Sports

Final tournament - Group phase

by Eugene Ravdin




Marat Izmailov is back in favour with Russia (©Getty Images)

Midfielder Marat Izmailov has joined four uncapped players in Guus Hiddink's Russia squad for a training camp in Turkey between 2 and 6 February.

Training camp
Despite Russia not having a friendly until they face Romania on 26 March, the coach has chosen to take his squad away as they begin preparing for UEFA EURO 2008™. Izmailov, who last featured in October 2006, returns to the fold having impressed at Sporting Clube de Portugal, while four other players receive first call-ups – versatile FC Krylya Sovetov Samara defender Ivan Taranov, FC Lokomotiv Moskva full-back Renat Yanbaev, FC Zenit St. Petersburg newcomer Roman Shirokov and FC Moskva forward Roman Adamov. Goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev and winger Vladimir Bystrov also figure after injuries. Russia have been drawn against Greece, Spain and Sweden in Group D at UEFA EURO 2008™.

Russia squad
Goalkeepers: Igor Akinfeev (PFC CSKA Moskva), Vladimir Gabulov (FC Kuban Krasnodar), Vyacheslav Malafeev (FC Zenit St. Petersburg).

Defenders: Aleksandr Anyukov (FC Zenit St. Petersburg), Aleksei Berezutski (PFC CSKA Moskva), Vasili Berezutski (PFC CSKA Moskva), Sergei Ignashevich (PFC CSKA Moskva), Denis Kolodin (FC Dinamo Moskva), Ivan Taranov (FC Krylya Sovetov Samara), Renat Yanbaev (FC Lokomotiv Moskva).

Midfielders: Diniyar Bilyaletdinov (FC Lokomotiv Moskva), Dmitri Torbinskiy (FC Lokomotiv Moskva), Vladimir Bystrov (FC Spartak Moskva), Yuri Zhirkov (PFC CSKA Moskva), Konstantin Zyrianov (FC Zenit St. Petersburg), Roman Shirokov (FC Zenit St. Petersburg), Marat Izmailov (Sporting Clube de Portugal), Ivan Saenko (1. FC Nürnberg), Igor Semshov (FC Dinamo Moskva).

Forwards: Roman Adamov (FC Moskva), Andrei Arshavin (FC Zenit St. Petersburg), Aleksandr Kerzhakov (Sevilla FC), Roman Pavlyuchenko (FC Spartak Moskva), Dmitri Sychev (FC Lokomotiv Moskva).

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European Championships | 15.01.2008

Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: Germany are among the favorites to win the 2008 European Championships this June

Tickets for the German national team's matches in the 2008 European Championships in Switzerland and Austria go on sale on Tuesday, Jan. 15. Most would-be ticket buyers are expected to go away empty-handed.

DW staff (sms)

Samuel Holmén scored his first senior Sweden goal (©Getty Images)

Costa Rica 0-1 Sweden
A Sweden team made up of players from Nordic leagues exacted a little piece of revenge for their 1990 FIFA World Cup elimination by Costa Rica as Samuel Holmén's goal gave the visitors victory in San Jose.

'Perfect pass'
Sweden lost 2-1 to the Central American side in Italy 18 years ago but the UEFA EURO 2008™ contenders gained the edge in this friendly early in the second half as Behrang Safari's pin-point cross from the left was turned in by Brøndby IF midfielder Holmén. By that stage former Derby County FC, West Ham United FC, Manchester City FC and Málaga CF forward Paulo Wanchope had left the pitch after the final appearance of his career in which he scored more than 40 goals for Costa Rica. "It was a perfect pass from Behrang and I connected with the ball perfectly with a volley," Holmén said. "It was my first goal for the national side and it feels great in view of EURO 2008™."

Debutants
Coach Lars Lagerbäck started with nine uncapped players and brought on three substitutes for their debuts, and will field a similar lineup on Saturday against the United States in Carson City, Nevada. "We were a bit slow off the mark, but with so many new players that was a bit expected," he said. "I think we did well and there were a lot of positives to take from the game."

Chances
Although Lagerbäck admits that the squad in the summer will be very different, he added that the newcomers all had an opportunity to make the breakthrough. "We have a squad of 16 or so players that are more or less certain. That means that there are about six places that are still for grabs," he said. "But then again anything can happen with regards to injuries and so on, so anyone who does well here will increase their chances of getting selected."

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Ronald McDonald helps launch the airbus (©McDonald's)Photos/Wallpapers »

As official sponsor of UEFA EURO 2008™, McDonald's Austria not only guarantees a great football atmosphere on the ground, but also in the air as a specially branded Player Escort airbus has begun transporting passengers from London, Paris, Athens and Frankfurt to Vienna.

Lucky seven
Photographer to the stars Achim Lippoth interviewed 75 children who hoped to have their picture on the livery, and the lucky seven find their faces adorning the Austrian Airlines plane which is already attracting attention at airports across the continent. "With the Player Escort programme we encourage children to become actively involved with football," said Andreas Schmidlechner, marketing and communications director of McDonald's Austria. "McDonald's writes sports sponsorship in capital letters: it begins with the support of local football clubs and goes through to sports sponsorship at national level. Emphasising a balanced lifestyle is very important to us."

McDonald's campaign
The restaurant chain will help enlist 682 children from across Europe to accompany teams on to the pitch at the finals, with more than 200 coming from Austria. Launched in 1992, the Player Escort programme continues to prove hugely popular and national team player Martin Hiden was delighted to lend his support as official ambassador. Entry forms are available at all McDonald's restaurants in the country, with a closing date of 29 February.

Excitement
Peter Baumgartner, an executive vice-president of Austrian Airlines, said: "The McDonald's Player Escort is a nice idea for getting kids excited about UEFA EURO 2008™. Therefore we are particularly pleased about the excellent partnership with McDonald's Austria. It rounds off our co-operation with the city of Vienna fan zone superbly."

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UEFA met European fans representatives in Nyon (©UEFA)

UEFA President Michel Platini has requested that national supporter groups take the opportunity to create a coherent pan-European independent organisation in order to improve communication channels with UEFA.

Unique meeting
The UEFA President took the opportunity to encourage this development during the first meeting between European football's governing body and various national supporter groups at UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland. "I want to hear from you how we can protect the game," Mr Platini said. "You are the base of football. We know that fans are the only ones who show fidelity to a club or team basically from birth to death. There are those who have official roles who come and go, either presidents or coaches or players or whoever, and they sometimes forget the true identity of the club for which they are responsible. They often have different objectives, take what they want from the club and then leave."

European Fan Congress
The national supporter groups intend to hold their first European Fan Congress on 1 June 2008 in London, but the UEFA President stated his desire for the groups to finalise their own solution. "Do everything on your terms and find an independent solution not involving UEFA in order to legitimise yourselves," he advised. "Once this is completed, then we will have the opportunity to discuss matters in more structured and formal terms."

'Bottom up'
The approach was supported by Malcolm Clarke of the UK-based Football Supporters' Federation (140,000 members) who stressed the importance of establishing an organisation that had its roots in a "bottom up" solution rather than something being imposed from above. This "bottom up" approach was also reflected in the report on the study currently being undertaken by Supporters Direct – the study is examining the feasibility of expanding the highly successful UK initiative across Europe.

Challenge
UEFA General Secretary David Taylor also stated that "at UEFA, we insist that all parties seeking participation in the democracy of European football, must themselves present a democratic constitution. We understand that it is difficult for fan groups with various objectives or origins to organise themselves in an international arena. But that is precisely the challenge that faces you, the fan organisations. We seek that representative group to be established."

Broad agenda
The national supporters' groups all took the opportunity to address UEFA directly, making their opinions heard from a wide range of issues from club ownership and the UEFA Club Licensing scheme to ticket distribution and the security issues. "It was nice to get an invitation from UEFA, because it gives us the feeling that we can be a recognised partner and an important part of the game," said Martin Endemann of Bündis Aktiver Fussball-Fans. "But even if it was an honest atmosphere, it can only be the beginning and we are hoping that UEFA takes our requests into account."

UEFA is currently gathering information on all the different supporter organisations across Europe. UEFA would appreciate receiving any information on existing supporter organisations, which can be sent to the following email address: supporters@uefa.ch

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Wednesday 12 December 2007

Scottish pride will inspire Barry Ferguson against Lyon (©Getty Images)

Rangers FC captain Barry Ferguson wants to put the disappointment of missing out on UEFA EURO 2008™ behind him by clinching a place in the last 16 of the UEFA Champions League against Olympique Lyonnais.

Consolation prize
Rangers face the French champions in their climactic Group E match at Ibrox knowing a point will be enough to progress at the expense of Alain Perrin's side – and Ferguson is desperate to join city rivals Celtic FC in the knockout stage. "It was a big disappointment not to reach EURO 2008™ with the Scottish national team," said Ferguson. "Last week Celtic reached the last 16 and obviously we want to do the same. It would be great for Scotland to have two teams in the latter stages of the competition. We know it's a difficult task but I'm sure all the boys are going to be right up for the game."

Juninho threat
If Rangers are to get the required result, the 29-year-old acknowledges they will have to find a way of subduing Lyon playmaker Juninho Pernambucano, who is poised to make his 50th UEFA Champions League appearance. With the Brazilian having registered 15 shots on goal during the campaign so far – one less than the entire Rangers team – Ferguson is in no doubt about the danger ahead. "Juninho's a great player and we all know the threat he poses from set-pieces," he said. "They've got a lot of fantastic players but he's the biggest threat to us. We found that out in the first game in Lyon. He had some fantastic efforts on goal and Allan McGregor made some fantastic saves. Obviously we have to be careful but you can't help giving some fouls away."

Special atmosphere
Asked about comments made by Chelsea FC striker Didier Drogba regarding the advantage offered by the vociferous Ibrox support, Ferguson said the capacity home crowd might well play a part in unsettling the visitors. "I would go along with that," he said. "I've been to a lot of stadiums in many countries and I think there's no better atmosphere than Ibrox on a European night. I think it could unnerve them and I hope it does. The pressure is all on Lyon because they have to come and win. No one gave us a chance at the start of this group, so we can go out and enjoy the occasion and hopefully get the win."

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Security personnel from Germany and France could assist at UEFA EURO 2008™ (©uefa.com)

Switzerland are looking to bring in additional security officers from Germany and France for the UEFA EURO 2008™ finals.

Security guaranteed
A week after the draw determined the tournament schedule, the Conference of Cantonal Justice and Police Directors (CCJPD) continued measures to improve security at the event. The CCJPD have requested support from neighbouring Germany and France, with existing agreements allowing police authorities from both countries – between 500 and 1,000 officers – to aid local security at the finals. "Joy and hospitality will be at the forefront but the safety of our visitors and local residents is as well," said federal councillor Samuel Schmidt. There is a declaration from the cantons granting the extra personnel the right to assist in the host cities wherever needed.

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