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...Spain is everything you want in a champion. From goalkeeper Iker Casillas to strikers Torres and David Villa, Spain was superb in every area of the pitch, a paragon of possession, of knife-edge passing, and, for once, capable of imposing its style on everyone. The notable exception was the quarterfinal match with Italy, but that, too, marked this Spanish team as special - locked into a defensive mud-wrestling match, Spain resisted its historical urge to attack at any cost, even at the risk of committing the cardinal sin for a Spanish footballer: being boring. In its semifinal against Russia...
...That was a message to Germany: Be prepared to play our game. Be prepared to chase the ball all over the pitch while the spectacular Spanish midfield led by Xavi and Andrés Iniesta played one-touch, or took a rest while the fullbacks Sergio Ramos and Joan Capdevila pressed the attack. The Germans were very well prepared - when aren't they? - but the men in the white shirts were not up to the task of stopping Torres, who torched Philipp Lahm for the Spanish goal, and had Germany's back four dreading the thought of defending...
...Euro 2008 was made unforgettable, though, by the fun bunch of the tournament - Turkey. Not much had been expected from this side, most of whose members play in Turkey's domestic league. But once turned loose on the pitch, the Turks' brand of firehouse football was enthralling. When the alarm bells rang, the Turks answered the way firemen do, with a well-thought plan executed urgently, midfielder Tuncay Sanli leading the charge and Nihat Kahveci providing the rescuing goals. Perhaps too urgent, as the Turks had four players suspended for their semi-final with Germany. But that is a lesson...
...hope for the semi on Thursday was that Spain and Russia would stage a drag race up and down the pitch in Vienna. Russia had run roughshod over Holland - the odds-on favorite and tournament glamour boys - in the quarters, pouring into the Dutch end like the relentless rains that seemed to show up at every kickoff of Euro 2008. We learned to pronounce the names of strikers Roman Pavlyuchenko and Andre Arshavin (I'm still working on Diniyar Bilyaletdinov). The Russians had gotten progressively better, and their swarming attacks, their pure athleticism, were too much for Sweden and Greece...
...individual right to possess and carry weapons in case of confrontation" - the burly new fantasy Wanted reveals the magic that can blossom when you put a gun in the hand of a meek wage slave and tell him he was born to be a righteous killer. Directed at a pitch of gritty giddiness by the Kazakhstan-born Timur Bekmambetov, who did the DVD faves Night Watch and Day Watch, this hard-R splatter-fest about a team of sanctified assassins is also the summer's zazziest action movie...