Football.

Football is not only a game. It became over the years much more important than religion or one could say that it became a religion itself.

This series of videos, promoted by Carlsberg (because beer is the Holy Water of this religion), show different aspects that make this sport the most incredible in the world.

VIDEO 1 is pure ADRENALINE. It shows the emotions that we feel during a football match. It's going from crying to celebrating, from deep frustration to anxiety to intense bliss and words are just not necessary in this one.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH IT IN THE OLEOLE VIDEO SECTION

But so many emotions can only bring the worst in us. And that's PURE PASSION. Fans forget social rules and politeness in a desperate attempt to control thing on and off the pitch. They go to extremes to show their disgust, their dissatisfaction. Frequently we see acts of violence and racism which are stains in the beautiful game and serve as a reminder of the things we still need to improve as a society.

VIDEO 2 tells you about this EXTREME (sometimes evil) PASSION

CLICK HERE TO WATCH IT IN THE OLEOLE VIDEO SECTION

90' (+3): The referee blows the whistle. Pizza, Spaghetti, Lasagna and Ravioli to be eaten in every Cantina around the world tonight!!! Italy who had a terrible start in the competition managed to advance. France and Romania go back home earlier!

90' (+2): Great shot by Toni and once again denied by Coupet!

90': Three minutes of added time to be played in this match. Italy is through to face Spain in the quarterfinals

89': Benzema takes a free kick for France. Sends the ball in the box but it was too much. Nobody could've reached that ball

86': The corner is taken and Cassano takes the shot. Easy for Coupet (meanwhile Netherlands scored the second)

86': Camoranesi gets the ball open on the right side of the box. Shoots. Deflected. this time for a corner

84': Now it's a yellow for Thierry Henry for a nasty slide tackle

82': Great header by Luca Toni but the referee blew the whistle. The Italina striker pulled Boumsong's arm.

81': Sub for Italy. Gattuso is replaced by Aquilani.

77': The TV cameras just showed Vieira on the bench. The french team was expecting to count on him for the quarterfinals but it seems that it's not going to be necessary. France might be going home earlier.

75': Time is running out for France. A tie would force the match to go to the penalty shootout. But the French has only 15 minutes

73': Great shot by Karim Benzema! Buffon splendid save

72': Gallas got a slight touch on the ball to intercept Toni's header

69': Henry is up

69': Henry is down.

66': Gouvou is replaced by Anelka on the French squad. It's do or die for them now

62': I was about to say that Italy didn't have Pirlo for the free kick but then the ball is set for De Rossi and he shoots. Thierry Henry was on the wall and put his foot on the way. The ball is deflected and Coupet couldn't do anything... The ball went straight into the net. Italy closer to the quarterfinals

62': GGGGOOOOAAAAALLLLLLL!!!!!! ITALIA ITALIA!!!!

60': Italy is marking France under pressure trying to recover the ball fast. and it's working

58': Henry got the cross in the box. But he pushed the Italian defender and the referee calls the foul. The French offensive play ends there.

52': Is France a;ready getting desperate? Henry is trying to call the responsibility to himself but with long range shots he'll need something very special to beat Buffon. This last one was also just too easy

51': Another good pass by Toulalan find Henry in the box. He turns and shoots. The ball is easily picked up by Buffon

49': A very good play by Toulalan on the right. He crosses Henry misses the ball and Benzema shoots a blaster from outside the box. The cannonball flies over the bar

46': First one to put his face up close on the screen in this second half is Govou. He got a yellow card.

46': Second half is on its way. France needs to improve a lot if they want to perform a great comeback

Half Time: I'm gonna get some food.!

45' (+3): He lifts the ball for Benzema... Cleared! And the referee blows the whistle for half time!

45' (+3): And another free kick for France. Could it be it? A goal now would make things much better for Les Bleus

45' (+2): Now it's Evra who's receiving treatment. He got a hit on his foot after he crossed the ball.

45' (+1): Clerc crosses form the right side and .... nobody gets it. Just Italians there

45': Perrota is out receiving treatment

44': And now Prilo is out of the next match (if Italy moves on). He saw a yellow card for a foul from behind on Benzema

43': Grosso with the left foot. HITS THE POST, HITS THE POST!!!

43': Free kick given to Italy. After De Rossi was leaving the third defender behind. Here comes Pirlo or Grosso

42': Benzema on the left. he turned Gattuso in and out and crosses to nobody... goal kick Italy

38': Italy tried once again the lifted ball in the middle of France's defense. This time Cassano was caught offside

37': No, it was Benzema... Terrible terrible!!! The ball hits the wall bounces back to him and he shoots again. Far from the goal

37': Henry and Benzema on the ball. Of Course is going to be Henry

37': Free kick given to France. Gattuso got Henry.

33': Great move by Henry, He avoids the offside and moves to the right to turn and shoot in diagonal. The ball goes wide.

32': GROSSO!!! What the hell was that??? Well, at least the team is winning ...

29': two balls send in the middle of the French defense and Toni missed the chances. Where's the French defense????

28': Toni with a fine touch of the heel almost gets the second goal

27': WHAT A BLASTER BY DE ROSSI!!!!! It went over the bar but now Itaoly looks more dangerous than never. They want to finish this match as fast as possible to avoid any reaction from France

25': And Nasri who came in to replace Ribery now is replaced by Boumsong. The French defense needed to be recomposed

25': PERFECT Penalty shot. Top right corner of Coupet

25': Pirlo takes it! GOOOOAAAAALLLLLLLL!!! For Italy!!!!

24': PEnalty!!!! Clear penalty on Luca Toni!!! And Red Card to Abidal!!!!

22': France with much more possession but it was Italy who had the best chances so far

20': Perrota couldn't control the ball in the box. Italy could've scored there!

19': Gouvou receives the pass. What kind of shot is that Gouvou??? You had Henry and Benzema in the box ... The French seem nervous

18': Good cross by Pirlo and the defense clears

17': Very rough tackle by Evra. Cassano goes down. Free kick to the Italians and yellow card to Evra

16': The ball is sent too deep from Zambrota to Cassano. Throw-in for France

14': France coming to attack now on the right. Bezema gets the pass and takes a shot. Buffon just follows the shot the goes out for a goal kick

12': My friend Frenchi is blogging in the French area of OleOle and he's sitting on a desk right next ot mine. He's totally devasted with Ribery's injury...

10': Panucci with a headeeeerrrr.... WHAT A SAVE by Greg Coupet!!!!

9': And now a corner for Italy. Pirlo on the ball

8': It's over for Ribery. Henry is trying to console him. Ribery is out and Nasri takes his place

6': Ribery is down and signs to the bench. That might be trouble for France. It's his ankle.

5': Henry recovers the ball in the midfield for France. Pass it to Ribery and I'm confused now. I don't know if he tried to shoot or cross... either way it was not even close to the goal

4': Great chance for Luca Toni and he missed. Abidal made the mistake and Toni could've gotten closer to score that one. The ball went wide but near the right post

3': France had a second corner and the ball went low crossing the whole extension of the box

3': France got the first corner. I push in the box was waved by referee. The heat is on

1': Game on! Italy playing in white and France is with their tradicional blue

Before Kick Off: A new encounter between France and italy after the 2006 World Cup Final. Both now both teams NEED a win if they want to continue in the competiton. France is bringing Henry and Benzema up front nad Italy will come with Cassano and Luca Toni.

90' (+2): And it's over!!!! French Toast, French Toast

90' (+2): A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. Goal!!! Amazing shot!!! Amazing football... From now on I'm officially cheering for the Dutch

90' (+1): GGGGOOOOOAAAAALLLLLLLL!!!!!! Sneijder finished the French Toast

90' (+1): A corner for France now. And nothing comes out of it!!!!

86': Free kick for France. Can he get something out of this one?

85': 5 minutes. France still has a chance to qualify after this lost but it doesn't depend only on their own efforts

82': Van Nilsterooy almost scored. He saw Coupet coming up and heade from the top of the box... Coupet recovers and taps it out.

81': Makelele fell when he had the chance to shoot and score! hahaha... France is done!

77': Beautiful play by Van Persie. humillianting Ribery. Then he gets the foul

76': Free kick for France. Ribery puts the ball in the box and Anelka heads it over the bar

74': When I was writing about the great cross by Sagnol and the fine touch by Henry when Sneijder gave an incredible pass to Robben on the left, right on the space where Sagnol should be and Robben scores the most amazing goal of this competition. No angle at all and the ball went in!!! Henry's face was priceless

71': GOOOOAAAAALLLLLL!!!! NETHERLANDS!!! Robben!!!!

70': GGGOOOOAAAALLLL!!!! Titi Henry!!!

66': Terrible mistake by Thuram. He pretty much gave the ball to Van Persie ... But the dutchmen didn't finish this one

62': I really love the Dutch football... Perfect passes, offensiveness, Goals!!! They are up by two goals and continue attacking! Beautiful!!!

60': Now Van der Saar saved a goal like a voleyballer. hahaha

58': WHAT A GOOOOAAALLLL !!!  ORANGE ORANGE ORANGE MACHINE!!! Van Persie puts it in

57': Ribery was tackled by the linesman!!! hahahaha... The linesman should get a yellow card

55': The goal man Kuyt is substituted by Van Persie

53': Malouda tried a bicycle goal from almost half field (hahahaha) I'm joking, It was a pass... ... Henry thought it was a pass but ridiculously tip the ball way over the bar

52': Van der Saar is taking forever to take the goal kick... The ref is telling him to get the match fucking going!

48': The French got close to the goal again ... Henry is freaking out asking for a penalty... the ref ignores him

47': Gouvou is licking  the grass after Gio fouled him

46': Egelaar is out for Holland... Robben is in

46': Henry tricks get France a corner kick... But no goal yet

45' (+1): And there goes the whistle for the end of first half! The Dutch are doing their job and the French are suffering to pass the ball...

44': The plays created by the French do not have good conclusion. I can't see them scoring goals if they continue playing like that...

42': Henry tries to solve things by himself. turns and shoots ffrom the top of the box. Just a little too high.

40': Bad throw-in for Boulahrouz. How can a professional footballer take a bad throw? This is lame!

37': Great low cross from Ribery. Thierry Henry couldn't get a touch and Malouda didn't get there in time! No goal for Les Bleus

33': France is trying to create offensive opportunities now. But the goal needs to come soon. Time os against them

33': Finally a great play for the French. The ball from the left ends at the top of the box and Govou shoots... Van de Saar is there to save

32': Makelele slapped Van de Vaart's neck and got a yellow card

29': Henry is pissed... The ball comes for him like a brick from Thuram.

27': France already has players warming up on the side line...

26': Boulahrouz came all the way from the defense to take a shot and the ball didn't go far

25': France is attacking but they are not being efficient and might end up in the same trap that Netherlands set up for Italy... KILLER COUNTER ATTACKS!

22': Govou... good touch ... shoots... Van der Saar saves it!!!

21': Ribery got run over again... Are they trying to fix his face or to ruin it once and for all

21': The Dutch supporters are already playing with a giant inflatable doll... I mean, ball... on the stands... they know this match is under control

20': Another mistake by the French defense almost gave Kuijt the chance to score the second one...

18': The Dutch are so comfortable on the pitch. They are passing the ball with perfection and keeping the French team quiet

15': Sneijder with the long blaster!!!! Over the bar

14': Ribery on the run... Engelaar just touches it away from him

12': Govou, wearing the sacred number 10, tries a through ball... Van der Saar picks it up

9': PERFECT corner and Maoulda hugged Kuijt in the box... A hug was not enough to stop the giant guy and the header is perfect!!! France is going down!

9': Kuijt!!!!! GGGOOOOAAAALLLLL

4': Should've been a corner. Malouda didn't touch the ball and the Dutch knocked it out... Referee needs glasses

3': Makelele jumps on Kuijt and takes a piece of his lips!!! And then he says I'm sorry... and no card id shown

2': Both teams are playing the same formation!

Before Kick Off: Here we go... The Netherlands orange colour is predominant on  the stands!!!!

  NETHERLANDS 

The Netherlands great performance against Italy motivated not only the fanatic orange-dressed supporters but also the players and the lovers of the beautiful game. And now after the 1-1 tie between Romania and Italy, the Dutch have a good two point advantage against their opponents in this so-called "Group of Death".

The formation and the line-up will probably be same from the last game. Sneijder, Van Nilsterooy, Gio, Engelaar, De Jong, Kuijt... Here comes the Oranje!!!!

  FRANCE 

France still needs to prove me right. I've been saying for quite some time that France had the best midfield and offense of all the 16 teams of this tournament. Makelele, Nasri, Viera, Malouda, Gouvou, Ribery, Henry, Benzema, Anelka, Gomis... It's a dangerous, fast and extremely talented team on paper. But we didn't see that reflected on the pitch... yet...

Will we see Les Bleus bloom tonight? Will the Orange Machine run over another opponent?

The kick off is just about 30 minutes away!

90' (+3): And it over... What a big waste of time this match was. ESPN guy says it was an excellent result for Romania. It was a bad result for both teams!

90' (+3): and a late sub. Radoi leaves and Dica comes in for Romania

90' (+3): A free kick for Romania. Last chance?

90': Oh man!!! That sucks! Not even the argument was interesting! And the referee is going to toreture us with 3 more minutes

89': hahahaha... Yeah!!! Some drama... That's what's we've been missing on this match...

86': And it's cleared. The rebound!!! Nope, bad cross... the ball goes wide and far from the goal

86': Ok, a corner for the French

85':

85': Well... after that awful pass by Makelele I can only say that this match DESERVES this score...

81': And nothing happens

81': But Romania has a corner

80': We are 10 minutes away from the first 0-0 of this 2008 Euro

80': Deep ball for the Romanian offense. But Daniel Niculae was offside

78': Tand Mutu leaves the pitch, Marius Niculae comes in. Any comments Horia?

78':

More subs coming up:

 Benzema makes way for Nasri. The Arsenal new kid

76': Another shot from France. Malouda. But the ball, once again, goes out for a goal kick

75': Did I say that too early? What kind of back pass to the keeper was that?

74': Ribery tries to take on defenders but is blocked. Romania is not being effective up front but the defense is playing very well. Very solid!

71': Anelka is leaving and the crowd goes crazy. A very young attack for France now: Gomis and Benzema

71': Here comes Gomis!!!! yyyaaayyy  (I'm not cheering for France but I like this kid)

68': Romania is really worried about France's attack. The yellow heads went back to the defensive formation after starting the second half better.

65': Benzema leaves Chivu down and takes a shot from the top of the box... the ball goes wide. Nice try but it's time for a sub for France, I guess

64': Here comes a sub for Romania: Cocis leaves the pitch and Codrea comes in... A midfielder for another midfielder

61': One hour of football and no score. Actually not many chances to score either. =(

59': Malouda tackled Contra from behind. The Romanians asked for a card but the referee is waving their complaints

58': First clear shot for Benzema. A perfect set up from Ribery but Benzema's shot was too soft and easy for Lobont

56': Nice hell pass from Mutu and the cross almost finds a head in the box. But France's defense controls it and slows the game down

54': Romania are looking better indeed but they still can't find the right ball, the right pass, the right play...

51': But nothing comes out of the free kick

51': Sagnol moved up and lost the ball then, comes back and tackles Mutu from behind. Foul and yellow card for the French

49': Great play for Malouda on the left side. He runs with the ball, turns Contra around, once, twice and shoots... the ball flies over the bar

47': Frenchi goes wild next to me!!! He wanted a foul called on Ribery...

45': And we're back on for the second half!!!

Half Time: So far 5 total shots for France but only one on goal. 3 total shots for Romania and also only one on goal.  Niculae, Goian and Contra were shown yellow cards.

Half Time:

I had a lot of expectations for this match. France has probably the best midfield and offensive squad of all the team in the competition but so far Romania's tight defense managed to control Benzema, Ribery, Anelka and Malouda very well.

On the other hand I expected to see much (much) more from Mutu and Niculae on the Romanian side.  

45' (+1): Romania decided to become dangerous in the end of this first half. The moved the team up to put pressure in France's defense but it was just a little too late. The referee blows his whistle and the First Half is over

45': Corner for Romania. Mutu takes it and another clearance by the defense

43': Goian runs into Ribery. Another fouls against Romania and another yellow card

42': Nice combination Bezema/Ribery and the defender almost put it inside his own goal.

41': Free kick on the left side of Romania's attack. The ball is sent into the box and cleared immediately by the French defense

40': Contra got a yellow card for kicking the ball when it was out of play...

39': The Romanian crowd is funny but the cameras should show some pretty girls now! Just to cheer us up...

37': Great play by Anelka on the right side. He shoots but from a bad angle and the ball hits the side of the net. - Ribery moved to the left side now

33': Malouda crosses and the defense gives another corner. The corner is played short and the second cross finds Anelka's head but the ball goes over the bar

32': 30 minutes has gone by and France is taking the initiative but the French are missing the last touch. The fine touch that was Zidane's trademark. Romania still needs to prove me right and produce something

30': It's actually not that close. And the ball hits the wall... and now a hand ball by Sagnol.

29': Benzema is fouled at the top of Romania's box. The kid is good!

27': France showin more intensity now. Les Bleus are using the wings with Malouda and Ribery. Romania tries to explore the space behind them and Niculae just got a yellow by doing a very theatrical dive mixed with a handball

25': Mutu goes down. Toulalan blocked him illegally ... that's a foul

24': After the corner Sagnol fought for the ball in the air and the referee called it a hand ball... hmmm... I don't know about that

23': Great play by Rbery on the right side. His first play on the match and the cross is cut by Romania's defense for a corner

22': As my friend Lord of The Wing said, Romania is using the incredible 9-0-1 formation

20': France with 60% of ball possession at this point. But Not really finding the necessary space to get close to Romania's goal

19': Anelka receives a pass... but the flag went up. He was off side

18': The ball is lost in midfield and France has a great opportunity. Malouda kept himself onside and Lobont made a great save by stepping up to block that ball

14': After the first 12 minutes the match looks very balanced. None of the teams are risking to give the opponent the opportunity for a counter attack.

9': Frenchi right next to me... is saying... What the F$#CK!!!

9': A chance for Romania with Mutu and a chance for France with Anelka. But both teams are still in the "studying" phase of the match

7': Ribery sets to take the free kick. There he goes and France is still on attack

5': 5 minutes and 3 fouls against Romania

4': Another fouls. Contra almost chopped Anelka's head off

2': First foul of the match. Mutu went like a mad dog to get the ball from Thuram. The Romanians are not fooling around

0': And it's on!!!!

Before Kick Off:

No Thierry Henry, Yes Adrian Mutu...

The crowd is ready. So are Horia and Frenchi ... an me in the middle of course

Here we are my friends.

The Euro 2008 starts this Thursday and we will begin to find out who rules football in Europe.

Italy are the World Cup title holders, Greece won the last edition of the tournament, France and Spain are bringing lots of new talents, Portugal is counting on Champions League Champions Cristiano Ronaldo and Nani, Germany is always one of the main favourites, Holland is always a dangerous mystery, and then we got Romania, Russia, Czech Republic, Turkey and Croatia who might be more surprising than people give them credit for.

I personally still believe France is the team to bet on, followed by Germany, Spain and Italy.

So get warmed up because this Euro will be incredible....

And don't forget to follow all the action here on Samba Soccer Club

So we are less than two months away from kick off at the Euro 2008.

The main nations like Spain, Germany, Italy, Holland, France, Portugal … are intensifying their preparations for the most important competition in the continent.

After some research I could see that most of the betting sides point Germany as favorites to win the tournament followed by World Cup Champions Italy. Among internet users it seems that Spain is at the highest preference as possible winners.

I truly believe that none of these teams will take the title. I would put my money on France.

With Abidal, Diarra, Saha, Flamini, Vieira, Ben Arfa, Anelka, Ribery and Benzema … the French can even leave Thierry Henry and David Trezeguet sitting on the bench…

I don’t particularly support any of the teams although I always have hopes that Spain is going to perform well in and International Competition. (I’m getting tired of hoping).

But before getting to the finals the teams need to qualify in their groups so my first question for you, CRAZY FOOTBALL FANS is … who are the teams that will make to the quarter-finals

HERE ARE THE GROUPS:

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