Euro '96 Group D soccer teams the most unpredictable
By Vic Mills
LONDON (JP): The last and by far the most unpredictable of the groups for Euro '96, Group D, brings together Denmark, Croatia, Portugal and Turkey.
Of all the nations taking part, the Danes perhaps best epitomize the sometimes eccentric nature of the competition. There have been eight different winners in the nine previous tournaments, but no win more bizarre than Denmark's famous 1992 victory achieved only after the players were given a place in the finals due to the outbreak of hostilities in Yugoslavia.
Of the current Danish side, much will depend on the creative elegance of the Laudrup brothers, operating just behind the weakest part of their side, the forward line.
The stolid, unspectacular Kim Vilfort, of the 1992 midfield, remains to complement the Laudrups -- but the weight falling on the brothers is awesome.
The pair has been helped by the emergence of Mikkel Beck who has been compared to the great Preben Elkjaar.
The Danes will rely heavily on their solid back five organized around the sweeper Jes Hoegh. A defense that will receive more than a passing word from arguably the best goalkeeper in the world: Peter Schmeichel.
The previous championship proved the folly of writing off the Danes, but this team is not as strong as the 1992 one.
Indeed Group D is the least predictable of the lot; Denmark could equally finish top or not win a single match.
Gifted Croatians
The position and progress of Croatia is similarity shrouded in mystery. Indeed the only predictable aspect of its debut on the world stage is that its players will be amongst the most technically gifted on show; Yugoslavian football (from which it all developed) placed almost religious emphasis on individual skills.
It had a magnificent qualifying tournament inflicting on Italy only its second defeat on home soil in international competitions.
The seeds of the side were sown in the 1987 World Youth Cup won by the then Yugoslavians. Players like Zvonimir Boban, Davor Suker, Robert Prosinecki and Robert Jarni, once the basis of that side, now forms the backbone of the current Croatian team.
Its style has been described as combining Teutonic efficiency, Italian delicacy and Balkan unpredictability; in truth, it will hope that its intricate, fluid midfield and forwards will keep the ball away from a less than watertight defense.
The one certainty for Croatia is that if it advances beyond the group stage -- and the betting fraternity thinks it has every chance -- few sides will wish to meet them.
Much the same could be said of the second half of the Iberian challenge, Portugal. Like Spain, its soccer is more famous for its clubs than the national side.
The last time a Portuguese team played a tournament in England, however, was in 1966, the days of the matchless Eusebio when it reached the semifinals, its only achievement of note.
Portugal's hope
Most Portuguese regard the current team as their best since those heady days and approach Euro '96 with great expectations.
A talented side full of stars, Portugal will attack its opponents with complicated, intricate thrusts from every direction.
In the past, the Portuguese were perhaps over-reliant on the mercurial talents of Milan's Paulo Futre. But now Rui Costa (Fiorentina), Paulo Sousa (Juventus), Fernando Couto (Parma) and Luis Figo (Barcelona) have all matured, forming one of the most potent midfields in the tournament.
Goals come from a variety of sources; Joao Pinto and Domingos get their share, but in the qualifiers 12 different players scored. The problem facing coach Antonio Oliverdi is balancing all this attacking nerve with a slightly cavalier defense.
Oddly, given that it has a relatively young team, this tournament may have come 18 months too late for Portugal.
At the start of qualifying it looked like the continent's best team. Since then, as Euro '96 has hardened from a distant intangible into an all-too-imminent reality, others have got their act together and closed the gap.
Logically, though, Portugal still has one of the best squads. If it believes in itself, there is no reason why it should not fulfill the faith many have put in it.
A possible quarter-final against, say, Germany would test that self-belief to the limit and be the making, or breaking, of this potentially great team.
Of all the sleeping giants in the European game, Turkey, the final team in Group D, may well have the most potential.
Its main problem in international soccer has always been a lack of confidence in its domestic game, hence the succession of overseas coaches appointed to the national team.
How ironic, then, that when it finally qualified for the European Championships, it is with a Turk at the helm -- Fatin Terim, until last year the leading cap winner in Turkey's history.
The difficulty facing Terim is a lack of firepower up front. An over-reliance on the skillful Hakan Sukur has meant that, if the young forward fails, there are few options.
All the more reason then to view Euro '96 as a learning experience for the younger players; the ideal springboard in fact for vital World Cup qualifying games later in the year.