European Championship Semi-Finals Fever Rages in Qatar

Doha, June 27 (QNA) - The European Championship 2012 football semi-final between defending champions Spain and Portugal to be contested tonight at Donbass Arena in Donetsk, Ukraine, and the other between Germany and Italy have triggered much interest and discussion among citizens and residents here. At the many majlis gatherings, coffee shops, restaurants and popular public places for socialising like Souq Waqif, Katara Cultural Village, the Pearl Qatar, City Centre and Al Sadd the question football fans are debating is which team will win the European Championship. Dubai-based H+K Strategies Director of the Regional Sports Practice Stephen Reid sticks to the pre-tournament favourites. "When Europe's elite footballing nations go head to head every four years, major shocks are a rarity and the 2012 Euros seems to be going as the experts and form would suggest," he said. "It s hard to look beyond Spain or Germany as eventual winners. The pre-tournament favourites, Spain and Germany have dominated the opening encounters with two relatively easy victories. Spain, the current reigning World and European Champions have world-class talent in every position." Not all fans Qatar News Agency (QNA) spoke to were overwhelmingly in favour of Spain who have impressed analysts and critics with their precision passing and creating goal-scoring opportunities from nowhere. Qatari sports fan Abdulaziz Al Boainen who loves golf besides football and has had experience of working for the development of youth and sports here told Qatar News Agency (QNA), 'Most people like the way the Spanish play their football. Indeed, they are good, but I'm impressed by the Italians." Al Boainen, who heads the Institute of Administrative Development's Public Relations Department in Qatar, praised Antonio Cassano for scoring when it mattered most. The AC Milan forward has been central to Azzurri's Euro 2012 aspirations. He was Italy's top scorer in Euro 2012 qualifying games with six goals. "The Italians are combining very well." Concurring with his view was uncle-nephew duo of Abdulla Al Mawlawi and Ali Al Mawlawi. "Although most fans worldwide talk about Spain, I'm more interested in how Italy fares in their semi-final against Germany tomorrow," said Abdulla even as he was preparing to travel to the US for his vacation tomorrow. "I will watch the final in California and I hope Italy figures in it," he added. His nephew Ali, a second year Civil Engineering student at Leeds University, UK, is a die-hard Azzurri fan, particularly the tall and gangly goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon. "He is surely the best. His performance in the quarter-final against England during the penalty shootout is a proof of his excellence." Reid talked with matching passion about the skills of the Spaniards. "Xavi at the heart of the team controls the game so well and his precision passing means Spain can open up any defence," said Reid. "Spain will be encouraged with a rejuvenated Fernando Torres is starting regain his confidence and two goals against Ireland could see him return to his best and provide a real threat to any defence." Regarding the Germans he said, "They are famous for peaking during major tournaments and have already impressively defeated arch rivals, the Netherlands in the group stages. Mario Gomez has been lethal in attack for a sleek German outfit with Bastian Schweinsteiger dominating the midfield with his creative flair." There are other fans who looked beyond the big four. Shankar, a Doha-based Purchase Manager who works for QICC, a Nexan group company, names Croatia as his favourite team who he keenly followed during the group stage. Rather strange choice when most fans would talk about teams like Spain, Germany or Portugal. "The Croats were the silent performers of Euro 2012. Being eliminated by Spain is not the end of the world for them," he said. "They were happy the floodlights are not focused on them. They prefer to work in the shadows. Players like Lukas Modric and Vedran Corluka provide Croatia the nucleus of tough outfit for the future." Football has been always been keenly played and followed in Qatar. The level of interest has significantly gone up ever since Qatar won the bid to host the 2022 Fifa World Cup. With the increasing bandwidth of satellite television network globally, more football fans from the Middle East are following the European Championship that fans look forward to every four years. Here in Qatar, during major tournaments like the Euro 2012, prominent public places, restaurants, five-star hotels and shopping malls put up giant LED television sets to show the matches live. "You can watch sports at home, but watching the action on television in a restaurant is different since it involves you emotionally as there are many people cheering and commenting about the game," said Shankar, a Canadian who represented India in spring board diving events in the 1980s. Abdulla corroborated this opinion. "Watching any sports event, not just football at a majlis or other social gathering injects a spirit of camaraderie and fun. I will miss it as I will be flying out of Doha tomorrow for my holiday, but my nephew Ali will take care of the football majlis." (END)