Dutch FA: What happened doc? He was doing so well. He seemed fit, strong and there was an air of confidence about him. 

Doctor: He suffered from a case of peaking too soon, I’m sorry for your loss.  

Dutch FA (KNVB): I don’t understand. peaking too soon? 

Doctor: Yes, its case normally suffered by New-Zealanders when entering a Rugby competition. They do extremely well before the tournament by brushing teams aside and producing outstanding performances. The problem comes from the pressure of the fans, media and coaches to maintain this high standard, that when there is a chance they might lose…they start to panic. 

Dutch FA (KNVB): oh, I see. Maybe next time 

Fair play to Russia who completely deserved there win, at times during the match they completely took control of the match. The defense was well-aware at back and contained them for long periods of time, causing the Dutch to become frustrated and to take there chances from long distances. However, I was bit surprised that the Dutch looked slightly tired and sluggish during extra time compared to the Russians, even though most of there star players got to rest during the third Match day.  

Well done to Guus Hiddink for leading Russia to the semi-finals, which is a fantastic achievement. However, I was annoyed with his antics and celebrations at the end. It is one thing to knock-out your home country but to celebrate in his manner was disrespectful to all the Dutch fans. He could have taken an example from much younger professionals such as Podolski on how to act when you defeat your home nation. 

Club News: James McFadden is reported to have told his agent he wants to leave Birmingham after they were relegated to the Championships. This is understandable, McFadden is in the prime of his career and would want to push his abilities at the highest level. With Celtic reported interested in him and I’m sure a number of Premiership clubs will inquire about his availability.

Bastian Schweinsteiger speaks about his desire to one day play in the Premiership. With his contract at Bayern almost expiring, the move might materialize this summer. He spoke to Sunday Mail: 

"England does have a good appeal as it is one of the world's best leagues. "I've always wanted to play there and we'll see if it happens this year."

If he does move to the English Premiership, I am sure he will be looking to move to one of the big four. I see him as a good addition to the Liverpool squad, who need more goals and supply from the midfield.  

Lots of news about Adebayor but since writing anything down about this will only be repeating what a million other blogs and news articles have said about him. So I move on   To Roma who have signed the other half of Mirko Vucini for a reported 12 million euros from Lecce. I think he was over priced purchase of a striker who only returned 9 goals last season. If Roma do really want to push Inter for the title especially with the appointment of Mourinho, they must make more inspirational signings than Riise and Vucinic. 

To end with Wolfsburg are looking to add to there impressive signings of Barzagli and Zaccardo with an attempt purchase the small-town boy Alexander Hleb. I think the lovely and quite scenery of Wolfsburg and the calmness of Uefa Cup football is exactly what Alex Hleb needs.

So to start off with, I want to explain what my blog entails. Basically it's a discussion off all the doings in the world of football and what makes it so beautiful. I concentrate mostly on Europe and the fantastic league called the English premiership. I'm an Arsenal fan at heart but my discussions will not revolve around them and i will try my best to be unbiased during my posts. If anyone ever feels when reading my posts that i am favoring the brilliance of the red and white, please drop me a note.

Now that we have that out of the way, let’s begin with what a disaster France's European campaign was. Ever since Raymond Domenech revealed who he was taking with him to Switzerland, they were destined to failure. Though the likes of Makélélé and Thuram boast experience of previous major competitions, there age must be questioned. I strongly believe that Domenech reluctance to begin the French transition to a new generation of footballers has cost France a humiliating exit and most likely his job. One has to wonder if France could have produced a more competitive edge with players like Flamini bossing the midfield and Nasri pulling the strings along side with Ribery.

When the inevitable axe does fall on Domenech, a call for a revoultion must be made. The new coach (my money is on Didier Deschamps) must begin to start players like Frey, Nasri, Flamini, Clichy/Evra, Gomis, Mexes. etc so they can build enough experiance to rock the 2010 World Cup.

A look at tonight’s fixture has the dead rubber match between Spain and Greece. Greece will be looking to salvage some pride and avoid the unwanted record of being the first reigning European Champions to fail to score when attempting to defend there title. Spain will make a host of changes with the game against Italy in mind, players like Fabregas and Albiol will be looking to produce a performance that will force them into the starting line-up.

Club Football: Aston Villa has purchased Steve Sidwell for a reported £5.5million, which i think is a great purchase. Sidwell will be looking to revive his career and he could be seen as the replacement of the Champions League thirsty Gareth Barry.

Reports have suggested that Spurs are interested in signing Podolski because they could always do with more strikers. I don't think he will be looking to leave with the appointment of Klinsmann at Bayern, im sure the ex-German Manager has Podolski in his future plans despite Hitzfeld benching him for most of the season. He is certainly proving his worth at the European Championships

In France, the seven time champions (that’s ridiculous) Lyon have appointed Claude Puel as there new manager. The former Lille manager will have the responsibility of taking them to there 8th title in a row hahaha. His achievements come in the form of a French Championship winner in 2000 with Monaco and leading Lille to an impressive 2nd place in 2005 and 3rd in 2006. However, most of you will remember him when he started to sulk and attempted to take his players of the pitch, when Ryan Giggs took a quick free kick against them in the Champions League resulting in a goal.

Other than that, there is nothing interesting to talk about but if you feel like a laugh than the football quote of the day comes from newly signed Bolton midfielder Fabrice Muamba, who claims that Bolton can push for Europe.

"Bolton are a big club and have been in Europe before. We can do that again especially with the players we have here and those the manager is trying to bring in."

I swear I just saw pigs fly.