UEFA 08 Impressions

Wow I am loving it even with just a few quick matches in. Like the demo, everything I wanted fixed from Fifa08 has been fixed (so nothing new here).  What I did notice and maybe I just missed it (from the demo and possibly due to two star ridden supper teams) was how good the midfield play is in this game.  I took Scotland as my team and played a few exhibitions against Euro nations that I apparently did not know existed or had forgotten about (looking at you - FYR Macedonia and Estonia). When the AI had control of the ball they played almost lifelike.  The weaker teams played fairly reserve and one of them was in a very defensive formation, with 5 fullbacks.  They slowly worked their way down the pitch and there seemed to be a lot more intelligence in their play. Instead of just constantly pushing forward, getting to the corners and slapping a cross into the box, they would pass back to midfielders and cross across that area of the field more.  Maybe it was just me but it just felt right in how these teams were playing, especially based on the teams talent level and formation.

I honestly thought Estonia was a made up place from that movie Encino Man. There really should be a warning in a Pauly Shore movie regarding fact from fiction. I thought it was some kinda stoner humor, buuuuuuuudhe.