Euro 2012 Soccer Championship, part one: The fans

Some happy, some sad, at times cheering or even fighting, fans of soccer are absorbed in the European 2012 Soccer Championship. Sixteen nations made it to the final tournament being held in Poland and the Ukraine with the final match to be played on July 1 at the Olympic Stadium in Kiev. -- Lloyd Young(40 photos total)

A soccer fan soaks up the atmospshere ahead of the Euro 2012 soccer championship group D match between Ukraine and Sweden at The Olympic Stadium on June 11 in Kiev, Ukraine. (Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)

Russian fans hold up a giant banner before the Group A Euro 2012 soccer match against Poland at the National stadium in Warsaw June 12. (Pascal Lauener/Reuters) 

Greek fans play drums before the match between Greece and the Czech Republic on June 12 at the Municipal Stadium in Wroclaw, Poland. (Aris Messinis/AFP/Getty Images) 

Germany soccer fans celebrate a goal against Portugal during their Group B Euro 2012 soccer match in Lviv, Ukraine on June 9. (Gleb Garanich/Reuters) 

Dutch fans play with a giant soccer ball before the start of the Euro 2012 soccer championships group match between the Netherlands and Denmark on June 9 at the Metalist Stadium in Kharkiv, Ukraine. (Patrick Hertzog/AFP/Getty Images) 

Poland fans cheer before the start of their Euro 2012 Group A soccer match against Greece at the national stadium in Warsaw, Poland on June 8. (Kai Pfaffenbach/Reuters) 

Polish soccer fans react as they watch the game on a giant screen in the Warsaw Fanzone on June 8. About 110,000 soccer fans came to the fan zone in the center of Warsaw to watch the first match of the Euro 2012 soccer tournament between Poland and Greece. (Wojek Radwanski/AFP/Getty Images) 

Sweden soccer fans paint each others faces before marching to the Olympic Stadium in Kiev on June 11. Sweden played its first match of the Euro 2012 soccer championships against Ukraine in Kiev. (Anatolii Stepanov/Reuters) 

Spanish fans pose during the Euro 2012 championships soccer match between Spain and Italy on June 10. (Gabriel Bouys/AFP/GettyImages) 

A Poland soccer fan waits for the start of the Group A Euro 2012 soccer match between Poland and Russia at the National stadium in Warsaw on June 12. (Pascal Lauener/Reuters) 

A Swedish fan cheers before the Euro 2012 soccer championship Group D match between Ukraine and Sweden in Kiev, Ukraine on June 11. (Martin Meissner/Associated Press) 

A fan of Greece's national soccer team wearing a helmet reacts prior to the Euro 2012 soccer match between Poland and Greece on June 8 at the National Stadium in Warsaw, Poland. (Christof Stache/AFP/Getty Images) 

A Polish fan cheers before the Euro 2012 championships soccer match between Poland and Russia on June 12. (Janek Skarzynski/AFP/GettyImages) 

An Ukrainian fan reacts as he watches the Euro 2012 soccer championships match between Poland and Greece on a giant screen in the fan zone at Independence Square in Kiev on June 8. (Sergei Supinsky/AFP/Getty Images) 

Dejected Dutch fans after the Euro 2012 soccer championship Group B match between the Netherlands and Denmark in Kharkiv, Ukraine on June 9. The Netherlands lost the match to Denmark 0-1. (Geert Vanden Wijngaert/Associated Press) 

Croatia fans party ahead of the Group B match between Republic of Ireland and Croatia during the Euro 2012 soccer championship in Poznan, Poland on June 10. (Peter Morrison/Associated Press) 

A Russian soccer fan poses for a picture in front of Euro 2012 advertising billboard in the fan zone in Kiev on June 12. (Anatolii Stepanov/Reuters) 

Czech goalkeeper Petr Cech returns a signed ball to fans after a training session in Wroclaw on June 9 during the Euro 2012 soccer championships. (Daniel Mihalilescu/AFP/Getty Images) 

A Netherlands soccer fan (right) plays soccer with an Ukrainian boy in the Euro 2012 fan zone in Kiev on June 8 a few hours before the opening match of the Euro 2012 soccer championships in Warsaw, Poland. (Sergei Supinsky/AFP/GettyImages) 

Fans of Germany's national soccer team react on a cart as an artist performs in the street of Lviv on June 9 prior to the Euro 2012 soccer championships match betwen Germany and Portugal. (Jeff Pachoud//AFP/GettyImages) 

A Croatian and an Irish supporter cheer before the Euro 2012 soccer match between their teams in Poznan on June 10. (Kacper Pempel/Reuters) 

A Danish fan celebrates at the end of the Euro 2012 championships soccer match between the Netherlands and Denmark on June 9 at the Metalist Stadium in Kharkiv. Denmark won 1-0. (Filippo Monteforte/AFP/GettyImages) 

Soccer fans joke from inside a bus behind a Polish policeman in Poznan on June 10 during the Group C Euro 2012 soccer match between Croatia and Ireland. (Agencja Gazeta/Reuters) 

Swedish fans play soccer on the beach of Camp Sweden, an island in central Kiev that will house up to 5,000 fans during Euro 2012. (Sergei Grits/Associated Press) 

A soccer fan sleeps at the Russian fans camp in Donetsk on June 12 prior to the Euro 2012 championships soccer match between Poland and Russia. (Alexander Khudoteply/AFP/Getty Images) 

A Portuguese soccer fan wears a Portugal's Team t-shirt with the number of the Portuguese forward Cristiano Ronaldo as he cooks sardines during the Group B preliminary round match of the Euro 2012 soccer championship match between Portugal and Germany. (Patricia De Melo Moreira/AFP/Getty Images)

Fans of the Ukraine national team light candles as they pray in a church for a victory of their team in Kiev, Ukraine on June 11. (Efrem Lukatsky/Associated Press) 

A Polish supporter walks in front of riot police standing in front of the entrance of the national stadium in Warsaw, Poland, ahead the Euro 2012 soccer championships Group A match between Poland and Russia on June 12. Brawls erupted between Polish and Russian soccer fans as thousands of Russians marched toward Warsaw's national stadium hours before the countries face off in a key Euro 2012 match. Police fired tear gas and water cannon on unruly fans and arrested several people. (Christof Stache/AFP/Getty Images)

Polish soccer fans beat a Russian fan during clashes in Warsaw on June 12 ahead of the Euro 2012 championships soccer match between Poland and Russia. Police used water cannon and tear gas on unruly Euro 2012 fans in Warsaw as Poland geared up to play old foe Russia. (Wojtek Radwanski/AFP/Getty Images) 

Riot police stand next to a Poland supporter during clashes with soccer fans before the Group A Euro 2012 soccer match between Poland and Russia in Warsaw on June 12. (Agata Grzybowska/Reuters) 

A Dutch soccer fan talks with a Ukranian policeman as he marches to the Metalist stadium in Kharkiv on June 9. The Netherlands will play its first Group B Euro 2012 soccer match against Denmark. (Vasily Fedosenko/Reuters) 

A Polish supporter prays prior to the Euro 2012 championships soccer match between Poland and Russia on June 12 at the National Stadium in Warsaw. (Gabriel Bouys/AFP/Getty Images) 

Ukrainian supporters cheer on their team as they watch Ukraine play Sweden in a Group D match at the Euro 2012 soccer championships on a giant screen in the fan zone in Kiev on June 11. (Genya Savilov/AFP/Getty Images) 

German soccer fans celebrate the kick off of their team's first game at the Euro 2012 at a public viewing zone called 'fan mile' in Berlin, Germany, on June 9. Germany plays against Portugal in Lviv, Ukraine during the Euro 2012 soccer championship. (Markus Schreiber/Associated Press) 

Supporters of the England soccer team applaud with shoes in their hands as they watch the Euro 2012 soccer championship Group D match between France and England, in a fan zone in Warsaw, Poland on June 11. (Czarek Sokolowski/Associated Press) 

Spain's fans watch the Euro 2012 soccer championship Group C match between Spain and Italy in a fan park in Madrid, Spain on June 10. (Andres Kudacki/Associated Press) 

A fan of the German national soccer team displays his skills to Portugal fans on a street ahead of the Euro 2012 soccer championship Group B match between Portugal and Germany in Lviv, Ukraine on June 9. (Efrem Lukatsky/Associated Press) 

Spanish soccer fans cheer for their team before the start of the Euro 2012 soccer championship Group C match between Spain and Italy in Gdansk, Poland, on June 10. (Alvaro Barrientos/Associated Press) 

Fans react as player Cristiano Ronaldo signs autographs at the end of a training session for the Portugal team at the Euro 2012 soccer championship in Opalenica, Poland, on June 5. (Armando Franca/Associated Press) 

Czech Republic team players greet their fans after victory in their Group A Euro 2012 soccer match against Greece at the City stadium in Wroclaw on June 12. (Dominic Ebenbichler/Reuters)