution?

Actually, I thought subbing out Cesc and introducing Xabi Alonso had a very positive impact on the game. Spain held posession well throughout the whole game, but with the inroduction of Xabi their attacks were much more decisive. Of course, it helped that by that point Spain already had the lead, forcing Bosnia to launch more attacks and weakening their rear-gaurd.

In the end, I think the scoreline was a little misleading. Though it certainly took a while for Spain to establish a substantial threat, once they started clicking it was some very pretty, attacking football with great movement and passing. Was a little disappointed by Guiza, though. He doesn’t seem to synch up well with the rest of the team.

Thanks for keeping up with La Furia, Elisa!

Cojonudo: South Korea cannot be used as an example under any circumstances since it was bold and clear that the match was bought, it even figures among the most “questioned matches” in a two all time official fifa dvd. Spain scored up to three times and the reps showed there were no offsides. Of course the previous match, the koreans eliminated italy when totti bit the dust and got a card for protesting and a clear penalty that wasnt called.

Spain has the momentum, how long have we gone without good strikers? for the first time we can boast of possessing two of the world’s most notorious strikers! Not to mention the midfield which is by far the best and the defensive line is doing the job, perhaps the weakest link in the team but far better than what we’ve seen before. I think its a new era, new teams resurface and take over. There was a time when hungary, romania were dreaded teams and now look, its spain’s turn to claim the spot up in the hierarchic scale.