Euro 2012 Fantasy Player Pool - Final Report

The last ball has been kicked in Kiev, and the biggest question in world soccer has evolved from "Who will be European Champion?" to "Is Spain the greatest dynasty in the history of the sport?"


There are of course a few other answers out there still to search for: What was Jogi Loew thinking? Who the hell is Jordi Alba?? And why did it take me a week to finish this final writeup???

Euro 2012 Fantasy Player Pool - Semi #1 Roundup

Euro 2012 has seen 311 minutes of pitch time since Xabi Alonso did Spain right with an unmarked header that gave new definition to the idea of "open play." Since then the only kicks that have found the back of the net have come from the penalty spot. 


Amazingly though, two straight goalless draws have produced the two highest fantasy scoring outputs of the tournament. 

Euro 2012 Fantasy Player Pool - Qtr #4 Roundup

The last Quarterfinal of Euro 2012 gave us the most exciting Nil-Nil draw I've seen in quite a while, even if the English attack eventually lost steam and the air of Italian inevitability took over once it went to the penalty shootout (even if "some people" were dumb enough to predict the exact opposite).


But for our purposes, the game was more than just a good soccer match. Even though the ball never hit the back of the net (at least not without the flag going up), extra time and clean sheet bonuses turned this one into a fantasy bonanza.

Euro 2012 Fantasy Player Pool - Day 11 Roundup

With no one player really standing out from the pack (Pirlo, Cassano, and Iniesta all tied for top daily scorer with a mere 7 points), Day 11 was all about small, subtle storylines. 

Of course, every tiny edge you can get on the stat sheet counts, and enough little edges put together will pay off big - as evidenced by the pool's increasingly dominant top dog, Andrew L.

Euro 2012 Diary, Day 11 - Quick Picks

These two have been much more on target than my picks

I've been slipping with posting my picks with regularity, so let's get caught up:

 

Today's Picks:

-Spain 3-1 over Croatia

-Italy 2-0 over Ireland

Euro 2012 Fantasy Player Pool - Day 7 Roundup

Well, fantasy friends, what to say about Shay Given? 


Under Furia fire from the opening kick, Given was often beaten and never graceful, but ultimately he was the only thing that kept Spain from reaching double digits on the scoresheet.

Euro 2012 Diary, Day 7 - Quick Picks

Balotelli tries to decide which personality will take the field today

I'm feeling better after finally getting a few wins under my belt, even though Portugal almost blew it.  Today's games are about to kick off so I'll make these short and sweet:

Euro 2012 Fantasy Player Pool - Day 3 Roundup

Day 3 gave us a new name atop the leaderboard, some old reliables coming up strong, and the timeless tradition of hustle plays making prima donnas look ridiculous.


Yes it's good to be among the leaders now, but it's better to be scoring points that no one else is getting, and a few people got a good number of preciously unique points through goals from Fabregas and Jelavic, owned by only a pair of owners each our pool. 

Euro 2012 Fantasy Player Pool - Day 1 Roundup

Day 1 of the Player Pool was a real eye opener for me and I'm sure for a lot of you.  Not only did I realize just how badly my pre-tourney reads on the Russians and Czechs were (thankfully I was far from alone there), but I also came face to face with the fact that I hate the scoring system for this pool!