Goal Rush

there is something unique about the 2000 version of the European football championships that kicked off last Saturday. It's not the teams only Slovenia and Norway are new. Nor the venue. Belgium and the Netherlands are accustomed to mighty clashes. Nope, the novelty is that this European championship is so, so European.

How's that again? When the Bosman ruling erased European soccer's borders, the composition of teams and the styles of play that once characterized each nation's domestic league began to change. Consider Chelsea, the winners of the English F.A. Cup, whose players are so polyglot they ought to field a translator. It means that should England encounter Norway later this month there will be plenty of familiar faces, as the Norwegians count nine Premiership players among their number. If the Netherlands plays Spain, many of the latter's fans will be shouting against their Barcelona heroes Frank de Boer, Philip Cocu and Patrick Kluivert.

This blending of players from so many countries into the Serie A, the Bundesliga, the Primera, the Premiership and elsewhere means that Euro 2000 has become a sort of retrofitted forum to watch national tactics in action. That makes it somewhat ironic then that co-hosts the Netherlands, who have long been football's mercenaries, are favorites to lift the trophy on July 2. The Dutch produce marvelous footballers but they tend to play better under somebody else's flag.

Dutch coach Frank Rijkaard has been pilloried for his side's indifferent warmup performances they made Scotland look like Brazil but what talent. In the midfield there's the bespectacled Edgar Davids, who has enough spare energy in his churning legs to light the stadium. The Netherlands' strike force counts Kluivert, the cool, lethal Dennis Bergkamp and his Arsenal teammate Marc Overmars, a whip of a left wing.

World champions France will bring the same team to Euro 2000, with one notable improvement les Bleus have some attacking might in Real Madrid's mercurial Nicolas Anelka and an in-form Thierry Henry. Feeding them from the midfield is the incomparable Zinedine Zidane. Zizou is the caterer to the French banquet, serving up one delicious pass after another. Yet even France has to be careful in Group D, aka the Group of Death, since there are no Saudi Arabias to munch before the main course. The Czech team that roared through the qualifiers is a legitimate contender. Denmark is not.

Alas, footballers aren't the only ones who have breached the borders. The human sewage known as hooliganism is also flowing into the Low Countries, threatening to make a mess of the tourney's Euroslogan: "Football without frontiers." [see Viewpoint.] The lethal clashes between English and Turkish supporters earlier this year have the authorities on edge. Yet the match everyone fears most is Germany-England, to be played in the gritty Belgian town of Charleroi. Although both countries have detained known hooligans, the town will be teeming with fans, many of whom won't have tickets. The venue, the Stade du Pays de Charleroi, only has 30,000 seats, and 20,000 are temporary. There has been criticism that these seats are at too steep an angle to handle an emergency. But the Belgian organizers refuse to change the venue. "We are very determined that it is not going to be moved," said Jan de Grave, Belgium's Euro 2000 spokesman. "The fire brigade has been doing exercises; Charleroi police have been doing exercises." Jail cells have been emptied to make room for visitors. How accommodating.

Given their recent form, though, an England-Germany game could sedate any crowd. German teams have never made great music on the pitch, but this one is as plodding as a tuba. Creaky 39-year-old sweeper Lothar Matthus may be a marked man rather than a marker. The Germans won't beat themselves, though, and England may not be up to that task. Michael Owen looks sharp enough, but England may struggle to get the ball to midfielder David Beckham so that he can knife his famous crosses to the box.

The lack of heft in Group A means that both Romania and especially Portugal have a good shot to advance. Midfielder Rui Costa's runs with the ball can be more entertaining than a whole team of Germans, and in Luis Figo, Portugal has an out-and-out matchwinner. Romania has no such flash but it does have a dependable side.

Italy's Prime Minister Giuliano Amato wished coach Dino Zoff and his Azzurri good luck last week. Given the vicissitudes of soccer and politics in Italy, it's a coin toss as to which of those two will lose his job first. Italy's defense is as solid as ever behind skipper Paolo Maldini. But it lacks a dominating midfielder and the pair of Pippo Inzaghi and Alessandro Del Piero has yet to prove it can solve Juventus' scoring problems, never mind Italy's. Italy is still the class of Group B, though, and it should advance. So should co-host Belgium if the home field means anything.

Turkey's rise into elite football was underscored by Galatasaray's UEFA Cup victory. But Euro 2000 is still a big step up for this second time qualifier, and even superstriker Hakan Sukur may not be able to shoulder the load. On the other hand, Sweden's experience may be the key to its survival.

Group C features two countries that have been missing in action: Yugoslavia because of its horrific national strife, and Spain because of its horrific play. Yugoslavia had to go through Croatia to qualify, a huge success for them, but they've been dreadful since. With Serie A strikers Predrag Mijatovic (Fiorentina) and Darko Kovacevic (Juventus), the Yugoslavs should be able to find the net. If they can't, fullback Sinisa Mihajlovic's thunderous left-footed free kicks could be critical.

On the other hand, winning Euro 2000 would be fitting for Spain, given Spanish teams' success in European club competition this year. The problem is that Spain fits into soccer crowns the way Cinderella's stepsisters do glass slippers. Norway, as usual, threatens to dull down any match. Little Slovenia is the only true unknown. You can expect them to throw everything they have at their former countrymen, the Yugoslavs.

With bureau reports
ENGLAND
Steven Gerrard, 20, Defender
Club: Liverpool, England
Less than two years ago, the plucky youngster was playing football in the Academy, or youth training leagues. And now he's on the international stage.

DENMARK
Martin Laursen, 22, Defender
Club: Hellas Verona, Italy
May replace injured Danish defense stalwart Jes Hoegh. When sister Italian side Roma inquired about him earlier this year, Verona asked for a cool $12 million.

TURKEY
Mustafa Izzet, 25, Midfielder
Club: Leicester City, England
Born in England, "Muzzy," as he is known, struggles a bit with the Turkish language, but his skills make him perfectly fluent on a football field.

THE NETHERLANDS
Frank Rijkaard, 37, Coach
Was a top midfielder for Ajax and AC Milan, but had only limited managerial experience before appointment in 1998. His squad, however, has depth and home-ground advantage and is the bookmakers' favorite to win.

CZECH REPUBLIC
Tomas Rosicky, 19, Midfielder
Club: Sparta Praha, Czech Republic
Good on defense and attack, he is known for his relaxed, inventive play. His football talents must run in the family father Jiri also played for Sparta Praha.

NORWAY
John Arne Riise, 19, Striker
Club: Monaco, French League
Like compatriot Tore Andre Flo, a striker for English F.A. Cup winners Chelsea, Riise has experienced club success Monaco just won the French Premire Division.

GERMANY
Sebastian Deisler, 20, Midfielder
Club: Hertha Berlin, Germany
Hailed in the German press and by a growing female fan base as "Basti Fantasti," the promising Deisler has been compared to young England star Michael Owen.

FRANCE
Nicolas Anelka, 21, Striker
Club: Real Madrid, Spain
Left off the '98 World Cup-winning team, but well known to international club fans both for his brooding off-field antics and his on-field grace.

SPAIN
Iker Casillas, 19, Goalkeeper
Club: Real Madrid, Spain
Spain's revelation of the season. Says fellow Spanish keeper Jose Francisco Molina, "When I was his age, I was still killing myself on dirt pitches."