Germany Euro 2008 Sports Betting Preview

Euro 2008 odds makers have allowed tradition to influence the lines by making Germany early favorites to lift the trophy.

Germany have not won a match at the European Championships since an Oliver Bierhoff goal in the final won the 1996 competition in London. No single statistic sums up the decline of the most consistent football nation in the world, winners of three European Championships and three World Cups.

However Germany, in football as in life, is never down for long and now the Germans arrive at the 2008 tournament as the clear ante-post favourites to win a record fourth European Championship.

The first sign of the German revival revival was at the 2002 World Cup, when Michael Ballack inspired Germany to a place in the final, considerably further progress than their opening price in the tournament would have suggested. The Ballack generation, which includes Bastian Schweinsteiger and Miroslav Klose, came to full flower at the World Cup in Germany two years ago, when the hosts were beaten by Italy in a thrilling semi-final and eventually finished third, beating Portugal in the playoff.

Germany were the first team to qualify for Euro 2008 and are strong in all areas giving Euro 2008 odds makers an easy job in setting their lines. Coach Joachim Löw took over from Jurgen Klinsmann after the World Cup and has continued Germany’s new attacking style – and with a flat back four, as apposed to the traditional sweeper that was so emblematic of German football for so many years. Germany are solid at the back, combative in midfield and enjoy the talents of Klose, Gomez and Kuranyi upfront. They are the team to beat.