Euro 2008 is second only to the Olympics on this year’s sporting calendar. Unless you live in the United States, where it ranks somewhere between regular-season baseball and early-round Wimbledon action.

Not everyone is keen on betting soccer, either. We’re used to spread betting on this continent; football is king, basketball is a distant second. Soccer requires an entirely different betting approach, one that relies more on an appreciation and understanding for the sport than statistical analysis.

But this is also soccer’s strength as a betting sport. Handicappers who develop that appreciation enjoy watching soccer more and more. It’s an acquired taste, like Shakespeare or Guinness. Sharpening the right side of your betting brain is also useful when handicapping the NBA, particularly when dealing with Euro-styled clubs like the Toronto Raptors and, yes, the Los Angeles Lakers.

With ESPN boldly broadcasting the entire Euro 2008 tournament, soccer is here to stay. Might as well profit from it.

Soccer has a mixed profile around these parts. Some fans are as knowledgeable and passionate as their European counterparts. Others wouldn’t know Franz Beckenbauer from Franz Ferdinand. Whichever side of the fence you’re on, there’s money to be made. Here’s what you need to know about Euro 2008 to get started.

National teams have played qualifying games for the past two years. Sixteen made it into the tournament, co-hosted this year by Austria and Switzerland. They’re split into four groups of four; the top two teams from each group will go on to the quarterfinals. It’s a single-knockout tournament from there. We’re currently still in the Group stage.

Portugal and Croatia have already advanced to the next round, while Switzerland has been eliminated. Germany has won this event three times since its inception in 1960, and was the 7-2 favorite to win it again until losing to Croatia on Thursday. Now the Germans are 5-1.

We’re expecting a betting frenzy over the next three weeks. Euro 2008 promises to be one of the greatest displays of soccer talent the world has ever seen. This is a highly emotional betting public we’re talking about; Croats will bet on Croatia, Spaniards will bet on Spain.

Germany goes about things a different way. Their national soccer team has made it into the Euro tournament stage nine times in a row since 1972, engineering three championships. It will be a very interesting clash of styles should they meet Spain in the finals - the favorite matchup on the Euro 2008 futures market at 9-1.

Spain, however, haven’t won this tournament since 1964 and haven’t been to the finals since 1984. The more familiar Germany-Italy (12-1) or Germany-France (12-1) pairings are on the board; Italy beat France on penalty kicks to win the 2006 World Cup, and both sides remain strong two years later.