EURO 2012: WHERE FRIENDS BECOME FOES

This is a very interesting piece that takes a look at teamates in
various leagues in Europe slugging it out against each other for
National pride and glory.

Enjoy:

After recently completing a thrilling season of club
football, many players across Europe have now turned
their thoughts to UEFA EURO 2012, the continental
tournament which takes place in Poland and Ukraine
and begins on 8 June.
Ten months of teamwork and camaraderie alongside
their team-mates will count for nothing when the 14th
edition of the European Championship kicks off,
however, particularly for those who will find themselves
on opposite sides for their countries.
The draw for the group stage, which took place in
December 2011, set up several heavyweight clashes for
the first round of fixtures, with Netherlands-Germany,
Spain-Italy and France-England chief among them.
Star players from Europe's biggest clubs will therefore
be pitched against one another from the outset of the
competition and friendship will have to be forgotten for
the sake of national pride. FIFA.com takes a look at
those who must end their allegiances for one month.


Robben against the rest
Germany against the Netherlands is a match which
needs little extra edge, as the two have been fierce
rivals since the 1974 FIFA World Cup™, when they
contested the Final. Johan Cruyff and Co took a first-
minute lead but still lost the showpiece and a mutual
antipathy has festered ever since.
Their next meeting, in Kharkiv on 13 June during the
second round of Group B fixtures, will see Bayern
Munich players feature heavily. The beaten UEFA
Champions League finalists could have as many as nine
representatives on the field, but one will be massively
outnumbered.
Netherlands winger Arjen Robben, who crucially missed
an extra-time penalty during Bayern's shoot-out defeat
by Chelsea, may be confused by the sight of his
domestic team-mates all playing for the opposition,
with Holger Badstuber, Jerome Boateng, Mario Gomez,
Toni Kroos, Philipp Lahm, Thomas Muller, Manuel Neuer
and Bastian Schweinsteiger in Germany's squad.
Robben will no doubt enjoy the challenge of scoring
against his defensive colleagues, which is a sentiment
likely to be shared elsewhere in the group by fellow
forwards Dirk Kuyt and Robin van Persie.
Kuyt will come up against Liverpool centre-back Daniel
Agger in the Denmark defence when the Dutch begin
their campaign on 9 June, while Van Persie could find
his efforts to continue a remarkable goalscoring season
blocked by Arsenal stopper Per Mertesacker.
The other Group B game on 9 June sees the Germans,
runners-up to Spain at EURO 2008, take on Portugal in
a match which will have a distinct Real Madrid
influence. Cristiano Ronaldo and Mesut Ozil will try to
dictate the tempo at either end, while Sami Khedira
could find himself battling with Fabio Coentrao and
Pepe.


Arsenal ties in Group A
Group A also has interesting connotations for Premier
League side Arsenal, with Lukasz Fabianski and
Wojciech Szczesny competing for the Poland No1
jersey. Whoever gets the nod in goal for the co-hosts
will be tasked with keeping out Czech Republic captain
and Gunners midfielder Tomas Rosicky.
Defending champions Spain against 2006 FIFA World
Cup winners Italy is an obvious highlight of the opening
round. The 10 June fixture will showcase a plethora of
the continent's best players and Manchester City duo
David Silva and Mario Balotelli are sure to be among
those deciding which team takes an early advantage in
Group C.
Having only finalised moves to Everton in January of
this year, midfielder Darron Gibson and striker Nikica
Jelavic have not had much time to form a relationship,
which might be for the best as they will face each other
during Republic of Ireland's first Group C encounter
against Croatia.


Familiar faces for France
Perhaps the group fixture which holds the most intrigue
in this regard is the opening Group D match between
France and England. As many as six City players, fresh
from being crowned Premier League champions, could
be on opposing sides come kick-off on 11 June. Gael
Clichy and Samir Nasri of Les Bleus will certainly
recognise Gareth Barry, Joe Hart, Joleon Lescott and
James Milner, should they be selected by Roy Hodgson.
It will be a similar story for Chelsea stars when the
Three Lions take on Laurent Blanc's men in Donetsk. If
Florent Malouda features for France he could come up
against Blues team-mates Gary Cahill, Ashley Cole,
Frank Lampard and John Terry just three weeks after
they all hoisted the Champions League trophy aloft.
As AC Milan ended the season without a major trophy,
two of their players travel to Poland and Ukraine hoping
to make amends with their national team. Zlatan
Ibrahimovic and Philippe Mexes will face each other
along the way, with the striker trying to get past the
defender when Sweden meet France on 19 June.
















Culled from: FIFA.com