“U” is an interesting letter in German. One of the first things that springs to mind is “U-Boot” (submarine) and then there is the “U-Bahn” (underground train) as well as “U-Haft” (jail).

But after Germany’s U21 team won the European championship, thrashing England 4-0 in Sweden on Monday to give the country all three “U” titles (U17, U19 and U21), there’s another “U” word that comes to mind: “Ueber alles” — as in “Deutschland Ueber Alles”.

“U-nglaublich (unbelievable), U-nfassbar (unreal) and U-nwiderstehlich (irresistable),” wrote Germany’s best-selling daily Bild, clearly caught up in the U-fever.

In May, they beat the Netherlands in the final to win the U17 championship it hosted with a national televison audience watching. Last July, Germany won the U19 championship, beating Italy 3-1 in the final. And Monday’s win over England was watched by a record 8.2 million, making it by far the most popular TV show in Germany all week.

England came under heavy fire in their home media for their “pathetic capitulation”, as the Daily Mirror called it or for “suffering yet more agony at the hands of the Germans”.

The Guardian noted that “Goalkeeping blunders are not the sole preserve of the England senior team”.

But in Germany the U21 team were feted as conquering heroes. Stern.de breathlessly predicted this was the team that would win the 2014 World Cup.

“It was great the way they beat England down at first and then played them into the ground,” said Germany coach Joachim Loew, who was in Sweden for the final.

The German DFB (FA) claimed credit for the three titles, with DFB President Theo Zwanziger saying the “good structures” put into place in recent years and the “good work” done by DFB sporting director Matthias Sammer was the reason for the success.

The Bundesliga also took credit, saying they had trained the players. “What I’m especially pleased with is that all the players are from Bundesliga clubs,” said Bundesliga president Reinhard Rauball.

And the German clubs, predictably, said they were responsible with officials from Hertha Berlin and Mainz arguing their good training, investment and talent development programmes had made the difference.

But the big question U have to ask is: Does it all matter? Does winning any or even all of the “Under-” tournaments mean U will later win the Euros or the World Cup?

PHOTO: German players celebrate celebrating after beating England 4-0 in the U21 European Championship final in Malmo June 29, 2009. REUTERS/Bob Strong

As the dust settles on a turbulent few weeks for Polish soccer, a wider question is being asked in the game’s corridors of power. Did UEFA make a mistake in awarding Euro 2012 to Poland and Ukraine?

Despite both countries receiving explicit warnings from European soccer’s governing body, they are still well behind in their preparations, so much so that UEFA may have to rethink the number of stadia to be used.

To add insult to injury, just three days after Poland and Ukraine received a final reprieve by UEFA in Bordeaux, Warsaw’s government sacked their FA much to the anger of UEFA and world governing body FIFA. (more…)

Franz Beckenbauer’s announcement that the European Championship finals will feature 24 teams instead of 16 from 2016 must have been welcomed by fans of countries that have found it difficult to qualify for recent major tournaments.

But as my colleague Mike Collett argued during Euro 2008, UEFA is running a big risk by trying to fix something that is not broken.

Mike wrote:

As we all know, the competition format (as it stands) is simple and logical and because just the top two advance (from each group) teams have to come and attack.

Add another four or eight teams and we get into the complicated nonsense we had to endure in the 24-team World Cups from 1982 to 1994 because it’s not easy to reduce 24 teams to a 16-team knockout stage.

Defensive, cagey football, from teams who shouldn’t be in the finals in the first place will damage the event.

Euro 2008 was a great tournament and you have to wonder if this expansion is just going to dilute the experience. It’s hard to imagine it actually improving things.

More underdogs might produce more surprises and make it that much more difficult for the likes of Spain and Germany to reach the final as they did rather predictably in Euro 2008. On the other hand, very few people, if any, want to see an additional eight teams just make up the numbers.

What do you think? Is UEFA about to ruin the world’s best football tournament? Give us your thoughts in the comments.

Now we’ve seen all 16 teams in action at Euro 2008, here’s a question for you. Could anyone here play their way into the All-time Greats XI?

I first saw a match in the European Nations Cup, as it then was, in 1968 when England beat Spain 1-0 in a qualifier at Wembley to reach the four-team finals in Italy.

Strange to think that at the time, England were the world champions and Spain were the European Champions — and neither country has won anything since. Anyway, as we all like a good argument, here is my selection for the All-time Greats XI.

(The only qualification was that the player was on the winning team in the final)

GOALKEEPER:

PETER SCHMEICHEL (Denmark 1992) Had the game of his life in the final against Germany making three world class saves and securing himself a move to Manchester United and a place in English soccer folklore.

DEFENDERS:

RONALD KOEMAN (Netherlands 1988) Peerless libero or fullback who set the Netherlands on their way to the final with an equalising penalty against hosts West Germany in the semi-final in Hamburg.

FRANZ BECKENBAUER (West Germany 1972) Led the Germans to their first European title in 1972 and was the dominant, commanding figure in a truly exceptional side, better even than the team he led to the World Cup two years later.

MARCEL DESAILLY (France 2000) Versatile player who looked just as comfortable in midfield as he did in defence. Helped France win both the World Cup in 1998 and was outstanding again at the European Championship two years later.

GIACINTO FACCHETTI (Italy 1968) One of the greatest left-backs in soccer history led Italy to their first European success on home soil in 1968. The semi-final against the Soviet Union was decided on the toss of a coin. He called correctly.

MIDFIELD:

GUENTER NETZER (West Germany 1972) Reached the zenith of his career in 1972 with a series of brilliant midfield displays. His performance against England at Wembley in the quarter-finals ranks as one of the greatest ever at the stadium. Against the Soviets in the final he was even better.

RUUD GULLIT (Netherlands 1988) Captained the Netherlands to victory in 1988, scoring with a memorable header in the final.

ALAIN GIRESSE (France 1984) The diminutive dynamo of one of the greatest midfields ever assembled powered France to success in Paris in 1984.

FORWARDS:

MARCO VAN BASTEN (Netherlands 1988) A hat-trick against England in the quarter-finals, a late winner against West Germany in the semis and THAT goal against the Soviet Union in the final. Now attempting to become the first man to win the Euros as a player and then a coach.

GERD MUELLER (West Germany 1972) His total of 14 goals in the 1970 and 1974 World Cup finals overshadow the 11 he scored in the 1972 Euros – six in qualifying and five in the finals with two in the final against the Soviet Union.

MICHEL PLATINI (France 1984) Now the UEFA president, but two decades ago the brilliant Frenchman produced the greatest ever performance in the history of the competition, scoring nine goals and leading France to their first international trophy.

Substitutes: Lev Yashin (Soviet Union 1960), Frank Rijkaard (Netherlands 1988), Antonin Panenka (Czechoslovakia 1976), Brian Laudrup (Denmark 1992), Horst Hrubesch (West Germany 1980), Sandro Mazzola (Italy 1968), Luis Suarez (Spain 1964)

Couldn’t agree more? Couldn’t agree less? Let us know in the comments.

PHOTO: Dutch coach Marco van Basten plays with a ball during a training session at the Stade de Suisse in Berne, June 8, 2008. REUTERS/Michael Kooren