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Scots defeated 3-1 by Czechs in a football friendly
2008-05-31 16:21:00
The Czech Republic ran out comfortable 3-1 winners over Scotland here on Friday, but big question marks still remain over the home side’s midfield ahead of next week’s Euro 2008 finals.Two goals from former Rangers misfit Libor Sionko and one from Michal Kadlec were enough to sink the Scots on a stifling hot evening, with a goal from debut boy David Clarkson all the away side could muster in reply.But the victory did nothing to please Czech coach Karel Bruckner with his weakened midfield — minus Arsenal’s maestro Tomas Rosicky — failing to exert enough dominance in this their last warm-up match before Euro 2008.It was the home side who piled on the early pressure, and they could have scored when Rudi Skacel’s cut-back found its way to Jan Koller, who fired over.A Gary Caldwell foul on Koller 30 yards out provided the Czechs with another opportunity, but Tomas Galasek’s free-kick was comfortably held by Craig Gordon.The towering Koller missed another chance to break the Sc ...

Euro challenge has Ballack raring to go
2008-05-31 16:14:00
German captain Michael Ballack shrugged off his disappointment at losing out to Manchester United in last Wednesday's Champions League by saying on Monday he couldn't wait for Euro 2008 to begin.The 31-year-old Chelsea playmaker had watched disbelievingly as first club captain John Terry missed what would have been the winning penalty and then Nicolas Anelka - who had refused to take one of the first five penalties - have his sudden death effort saved by Edwin van der Sar to give United victory.However, Ballack insisted on Monday after joining up with his national team-mates as they prepare for a pre Euro friendly against Belarus on Tuesday that four days with his family had allowed him to relax and dull somewhat the disappointing result.“I am delighted to be back among the squad, I am really impatient for the tournament to begin,” said Ballack, who has scored 35 goals in 79 matches for Germany.“I have had several days to get it (the Champions League defeat) out of my system. ...

Swedes edge win over Slovenia as Ibrahimovic sits match out
2008-05-31 16:04:00
Tobias Linderoth's first goal in more than seven years for Sweden saw the Euro 2008 finalists beat Slovenia 1-0 in a warm-up match for the finals on Monday, though, worryingly star striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic sat out the match with his knee bandaged.Linderoth, who was winning his 74th cap but his first since suffering a hip injury in November, scored the game's only goal in the 41st minute to show coach Lars Lagerback that he is fit enough to make the final squad.Linderoth seized on the ball and forced his way first past a Slovenian defender and then shot it fiercely past goalkeeper Samir Handanovic.Slovenia dominated the match in the second half and had at least two good chances to equalize - in particular when the ball hit the arm of Swedish midfielder Daniel Andersson in the 70th minute but referee William Collum chose not to award a penalty kick - but the team remained goalless.Ibrahimovic, who recently helped inspire Inter Milan to a third successive Serie A title and is expected ...

Croatia´s Da Silva set to return after horrific injury
2008-05-31 15:55:00
Arsenal’s Croatian striker Eduardo Da Silva, who suffered a horrific leg break earlier this year, said doctors had given him the all-clear to return to action in August, Croatian sports daily Sportske Novosti reported on Friday.The 25-year-old Brazilian-born Croatian has been recovering since mid-April in a clinic in Rio De Janeiro and his return is good news as just in March, he had believed his recovery would take 15 months.Eduardo suffered a compound fracture of the left leg following a tackle from Birmingham defender Martin Taylor at St Andrews in February.“I am returning to Europe from Brazil at the beginning of August, perhaps even the end of July,” Da Silva told Sportske Novosti. “Doctors tell me by then I will be fully recovered and able to play football again. I hope so too.“I’m feeling well and my rehabilitation is going better than I would ever have hoped.”Croatia are in Group B of the June 7 to 29 Euro 2008 finals and will face Austria on June 8, Germany on Ju ...

Turkey bested by Uruguay in Euro 2008 warm-up
2008-05-31 15:47:00
Turkey lost a Euro 2008 warm-up friendly 3-2 to Uruguay here on Sunday as Fatih Terim's Turks suffered a setback.Terim rang the changes, fielding only four of the starters who beat Slovakia 1-0 last Tuesday in another Germany friendly, to see what his squad have in reserve.Defender Servet Cetin was out injured, as was midfielder Mehmet Aurelio and their absence was keenly felt. Arda Turan opened the scoring with an early header from a cross by Hamit Altintop.But Uruguay fought back and levelled from the spot on the half hour through Luis Suarez after he was upended by keeper Volkan Demirel.A fine freekick from Nihat Kahveci six minutes after the restart put the Turks back in front but goals from Suarez on 78 minutes, profiting from defensive disarray, and then a Cristian Rodriguez spotkick five minutes from the end after Emre Asik fouled him, completed a Uruguayan turnaround.On Thursday the Turks will take on Finland in the German town of Duisburg.At the Euro, the Turks compete in Gro ...

We can win Euro 2008 says Germany´s Frings
2008-05-31 15:34:00
Germany midfielder Torsten Frings insists his side are capable of winning Euro 2008 in June to be crowned European champions for the fourth time.“We have what it is takes to be champions,” said Frings on the German Football League (DFL) website after Germany won the European Championships in 1972, 1980 and 1996.“But we belong to a group of favorites which includes France, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands.”Frings has missed most of the season after suffering three knee injuries and has only played eight matches for Werder Bremen this season.His last appearance for the Germany team was in October 2007, but national coach Joachim Loew is set to name him on May 16 when he unveils his 23-man squad for Euro 2008.“Torsten is a player who can raise his game over five, six or seven matches, he is the sort of player you want in a tournament,” said Loew.Germany will play Poland, Croatia and co-hosts Austria in group B of Euro 2008. ...

Switzerland health authorities warn of measles risk - Euro 2008
2008-05-31 15:29:00
Football fans risk being literally as “sick as a parrot” whether their teams win or lose at this summer’s Euro 2008 games in Switzerland due to a measles epidemic, health authorities warned Wednesday.Switzerland has been in the grip of a measles epidemic for more than a year and it has not yet been brought under control, the head of the Federal Vaccinations Commission Claire-Anne Siegrist said.This means that fans risk catching the virus and taking it back to their home countries, Siegrist told Switzerland’s French-language radio.Federal Health Office spokesman Jean-Louis Zurcher added that people travelling to Switzerland should check their vaccinal status.The landlocked Alpine state topped a list of European countries which have seen an alarming rise in measles cases in the past year, according to a European Union report issued last week.“We’re moving in the wrong direction,” said Ben Duncan, a spokesman for the Stockholm-based European Centre for Disease Prevention and ...

Spain´s Euro 2008 hopes increase after government backs down
2008-05-31 15:26:00
The chances of Spain being expelled from the Euro 2008 championships decreased on Tuesday when it was reported the government-run Spanish Sports Council had backed down on controversial plans to force the Spanish football federation to hold elections before Euro 2008.In December 2007 the government ordered all sporting federations not involved in the Olympics to hold elections before the Games begin in Beijing in August.However, the football federation said such a plan would be impractical this year because of the timing of the Euro 2008 finals.Spanish media reports said that the government had agreed to make an exception for the football federation and it could now hold its elections at the end of the year.The disagreement over the timing of the elections between FIFA, who backed the Spanish football federation, and the Socialist government of Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero had raised the prospect that Spain could have been banned from Euro 2008.In February, FIFA presiden ...

Bilic to help Croatia strike the right note at Euro 2008
2008-05-31 15:19:00
Croatia football coach Slaven Bilic is to record a fan song for the Euro 2008 championship with his rock band, producers said Friday.“Coach Bilic told us in January that he had a song that sounded good. The song is very catchy, a classic rock tune and I believe that fans will like it and that it will become their hymn,” Vlatka Bartulovic, a spokeswoman of Zagreb brewery, producers of the song, said.The video clip will be recorded in southern Split, Bilic’s hometown, on Saturday, she added.Bilic and his Rawbau band where he is playing a guitar will present the “Fiery madness” song, authored by him, in May.Croatia will face Germany, Austria and Poland in Group B at the Euro 2008 finals, which are to be held in Austria and Switzerland on June 7-29. ...

Talks start on Nedved return for Euro 2008
2008-05-31 15:16:00
A top Czech football association official said Thursday that he believed national manager Karel Bruckner had begun talks to bring back Juventus midfield star Pavel Nedved into the national squad for the Euro 2008 championships.“I believe that some communication is going on there…But the situation is not so advanced that I could say that Nedved is returning to the national squad,” first deputy president of the Czech and Moravian Football Federation Vlastimil Kostal said in an interview with radio station Frekvence 1.The Juventus midfielder, with 18 goals from 91 caps to his name, called time on his international career after the 2006 World Cup.But pressure has mounted for the 2003 European Footballer of the Year to return to the national fold especially in the light of doubts whether Arsenal midfield star Tomas Rosicky will recover in time for the championships from a long term injury.“Of course there is a chance that both of them could play in the European Championships,” Kos ...

Manuel Fernandes
2008-05-31 15:09:00
If there ever was a poster boy for a career that began so huge and then got hampered over and over again by injury and circumstance, Manuel Fernandes would be that guy.At a mere eighteen years of age, Fernandes broke into regular play with Benfica’s first team and began learning his craft alongside Portuguese international Petit. After domestic success and some European failures, Fernandes went under the knife to fix a hernia and the setbacks began.For the 06/07 season, he was loaned to English side Portsmouth where he continued to heal his groin. Due to the lack of definitive progress, he never really saw steady action. Also, a clause in Fernandes’ contract that required Portsmouth to buy him outright if they played him in consecutive games saw Fernandes on the bench every other match. With both clubs and Fernandes frustrated by the lack of progress, he was sent back to Benfica and then immediately loaned back to England but this time to Everton for the remainder of the season.He ...

Portugal can win European Championship, Scolari said
2008-05-31 15:06:00
Portugal manager Luiz Felipe Scolari gives his team a good chance to do well at the upcoming European Championships.“If I said that I had no confidence in my team, people would probably kill me,” said the Brazilian.“There will be 16 national teams and each one has a 6.2 percent chance of winning the trophy next summer. If we get through to the next stage, our chances will increase to 12.5 percent and so on. But we have a good team, that’s a fact.”‘Felipao’, who joined Portugal in 2003 and reached the final at Euro 2004 just to be beaten by Greece, will announce his team on May 12th.“I have no doubts but there are a few matches to play before the end of the season and there are players who can improve or decline in form. there’s a lot going on bfore the end but I have nothing to worry about. The players I choose will be in perfect condition.” ...

Players risk trial by tape at Euro 2008
2008-05-31 15:02:00
Referees at Euro 2008 will have the power to discipline a player for faking injury after a match with the use of video evidence if the original incident went unnoticed.“Simulations aimed at deceiving the referee will be punished by a yellow card for anti-sporting behaviour,” UEFA emphasised at a seminar for the dozen men in black officiating at Euro 2008.“Those which aren't picked up by the referee during the game can be sanctioned later by the disciplinary authorities,” European football's governing body added.UEFA has reminded Euro 2008 referees that “any actions using excessive force, including the illegal use of arms or elbows” must be dealt with by a red card.“Players must feel secure,” UEFA stressed.UEFA is also putting the accent on respect from players for any decision taken by a referee.“Players involved in a collective appeal must realise that the key members of the appeal, including those who run up to join in, wqill be given yellow cards.”Managers are ...

Rosicky to recover at home from knee injury
2008-05-31 14:58:00
Czech captain Tomas Rosicky will recover from a recurring knee tendonitis which has made him doubtful for Euro 2008 in his homeland, the player announced on his website on Monday.“Tomas Rosicky’s rehabiliation, following agreement with Arsenal management, will continue in Prague,” the site said of the Gunners’ midfield star.Rosicky has been sidelined by a painful inflammation at the back of his knee since the end of January.His continued absence for club and country prompted Czech football federation chiefs and the team doctor to voice concerns last week over whether the key 27-year-old would be fit for June’s Euro 2008 championships.Rosicky sought to calm those worries with the announcement on his website that: “In the last few days I have been feeling a bit better.” ...

Euro is all about patriotism and not money
2008-05-31 14:50:00
The Romanian squad going to Euro 2008 will be fighting for national pride and not any bonuses on offer, their captain Cristian Chivu said on Monday.Chivu and national coach Victor Piturca insisted despite large bonuses being offered to the players it was not the money that was driving them on to even qualify out of Group C or the Group of Death consisting of world champions Italy, World Cup finalists France and perennial contenders The Netherlands.“We are not going to the finals for the money but for the unique pleasure of playing for our country,” said Chivu, who recently landed the Serie A title with Inter Milan edging out his former side AS Roma.Piturca, who is in his second spell as national coach, said that the players were playing for far bigger stakes than merely bonuses.“I told them (the squad) that all eyes will be on those who play well and could result in lucrative contracts with clubs,” said Piturca, a former international striker.“There are important people invol ...

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