The sporting highlights of the summer

A long road | As the Olympic torch has been transported up and down the country, Olympic fever has slowly begun to take hold, despite the negative press surrounding the Games. (Image | The Sun)

It really has been a vintage summer of sport. The superb entertainment offered by the 2012 European Championships, England notwithstanding, Andy Murray reaching the Wimbledon final and Bradley Wiggins‘ dominance of the Tour de France will live long in the memory of sports fans everywhere.

Not only this, but arguably the most prestigious, and potentially exhilarating sporting event of the summer, is yet to even begin. It is the London 2012 Olympic Games to which that reference pertains, which unofficially begin tonight (with Women’s Football group games) and have already been hitting the headlines, albeit for all the wrong reasons.

Away from transport dilemmas, the issue of packing an extra 10 million visitors into London and the G4S debacle, the Olympic Games celebrate the greatest sporting talents of athletes from across the world. If you claim to be a sports fan, yet this somehow fails to excite you, may I suggest a quick examination of your pulse.

The Euro Review: team by team

Unstoppable | Spain’s performance in the Euro 2012 final, after an occasionally underwhelming campaign, has left many asking if they are the best team in the history of football. (Image | Getty)

After three weeks of 10-second countdowns, Pirlo-praising and Spanish superiority, the UEFA European Championships are over. A thoroughly enthralling group stage was followed by a below-average knockout stage that culminated with a sizzling Spanish performance in Kiev to complete an unprecedented trio of consecutive tournaments wins for the newly-crowned ‘greatest national team of all time’. In this article, I will be looking at how everyone performed.

Euro 2012: Quarter final preview, part one

Captain Gioros Karagounis scored the only goal in Greece’s shock 1-0 win over Russia Saturday. His goal sends Greece into the last eight (Image | football365.com)

The first half of the UEFA European Championships quarter-final draw was decided over the weekend with one major surprise – the disappearance of Russia from the tournament at the first hurdle. After two games, and particularly their scintilating performance against the Czech Republic on the first day, many – including TAP’s own Ian Hobbs – fancied them as dark horses for the crown. But a dour showing against Greece on Saturday, combined with the Czech Republic’s triumph over co-hosts Poland, saw them eliminated.

With two giants emerging from Group B, it’s hard to see either Group A side advancing past the last eight.

Euro 2012: reasons behind the Netherlands non-arrival

On the brink | The Netherlands‘ 2-0 defeat to Germany last night could have prevented them escaping from Group B. (Image | The Star)

The Netherlands’ Euro 2012 dream lies in tatters. Having fallen to defeat against Denmark and Germany in their opening games, Bert van Marwijk‘s side have found the net just once, and rely on a very precise set of circumstances in order to emerge from Group B, the veritable “group of death” of these European Championships.

Many pundits have offered their two pennies worth on what is going wrong for the Dutch. Some have blamed Robin van Persie and his recent bought of “stage fright”, others have slammed van Marwijk’s tactics, while a select few appear to have known this would happen all along. However, the Netherlands were not tipped to go all the way for no reason, and thrashed Northern Ireland 6-0 in a pre-tournament friendly. So what exactly has gone wrong? Here is The Armchair Pundits’ explanation for the Dutch disaster.