It's well known that Thierry Henry wasn't a big fan of Alexander Hleb. The Belarussian was often on the end of a withering stare from Henry after another pass went astray or a move broke down.

Of course the pair get to continue their great friendship at Barcelona now that Hleb has signed for the Catalan club. Henry was at the press conference last night to announce Hleb's arrival and this picture really does speak a thousand words.

heh, classic.

I'm not a Man United fan, as you well know, but if I were I'd be most unhappy with the comments made by FIFA President Sepp Blatter. Talking about Cristiano Ronaldo he says:

In football there’s too much modern slavery. I’m always in favour of protecting the player. If he wants to leave, let him. 

What about contracts then? What about protecting the clubs who pay large transfer fees and extortionate wages to players? Imagine if the club said 'We don't feel like paying you', what kind of outcry would there be then? 

A player saying 'I don't want to play for you' is the same, except he still gets his wages every week, doesn't he?

Blatter, of all people, should be trying to create some stability in the game yet now more players will look at the head of FIFA saying this and think the way players act these days is acceptable. Not that anything Blatter says is susprising. Does he have friends at Real Madrid? Would that explain why he's so in favour of allowing Ronaldo to leave United?

And for him to say players are 'slaves' is absolutely reprehensible. How can somebody being paid what professional footballers are paid be a 'slave'? I'd happily be a slave for £40,000 a week or £20,000 a week for that matter. In a world where real slavery still exists it's an incredibly tasteless remark from an incredibly tasteless man.

The game is being ruined by money and sadly those in charge of football these days are driven by cash, not by what's good for the game. Blatter, once again, has shown himself up as a man with no great interest in the game, only in how much money can be siphoned from it.

-------

For those wondering about The Week in Football podcast our summer holidays, so to speak, are ongoing. Tom Thom(p)son is travelling around the upper-delta region of County Cork while I'm typing this from the Holiday Inn in San Jose. Or, from my house, whichever suits you best.

We'll be back next week to cover pre-season, Italy, Spain and all the usual bits and pieces. 

We're also going to make the blog more bloggy this season, with more comment, pictures, news etc etc so do bookmark.

--------

So Spain were deserved winners of Euro 2008 last night. I think most people agree they played the best football and on the night Germany really didn't trouble them at all.

In today's Eurocast we get perspective from both sides. Our regular Spanish correspondent Luigi and our German correspondent Tom give their opinions on last night's final while Tom Thom(p)son and I chat in studio about it.

A bit later in the week we'll be looking for your emails/voicemails about the bests and worsts of the tournament. We'll put up a blog post here to tell you exactly what we're looking for so hold off until then. Perhaps to get the conversation going in the comments today people could select their team of the tournament. 

I don't mean 'Spain' or 'Russia' but pick the best XI from all the teams who took part in Euro 2008. And what did you think of the tournament anyway? To me it was much more enjoyable than the last World Cup. Your thoughts very welcome.

I just want to say thanks to everyone who contributed to the Eurocast - whether by voicemail or email it's much appreciated.

Remember, you can subscribe to the Eurocast using iTunes by clicking here (this is also the subsctription for the Week in Football, the regular podcast which will be coming back soon), if you want to subscribe to the feed itself the feed URL is here, you can download directly here or you can listen from this page:

That's that. 

All right then,

due to technical issues we won't be doing a preview show for the final but will, of course, have a post-final Eurocast on Monday.

So, who's going to win it? Can the Germans grind out a result or will Spain's attacking philosophy prove too much for the suspect German defence? 

I reckon Spain will win it.

Spain 2-0 for me. Possibly in extra time though.

Right, let's have your Euro 2008 final predictions in the comments. Enjoy the game.

Morning all,

hard to say that Spain didn't deserve that last night, particular given the way Fabregas came on and inspired the team. Villa's injury should see him start the final which is a good thing for football purists - he's been fantastic whenever he's played.

What do you think? Were you as disappointed in Arshavin as some of the emailers to the Eurocast today? Was he found wanting when the stakes were high?

Your thoughts welcome in the comments, as always. No predictions for the final yet - there's another post to come to do that and hopefully a preview show before Sunday. Your thoughts via email or voicemail are more than welcome for that. Don't be shy.

To contact us use the info below:

UK -  +44 20 7193 6971

SWISS - +41 44 586 62 08

But that's not all. If you have Skype you don't even have to pay for a phone call. Simply add 'oleole.com' as a contact then use Skype to call us. It'll go directly to the voicemail.

And if that's not enough we're happy to get your emails too - send them podcast@oleole.com

You can subscribe to the Eurocast using iTunes by clicking here, if you want to subscribe to the feed itself the feed URL is here, you can download directly here or you can listen from this page:

Right then, that'll do. Until the next one, cheers.

Morning all,

Eurocast to follow. What a good game that was last night, eh? The Turks, with barely 11 fit players, gave Germany a real fright and I don't think they deserved that last minute loser. It is a loser when you're describing it from the Turkish point of view, right?

Perhaps the Croatian and Czech fans won't necessarily agree with me there. Germany though - they looked poor and you'd certainly fancy both Spain or Russia to beat them if they play like that in the final. Although it wouldn't be any surprise if they played brilliantly in that game. Germans love surprises.

Tonight sees Spain v Russia, two of the tournament's most attacking and exciting sides. Hopefully they won't cancel each other out and we'll get the great game we're all hoping for.

Remember, we want your thoughts and emails on the games, so feel free to chip in with whatever you like.

To contact us use the info below:

UK -  +44 20 7193 6971

SWISS - +41 44 586 62 08

But that's not all. If you have Skype you don't even have to pay for a phone call. Simply add 'oleole.com' as a contact then use Skype to call us. It'll go directly to the voicemail.

And if that's not enough we're happy to get your emails too - send them podcast@oleole.com

You can subscribe to the Eurocast using iTunes by clicking here, if you want to subscribe to the feed itself the feed URL is here, you can download directly here or you can listen from this page:

That's that. More tomorrow.

Morning all,

hope you enjoyed the weekend's football. There wasn't much to enjoy about last night's game between Spain and Italy apart from the fact the negative Italians got knocked out. A feast of football it was not.

Russia were excellent against Holland and I'm looking forward to the game against Spain. And despite all their injuries and suspensions you just can't write off Turkey. That's two remarkable comebacks now although I fear they're probably a bit too stretched to trouble the Germans.

So, semi-final predictions from me:

Germany 3-1 Turkey

Spain 2-1 Russia

Yours in the comments as per usual.

Now, in today's Eurocast Tom and I discuss all the weekend's action, make some suggestions about how to stop players kicking the ball out when someone is "injured" and we talk to Luigi about Spain's win over his home country and our Dutch correspondent Ashwin.

Please remember we do want to hear what you think about Euro 2008. It's easy. 

To contact us use the info below:

UK -  +44 20 7193 6971

SWISS - +41 44 586 62 08

But that's not all. If you have Skype you don't even have to pay for a phone call. Simply add 'oleole.com' as a contact then use Skype to call us. It'll go directly to the voicemail.

And if that's not enough we're happy to get your emails too - send them podcast@oleole.com

You can subscribe to the Eurocast using iTunes by clicking here, if you want to subscribe to the feed itself the feed URL is here, you can download directly here or you can listen from this page:

That's that. More soon!

Hello Eurocasters,

we're going to take the weekend off from the podcast and do a bumper edition on Monday. That way we actually have more than one game to talk about.

What a crazy game last night though. They do say you're at your most vulnerable just after you've scored but for Croatia to let that happen with what was literally the last kick of the game was unbelievable. It obviously messed with their heads as the penalties were rubbish. Two of them didn't even hit the target, that's very poor.

So on go the Turks and fair play to them. They were missing a lot of players and battled through.

Predictions for the weekend then.

Holland 2-1 Russia

Italy 1-1 Spain (Italy win on penalties)

What do you reckon? Let us know in the comments. And we'll have a fresh Eurocast for you on Monday morning.

Morning all,

predictions. A difficult business, I'm sure you'll agree. Bakes predicted 3-2 for Germany but after extra time. Should we give him the kudos? Let the people decide. 

I'm really looking forward to tonight's game between Croatia and Turkey - not the most high profile of teams but it's often those that provide the most entertainment. My guess is:

Croatia 4-2 Turkey

A veritable goalfest. Come on! Your predictions in the comments please.

Right, in today's Eurocast we have some of your emails about the German win over Portugal, exclusive dressing room access so we can hear Cristiano Ronaldo's post-game reaction, we talk to Tom our German correspondent and there's a quick preview of tonight's game.

Remember, we are looking for your thoughts on the games, so please email or leave voicemail for the Eurocast. It's easy and it makes you more attractive to the opposite sex. Not doing so makes you poor and smelly. So you know what to do.

To contact us use the info below:

UK -  +44 20 7193 6971

SWISS - +41 44 586 62 08

But that's not all. If you have Skype you don't even have to pay for a phone call. Simply add 'oleole.com' as a contact then use Skype to call us. It'll go directly to the voicemail.

And if that's not enough we're happy to get your emails too - send them podcast@oleole.com

You can subscribe to the Eurocast using iTunes by clicking here, if you want to subscribe to the feed itself the feed URL is here, you can download directly here or you can listen from this page:

Have fun, till tomorrow.

We'll start with congrats to 4ndyL who got both games right in yesterday's predictions. Erm, actually no he didn't. So I withdraw those congratulations and give him half back for getting the Spain result right along with wandarah.

As usual I got none right so for anyone just starting this prediction thing my advice would be to look at what I do and do differently.

It's the first quarter final today though, so that means only one prediction so I have 50% less chance of being wrong. Or something. I reckon Germany are going to do it, actually. 

Germany 2-1 Portugal

Lehmann to save a Ronaldo penalty too. Let us know what you think in the comments. I do like the knock-out stages though, it does make for more exciting football.

Now for the Eurocast. We've got an unhappy Swedish correpondent after his country's exit to the impressive Russia last night, Luigi talks about Spain's win over Greece and how the Spanish press are already starting to build up the game against Italy and a look ahead to tonight's game with Tom Thom(p)son.

Please do keep the emails and voicemails coming though. The more the merrier.

To contact us use the info below:

UK -  +44 20 7193 6971

SWISS - +41 44 586 62 08

But that's not all. If you have Skype you don't even have to pay for a phone call. Simply add 'oleole.com' as a contact then use Skype to call us. It'll go directly to the voicemail.

And if that's not enough we're happy to get your emails too - send them podcast@oleole.com

You can subscribe to the Eurocast using iTunes by clicking here, if you want to subscribe to the feed itself the feed URL is here, you can download directly here or you can listen from this page:

Right then, get your predictions in. More tomorrow.