info football

King Football integral part of Southern culture

2008-08-20T21:02:00.000-07:00

NEW YORK - The first college football game was played 139 years ago in New Jersey, between Rutgers and Princeton, and the sport was dominated by Northeastern schools such as Yale and Harvard in its infancy.

By the middle of the last century the South had risen in college football, and these days there’s no question: If you want to win a national championship, it’s best to play in places where sunscreen is more important than snow boots, and the grits are better than the bagels.

Group D too close to call

2008-06-09T02:04:00.000-07:00

Otto Rehhagel insisted that "2004 belongs in the past, now we have to focus on 2008" as European champions Greece look ahead to defending their title at UEFA EURO 2008™ after being drawn in Group D alongside Sweden, Spain and Russia.

Three past winners
Greece will begin their finals campaign in Salzburg on 10 June against Sweden, whom Luis Aragonés observes are the only side in the section not to have etched their name on the trophy in a group of some quality. The Spain coach does, however, acknowledge that Sweden will be a "big challenger" and he speaks with some authority after the teams met twice in qualifying, each claiming home victories. They will recommence their rivalry on 14 June in Innsbruck, the same venue at which Spain start their glory bid against Russia four days before. Russia were the only side to beat Greece four years ago – Spain were also in the same UEFA EURO 2004™ section yet only the Greeks advanced – and they face off in the second round of games. The group concludes on 18 June with matches between Greece and Spain, and Sweden and Russia.

Otto Rehhagel, Greece coach
[UEFA EURO] 2004 belongs in the past, now we have to focus on 2008. All the teams here are first class, and it was always going to be very hard to get here in the first place. I won't speculate today about the favourites, but the important thing is that my players are in good shape and ready for this competition. Russia have very good players, they are good with the ball and good competitors.

Lars Lagerbäck, Sweden coach
It's a privilege to be part of this tournament. It's a very tough group, with great footballing countries. We know Spain quite well as we played them in qualifying. They are a very experienced team, one of the best in the world, and we look forward to playing them again. I don't know if it will be special to play our first game against Greece, but if you look at the qualification, they did very well. They are a good team and will be tough opponents.

Luis Aragonés, Spain coach
We will need to keep focused: we have three European champions and one big challenger in this group. Concentration during the tournament will be crucial. It's an easier section than Group C, but you can never tell about a team's motivation, which can change the whole situation. This is the time to show our peak levels and I'm confident in my players and what they can do. There are no favourites. The only thing that is certain is that Greece are title-holders and will try to retain their trophy. I think we can go through, though, and then we'll see happens when we get to the quarter-finals.

Guus Hiddink, Russia coach
It's a very competitive group. Even qualification was extremely difficult, so I'm very happy to be here. All I can say about Greece is that they deserved to win the previous tournament and will be eager to get through the group phase here. I guess all three coaches were happy to be drawn against us. But as the Greece coach said, everybody starts from scratch and we will try to surprise everyone. It's another tournament, another place and another set of players.

Ronaldo hungry for more

2008-06-09T02:03:00.002-07:00

Cristiano Ronaldo says Portugal's UEFA EURO 2008™ campaign is the perfect next step in his quest to "make history".

Feeling good
The ESM Golden Shoe winner's outstanding season with Manchester United FC brought success in both the Premier League and UEFA Champions League, but he assures euro2008.com he has plenty of energy left for Portugal's glory bid. "I feel really good on a personal level," he said. "I feel I can do something good at EURO 2008. I'm impatient for the competition to start so we can give our best and I think everything will go very well."

Experience
The 23-year-old forward believes Portugal have developed sufficiently to go one better than their heart-breaking final defeat by Greece in Lisbon at UEFA EURO 2004™. "The team's evolution has been very positive. I think the squad have grown a lot since EURO 2004, as we showed at the [FIFA] World Cup in 2006." Ronaldo also reckons his side have a trump card in coach Luiz Felipe Scolari, a world champion with Brazil in 2002 before taking Portugal to the semi-finals of the same tournament two summers ago. "We improved in the qualification matches, which owed much to the staff and the coach we have, who have a lot of experience and who have won a lot of things."

'Always learning'
Ronaldo draws confidence too from his personal development during the four years since his first European finals. "On a personal level I've grown a lot as a player because at my club, just as with my country, I'm surrounded by great players and it's easier to become better when things are like this, because it's easier to enjoy your football," the former Sporting Clube de Portugal prodigy said. "We're always learning."

History maker
Ronaldo, who added the title of UEFA Champions League top scorer to a string of accolades during 2007/08 by registering in the Moscow final, also feels inspired rather than pressurised by the onus of carrying such form on to the international stage. "I think I made history in the Portuguese Liga and I think I'm continuing to make history at a European and world level, but we can always improve. I have a lot to learn but I have the pleasure of being in a group that helps me improve constantly, as a person and as a player. History creates itself over a number of years, not in a moment, but I think I'm on the right road."

Pepe joy in Geneva

2008-06-09T02:03:00.001-07:00

Portugal defender Pepe was unable to put his feelings into words after scoring his first international goal to put Luiz Felipe Scolari's team on the way to a 2-0 victory in their opening UEFA EURO 2008™ Group A match against Turkey.

Emotions
"I can hardly describe the emotion I felt," said Pepe, whose spectacular 61st-minute strike helped earn him the Carlsberg Man of the Match Award. However, the Real Madrid CF player – who had earlier had a first-half header ruled out for offside – was quick to praise a "great display" from the entire Portugal side as they made a winning start in Geneva.

Teamwork
"The team performance was great – we played as a real team and this is the most important thing. We knew sooner or later we were going to get a goal," the 25-year-old said. "Today it was the team effort that won us the game. Without my team-mates I couldn't have done anything and we deserve to be congratulated for a great display."

Austria wary of Croatia

2008-06-09T02:02:00.001-07:00

They are already proving excellent co-hosts, but can the Austrians also impress where it matters most? Josef Hickersberger's side begin their UEFA EURO 2008™ bid on Sunday knowing Group B rivals Croatia would love nothing more than to spoil the party at the Ernst-Happel-Stadion in Vienna.

'Optimistic'
Ranked 92nd in the world by FIFA, Austria are under no illusion about their underdog status, but Hickersberger promised his players would rise to meet the challenge. "I'm optimistic we're going to play well against Croatia," the coach said. "We have no injuries, all the players are 100 per cent fit and in good health, and they all believe in the possibility of creating a surprise. Our opponents are excellent and experienced, but we've set ourselves a goal. For the first time in 18 years, we want to win a match in a major tournament."

First appearance
Their last success in a major finals came against the United States at the 1990 FIFA World Cup, when Hickerberger was also sitting in the dugout, and the 60-year-old is targeting a berth in the last eight as Austria make their first-ever appearance in the continental showcase. "We want to win this match and we have to win a match if we're to fulfil our goal of reaching the quarter-finals," he explained. "We have three chances to do that, starting now, but as for our tactics, that will depend on the strengths and weaknesses of both sides."

Goalkeeping debate
Cagey as ever, the former Austrian international also refused yet again to name his first-choice goalkeeper. Alex Manninger and Jürgen Macho have both been tipped by various local newspapers, and Hickerberger joked that at least some of them were on the right track. "I will announce the lineup tomorrow before the match," he said. "But you can read the name of the goalkeeper in many newspapers. I hope they've got it right." What seems less debateable, on the other hand, is that Austrian-Croatian Andreas Ivanschitz will start in midfield, while Croatian-born striker Ivica Vastic will begin on the bench.

Eduardo motivation
There are no doubts about Slaven Bilić's Croatia lineup, meanwhile, with the creative spark likely to come from playmaker Luka Modrić, while Ivica Olić will partner Mladen Petrić up front. They will look to provide the goals in the absence of injured striker Eduardo da Silva, but Bilić denied that their job will be to help Croatia's fans forget the Brazilian-born forward. "We're very motivated because of Eduardo," he said. "He's very popular with the other players. No one can replace him but we're confident of getting good results."

No complacency
The Croats certainly go into the tournament with higher expectations after topping qualifying Group E ahead of Russia, England and Israel. They have also beaten Austria in all three meeting between the two sides, including a 4-1 triumph in Vienna two years ago. Bilić ruled out the possibility of complacency, however, stating: "We think we can go far. But right now, we're not even thinking about the second match. We're totally focused on Austria. The first match is so important in terms of confidence and our players are highly motivated and ready to go."

Pepe and Raul Meireles: Portuguese goals and victory

2008-06-09T02:00:00.000-07:00

In the end of the first day of the EURO 2008, Portugal defeated Turkey 2-0. Pepe (Kepler Laveran Lima Ferreira) and Raul Meireles scored in the second half for the Lusitans.

During the first half Deco and Cristiano Ronaldo - who shot a free kick in the left post of Volkan Demirel- took the reins from the attack. The Barcelona midfielder played one of his better matches of the year. At 16 minutes Pepe already had warned: he turned with a header that was invalid due to an offside.

In the second half, three situations had Nuno Gomes as protagonist: at 4 minutes he shot in a post, and at 19 minutes shot with his head a center of Ronaldinho that also arrived to a post. But before, at 15 minutes, the own Nuno Gomes gave back the football to Pepe who scored: 1-0. As , it was the first time that Pepe scored for his National Team.

When the match was finishing, Meireles finalizes a counterattack by the right side that had initiated by Ronaldo in the left side and that continued with an assist of Moutinho: 2-0.

Turkey? Turkey tried when already it was at disadvantage but never could complicate Ricardo. Turkey will have to improve to beat Czech Republic and Switzerland.

The players of the match? Deco during the first half. Nuno Gomes in the second one. Due to the quality of the players, little by little, Portugal demonstrates that can be a great protagonist at EURO 2008.

Luka Modric: a penalty kick and a victory

2008-06-09T01:59:00.001-07:00

In Vienna, Croatia made debut against the co-host team, Austria with a triumph. At fourth minute Croatia already put in advantage when Luka Modric transformed a penalty kick into a goal.

After this goal, Croatia justified the victory, having the ball and approaching to the Austrian goal. Nevertheless lacking 10 minutes to finish the first half, Croatia left that the ball were managed by the Austrians.

The entire second half was very similar than the end of the first half: Austria generating danger with centers but without generating any trouble to Pletikosa, the Croatian goalkeeper.

With few minutes of good football Croatia obtained three points. It gave the sensation which the Croatians reserved something more, they promise better football caliber during the next presentations.

Lukas Podolski twice; Germany beats Poland

2008-06-09T01:51:00.000-07:00

Due to Lukas Podolski goals; Germany beat Poland 2-0 at the Worthersee Stadion, Klagenfurt.

Polish-born Podolski put Germany 1-0 when he made good use of Miroslav Klose's pass after 20 minutes. 18 minutes before the end of the match and when Poland was trying to draw, Podolski scored again.

23 year-old Podolski has scored 29 goals with the Germany National Team t-shirt. It was the first German victory in the competition since 1996 final.
The Lineups:
Germany: Lehmann; Lahm, Mertesacker, Metzelder, Jansen; Fritz (55. Schweinsteiger), Ballack, Frings, Podolski; Klose (91. Kuranyi), Gomez (75. Hitzlsperger).
Poland: Boruc; Wasilewski, Zewlakow, Bak, Golanski (75. Saganowski); Lobodzinski (65. Piszczek), Lewandowski, Dudka, Krzynowek; Smolarek, Zurawski (46. Guerreiro).

The Goals: 20 and 72 min; Podolski.

UEFA Euro Cup 2008 games, fixtures, dates and times

2008-05-30T06:50:00.000-07:00

Here are the fixtures, games and standings of the UEFA Euro Cup 2008 in Austria and Switzerland. I am also including at what time each game-match is going to be. I am including Central Europe Time, London time, East Coast US Time, and Singapore time.

What I can see is that most of the games-matches will be at night, making it a bit difficult for our Asian friends to follow the UEFA Euro Cup 2008. On the other hand, for American football fans, it won't be that difficult, but they may have to miss some working hours as most of the games will be around midday.

Some games of course will be during the weekend, but the most interesting matches, the ones of the Group C with France, Italy, the Netherlands and Romania, will be during the week. Of course the final of the UEFA Euro cup 2008 will be on Sunday, at 20:45 in Austria.

UEFA Euro 2008 tickets

2008-05-30T06:46:00.000-07:00

The UEFA just announced that more than 1 million tickets for the Euro cup 2008 will be sent in the next weeks from Austria to the fortunate ones who could get hold of them. The tickets were distributed by a lottery like system due to the overwhelming demand. If you applied for a ticket for the UEFA Euro cup 2008, you should have already received an email communicating if you got one or not. If you haven't, go to the official website of the Eurocup and log-in in the ticket portal tool they provide.
I can remind you of the official prices of the tickets according to the UEFA 2008 website:

Opening game Euro cup: Switzerland vs. Czech Republic at 18:00 in Basel, Switzerland --> from 70 euro to 250 euro
Euro cup group matches or Euro cup first round games ----> from 45 euro to 110 euro
Euro cup quarter finals -----> from 60 euro to 180 euro
Semi finals Euro cup ------> from 80 euro to 300 euro
Final Euro cup in Viena in Austria -------> from 160 euro to 550 euro

The tickets for the football games in the Euro cup include the transportation on buses and trains to and from the stadium. The stadiums will open 3 hours before kick off.

Spain and Germany ready for UEFA Euro 2008

2008-05-30T06:43:00.000-07:00

Last weekend the Spanish league "La Liga" and the German league "Bundesliga" were finished as Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, won their national titles respectively. Now we can say that Germany and Spain, just as Portugal, the Netherlands and Austria, can prepare for this summer's UEFA Euro 2008, as well as the international players that play in these national leagues.

However, we still have to wait for the Premier League in England, the Ligue 1 in France and the Serie A in Italy to be finished, and the major national teams and major national players can finally start thinking on their respective teams and the UEFA Euro 2008. I wonder if it won't have some sort of effect having so few time to rest for some players.

Cristiano Ronaldo for example, will be exhausted once he gets to Portugal, playing the Premier League and the Champions League final. Not to mention Ballack for Germany, and the rest of the international players in these football leagues. Today is 33 days to go for the UEFA Euro Cup 2008 and we still have some players who are 100% concentrated in the leagues with their teams.

Some European football teams are lucky. Today for example, Croatia and their national coach, Slaven Bilić, announced the final Croatian team for the UEFA Euro Cup 2008:

Forwards of Croatia for the UEFA Euro Cup: Mladen Petrić (BV Borussia Dortmund, Germany), Ivica Olić (Hamburger SV, Germany), Ivan Klasnić (Werder Bremen, Germany), Igor Budan (Parma FC, Italy), Nikola Kalinić (HNK Hajduk Split, Croatia).

Midfielders of Croatia for the UEFA Euro Cup: Niko Kovač (FC Salzburg, Austria), Jerko Leko (AS Monaco FC, France), Darijo Srna (FC Shakhtar Donetsk, Ukraine), Niko Kranjčar (Portsmouth FC, England), Luka Modrić (Tottenham Hotspur FC, England), Danijel Pranjić (SC Heerenveen, Netherlands), Ivan Rakitić (FC Schalke 04, Germany), Ognjen Vukojević (NK Dinamo Zagreb, Croatia), Nikola Pokrivač (AS Monaco FC, France).

Defenders of Croatia for the UEFA Euro Cup: Dario Šimić (AC Milan, Italy), Robert Kovač (BV Borussia Dortmund, Germany), Josip Šimunić (Hertha BSC Berlin, Germany), Vedran Ćorluka (Manchester City FC, England), Dario Knežević (AS Livorno Calcio, Italy), Hrvoje Vejić (FC Tom Tomsk, Russia).

Goalkeepers of Croatia for the UEFA Euro Cup: Stipe Pletikosa (FC Spartak Moskva, Russia), Vedran Runje (RC Lens, France), Mario Galinović (Panathinaikos FC, Greece).

Let's see if the other countries and the teams taking part in the UEFA Euro 2008 follow Croatia and begin announcing the players who will be playing with them in the coming days.

Portugal and Netherlands, ready for the UEFA Euro cup

2008-05-30T06:39:00.000-07:00

Portugal, the Netherlands and Austria are ready for the UEFA Euro cup 2008. Their national tournaments are more or less over with Porto as the total winner in the Portuguese "Liga" national cup; the PSV Eindhoven winning a fourth consecutive Eredivisie, or the national dutch title league, and the SK Rapid Wien football team winning their 32th national title in Austria.

Portugal players such as Bruno Alves, Ricardo Quaresma or José Bosingwa, can concentrate already in the Euro cup. From PSV, Dutch players Danny Koevermans, Ibrahim Afellay and perhaps Ismaïl Aissati, can already star thinking on the role they may have with the Netherlands national team.

On the other hand, the English Premier League is not over yet and players such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Cesc, Fernando Torres, etc, may still have to wait some days if not weeks. It is the same case for the Spanish league and the German league. However, if Barcelona loses next week end and Real Madrid wins, "La liga" might as well be over.

It is almost 45 days to go for the beginning of the UEFA Euro cup 2008 on June the 7th, and we may have to wait a little bit to know which football players will be representing their countries in their national teams.

The groups and teams at the UEFA EURO 2008

2008-05-30T06:35:00.000-07:00

94 days to go the the big event. The best football teams in the world, playing against each other during 22 days, to be the best Europe. Just as Greece, above, did in Portugal in 2004. France when Belgium and the Netherlands co hosted the event in 2000 and Germany in 1996 in England.

This year and this summer we will have 4 groups and 4 teams in each.

In Group A
Turkey
Czech Republic
Portugal
and Switzerland

Where I guess it will be very interesting to see Portugal playing against Turkey and the Czech Republic.

In Group B
Austria
Poland
Germany
Croatia

Here I guess the interesting games will be Germany against Poland and Croatia.

In Group C
France
Italy
Netherlands
Romania

This group is terrific!! All the matches will be interesting!!

And Group D
Sweden
Greece
Spain
Russia

Nike? Adidas? Puma? Umbro? Which brand is your football team?

2008-05-30T06:32:00.000-07:00

Twenty years ago, this kind of question would be irrelevant. Today for some it still of no importance. However, if you think how much you will pay to buy a shirt of your favourite football team and how much these brands are willing to pay to provide the team with the equipment, the subject turns rather interesting.

It came out recently that Nike paid 320 million Euro (474 million USD) to be the supplier of equipment to the french team. This broke the relation that Adidas had with the french team during the last 35 years. Adidas almost lost to Nike to be the supplier to the german national football team. Even though Nike was ready to pay up to 50 million euro per year to Germany, they did not accept the offer, and went along with Adidas. The german brand offered 25 million Euro per year "only."

This is how, so far, the brands are distributed trough the football teams participating in the UEFA Euro Cup 2008:

Puma: Italy, Austria, Czech Republic, Poland and Switzerland,
Adidas: France, Germany, Spain, Greece and Romania
Nike: Portugal, Russia, the Netherlands, Turkey and Croatia
Umbro: Sweden

Considering that England is going to carry soon the Nike logo brand on the shirt, as well as France, it seems that the German brands are loosing territory in the european football. In the world cup, Italy made Puma also a winner. Let´s see which brands ends up winning the Uefa Euro Cup 2008.

Tickets for the UEFA EURO 2008

2008-05-30T06:23:00.000-07:00

Not surprising, there are no tickets left for the UEFA Euro Cup 2008. At least that's what the Organisation says. Looks like the tickets were put on sale last year already, and with a lottery-like system, will be allocated to the fortunate few. According to the UEFA, each national team has an allocation of tickets and it is up to them what to do with the tickets.

At first sight, it doesn't seem to be any tickets on sale in Ebay. Neither on the German website or the one in the UK. And on the website of the Spanish Football Association there is no information available about tickets.

Just as the World Cup in Germany some years ago, the resale of the tickets is forbidden and penalised. The prices were, as expected, very high: from 45 Euros for a regular match (75 for the opening game), to 550 for the final. This is not very different for the prices of European football teams. I went to one game of Barcelona FC and ended up paying around 60 Euro per ticket, and it wasn't against Real Madrid or Valencia, was an average team.

Transportation to UEFA Euro 2008

2008-05-30T01:39:00.000-07:00

Train and bus fares are included in tickets to the UEFA Euro 2008 European Football Championship in Switzerland and Austria. Further transport deals await in June only.

Getting to UEFA Euro 2008 football championship matches in June 2008 will be easy. Match tickets also serve as public transportation passes in both Switzerland and Austria on match day and on the return route up to noon the following day.

I prefer public transportation when going to major events including sports matches, special festivals, and shows. That way I don’t have to deal with unfamiliar roads, or even worse, find familiar shortcuts blocked off for the day. Furthermore, the walk from the train station to the stadium is usually shorter (and not through the mud!) than the trek from the special overpriced parking lots.

For the UEFA Euro 2008 football championships, special transportation passes, valid only during June 2008, will be sold to entice soccer fans to see more of Switzerland and Austria than just the football stadiums and adjacent bars and restaurants.

* The UEFA EURO 2008™ Half-Fare Card (Halbtaxabonnement) gives 50% discount on any rail journey on Swiss and Austrian trains and buses. It cost CHF39/USD39 (CHF59/USD59 if bought in June).
* The UEFA EURO 2008™ General Abonnement allows for unlimited travel on the Swiss transportation network and 50% discount on tickets on Austrian railways. It is CHF299/USD299 in second class and CHF459/USD459 in first class (CHF399/USD399 and CHF599/USD599 respectively if only bought in June).

The above cards are available to all travelers and are valid on virtually all trains, buses, and ferries in Switzerland (including most private lines) and Austria. However, note that the ICE train from Salzburg in Austria to Switzerland via Munich and Lindau goes through Germany and requires a rather hefty CHF82 / €50 surcharge one way.

stadiums and venues of the upcoming international competition

2008-05-30T01:28:00.000-07:00

BettingExpert visits Austria and Switzerland and takes a good look at the cities and their stadiums as they prepare to welcome fans from all over the continent.

Not many days separate us from Euro 2008 which will be kicking off on the 7th of June. We at BettingExpert know how eager most of our visitors are about the competition. That is why we thought about bringing you some good coverage to get all of you in the right frame of mind and well geared onto thinking about some good long term bets.

In our first of a series of articles which will be introducing the biggest international event being held in Europe this year, we will be visiting the venue where the competition is being hosted. Actually, in line with recent fashion concerning the organization of football events, the competition will be co-hosted by two nations.

The winning bid for Euro 2008 was that submitted by joint effort of Austria and Switzerland. The two central European countries may not have a long and renowned tradition in the sport but they will surely make for a good spot where to entertain big crowds with top matches. Being quite close to Germany it is likely that there might be some moderately high temperatures as were registered two years ago in the 2006 World Cup. Therefore the typical image of snowy mountains that springs to mind whenever we think about the two countries should be put aside and expect more of a warm Summer atmosphere.

A total of 31 games will be played. Eight different stadiums in as many cities will be utilized for this purpose. With seven of the eight stadiums having been constructed in the last seven years, all of the venues are highly modern and well equipped with all necessities. Only the Ernst Happel Stadion dates back to the 20th century, having been built in 1931. Nonetheless it was remodernized for the occasion and now boasts a maximum capacity of 50 000 spectators. It is the largest stadium of all those involved in Euro 2008 and for this reason it will be hosting the biggest number of matches, seven, including one of the two semi-finals and the final.

The Ernst Happel Stadion, considered a five-star venue by Uefa, is situated in the city of Vienna in Austria. The capital city of the country is widely regarded as one of the most beautiful cities in Europe. On par with Switzerland’s capital Zurich, another of the eight venues for Euro 2008, it is considered as a centre of great culture and research surrounded by picturesque locations featuring lakes and mountains. The Letzigrund Stadion based in the Swiss capital will be hosting three games from the group currently considered by pundits as the group of death.

The other Swiss and Austrian cities, which will be welcoming fans from all over Europe for the main event, embody similar characteristics to those found within the respective capital cities. Klagenfurt, Salzburg and Innsbruck complete the Austrian set whilst the other three Swiss cities which will be experiencing the Euro2008 fever first hand are Geneve, Basel and Bern.

Basel’s St. Jakob Park, inaugurated in 2001 and presently the largest football stadium in the country, will be hosting the other semi-final and all of Switzerland’s group matches. Austria’s group games will all be played in Vienna.

All other stadiums average a maximum capacity of 31 000 seats and amongst them will be sharing the remaining group matches. BSC Young Boys’ stadium, Stade de Suisse, located in Bern will be featuring the remaining three games from Group C thus sharing the hosting of top European teams France, Romania, Holland and Italy with the city of Zurich.

Servette FC’s Stade de Geneve will be taking three Group A matches that will feature the losing finalists from four years ago, Portugal, facing Turkey and the Czech Republic in two promising encounters.

Austria’s Group B opponents will be going back and forth between the stadium in Vienna and that in Klagenfurt, Worthersee Satdion. Modeled on FC Basel’s St. Jakob Park, Worthersee Satdion has been constructed purposely for Euro 2008 and is considered as a state of the art sport construction.

Group D encounters will be equally shared by two Austrian stadiums - FC Tirol Innsbruck’s Stadion Tivoli NEU and Stadion Salzburg Wals-Siezenheim, home to Austrian team Red Bull Salzburg. The latter will be hosting all of the current holders’ matches. Together with Greece in the group are the highly rated Swedes, Spain and Russia, which will have to play their group games in both stadiums.

There is already great enthusiasm in the Swiss and Austrian cities which will serve as backdrop for the Euro 2008 football event. Fans from all over will be eager for the games to kick off and as the 7th of June approaches the fever will be rising every day. BettingExpert will therefore be bringing you some neat overviews to get you in the mood. Follow our news section and don’t miss out on the juicy reviews and info.

Poland team for the UEFA Euro 2008

2008-05-29T06:47:00.001-07:00

Poland's coach, Leo Beenhakker, has choosen a provisional 25 team squad for the UEFA Euro Cup 2008 in Austria and Switzerland, including Brazilian born Roger Guerreiro who recently was given the Polish nationality.

Poland's first match will be on June, the 8th, against Germany, in Klagenfurt in Austria, at 20:45. On the same day, Austria will be playing against Croatia, at 18:00 in Vienna. The next friendly match pre UEFA Euro Cup of Poland will be against FYR Macedonia on May the 25th.

The still provisional team of Poland for the UEFA Euro Cup 2008 is as follows:

Forwards of Poland for the UEFA Euro Cup 2008: Euzebiusz Smolarek (Real Racing Club Santander, Spain), Maciej Żurawski (Larissa FC, Greece), Tomasz Zahorski (Górnik Zabrze, Poland), Radosław Matusiak (Wisła Kraków, Poland), Marek Saganowski (Southampton FC, Poland).

Midfielders of Poland for the UEFA Euro Cup 2008: Dariusz Dudka (Wisła Kraków, Poland), Wojciech Łobodziński (Wisła Kraków, Poland), Jakub Błaszczykowski (BV Borussia Dortmund, Germany), Mariusz Lewandowski (FC Shakhtar Donetsk, Ukraine), Rafał Murawski (Lech Poznań, Poland), Łukasz Garguła (GKS Bełchatów, Poland), Jacek Krzynówek (VfL Wolfsburg, Germany), Radosław Majewski (Groclin Grodzisk Wielkopolski, Poland), Michał Pazdan (Górnik Zabrze, Poland), Roger Guerreiro (Legia Warszawa, Poland).

Defenders of Poland for the UEFA Euro Cup 2008: Jacek Bąk (FK Austria Wien, Austria), Marcin Wasilewski (RSC Anderlecht, Belgium), Paweł Golański (FC Steaua Bucureşti, Romania), Mariusz Jop (FC Moskva, Russia), Adam Kokoszka (Wisła Kraków, Poland), Jakub Wawrzyniak (Legia Warszawa, Poland), Michał Żewłakow (Olympiacos CFP, Greece), Grzegorz Bronowicki (FK Crvena Zvezda, Serbia).

Goalkeepers of Poland for the UEFA Euro Cup 2008: Artur Boruc (Celtic FC, Scotland), Tomasz Kuszczak (Manchester United FC, England), Łukasz Fabiański (Arsenal FC, England).

We can see that there are few Polish players with international experience, and we can notice that, perhaps, the most experienced in an international environment, such as the UEFA Euro Cup 2008 are the goalkeepers. Don't forget that Poland and Ukraine will be hosting the next UEFA Euro Cup in 2012.

Turkey team for the UEFA Euro 2008

2008-05-29T06:44:00.000-07:00

The coach of Turkey has announced the squad / team for the UEFA Euro Cup 2008 in Austria and Switzerland. Fatih Terim presented recently an initial list of 26 names of Turkish players that did not include famous international football player Hakan Şükür.

The first game of Turkey in the UEFA Euro Cup 2008 will be against Portugal in Geneve at the stadium Stade de Geneve. It will be second game on the day of the inauguration of the Euro Cup, June, the 7th at 20:45. Remember that the opening game of the UEFA Euro Cup 2008 will be Switzerland against the Czech Republic. Turkey is in Group A.

The next friendly game of Turkey pre Euro Cup 2008, will be against Slovakia, on May the 20th. The match will be played in Turkey in the stadium "Ataturk Olympic Stadium". On May the 25th Turkey will play against Uruguay and on May the 29th against Findland. These games will be in Germany.

The initial squad / team of Turkey for the UEFA Euro Cup 2008 is as follows:

Forwards of Turkey for the UEFA Euro Cup 2008: Nihat Kahveci (Villarreal CF, Spain), Halil Altıntop (FC Schalke 04, Germany), Semih Şentürk (Fenerbahçe SK, Turkey), Mevlüt Erding (FC Sochaux-Montbéliard, France).

Midfielders of Turkey for the UEFA Euro Cup 2008: Mehmet Aurélio (Fenerbahçe SK, Turkey), Mehmet Topal (Galatasaray AŞ, Turkey), Emre Belözoğlu (Newcastle United FC, England), Tümer Metin (Larissa FC, Greece), Yıldıray Baştürk (VfB Stuttgart, Germany), Hamit Altıntop (FC Bayern München, Germany), Ayhan Akman (Galatasaray AŞ, Turkey), Arda Turan (Galatasaray AŞ, Turkey), Tuncay Şanlı (Middlesbrough FC, England), Kazım Kazım (Fenerbahçe SK, Turkey), Gökdeniz Karadeniz (FC Rubin Kazan, Russia).

Defenders of Turkey for the UEFA Euro Cup 2008: Gökhan Gönül (Fenerbahçe SK, Turkey), Sabri Sarıoğlu (Galatasaray AŞ, Turkey), Gökhan Zan (Beşiktaş JK, Turkey), İbrahim Kaş (Beşiktaş JK, Turkey), Emre Aşık (Galatasaray AŞ, Turkey), Servet Çetin (Galatasaray AŞ, Turkey), Hakan Balta (Galatasaray AŞ, Turkey), Uğur Boral (Fenerbahçe SK, Turkey).

Goalkeepers of Turkey for the UEFA Euro Cup 2008: Volkan Demirel (Fenerbahçe SK, Turkey), Rüştü Reçber (Beşiktaş JK, Turkey), Tolga Zengin (Trabzonspor, Turkey).

The Turkey Football League might be as competitive as any other European Top Football League, but it is still not a very experienced squad. As you can see most of the players are from the Fenerbahçe SK team or from Galatasaray AŞ. At first sight, looks very local, with few players of international experience.

Portugal team UEFA Euro Cup 2008

2008-05-29T06:42:00.000-07:00

Luiz Felipe Scolari has announced the final and definitive list of players that will be part of the Portugal squad / team for the UEFA Euro Cup 2008 in Austria and Switzerland this summer in less than 25 days. The big surprise is that Portuguese player Maniche is not included in this final list.

Portugal is in Group A of the UEFA Euro Cup 2008, along with Turkey, the Czech Republic and Switzerland. Their first game will be against Turkey on the same day of the inauguration of the Euro Cup 2008, June the 7th at 20:45 in Geneve, in the stadium Stade de Geneve. The other match of the day will be Switzerland against the Czech Republic at 18:00.

Different from other teams taking part in the UEFA Euro Cup 2008, Portugal will have only one game before the tournament begins. The match will be Portugal against Georgia, on may the 31st, in Portugal before heading to Switzerland. Other teams are planning to have at least 3 games before the beginning of the UEFA Euro Cup 2008.

The final team of Portugal for the UEFA Euro Cup 2008 is as follows:

Forwards of Portugal for the UEFA Euro Cup 2008: Nuno Gomes (SL Benfica, Portugal), Simão Sabrosa (Club Atlético de Madrid, Spain), Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United FC, England), Nani (Manchester United FC, England), Hugo Almeida (Werder Bremen, Germany), Ricardo Quaresma (FC Porto, Portugal), Hélder Postiga (Panathinaikos FC, Greece).

Midfielders of Portugal for the UEFA Euro Cup 2008: Petit (SL Benfica, Portugal), Deco (FC Barcelona, Spain), Raul Meireles (FC Porto, Portugal), Miguel Veloso (Sporting Clube de Portugal, Portugal), João Moutinho (Sporting Clube de Portugal, Portugal).

Defenders of Portugal for the UEFA Euro Cup 2008: Paulo Ferreira (Chelsea FC, England), Ricardo Carvalho (Chelsea FC, England), Bosingwa (FC Porto, Portugal), Bruno Alves (FC Porto, Portugal), Jorge Ribeiro (Boavista FC, Portugal), Miguel (Valencia CF, Spain), Fernando Meira (VfB Stuttgart, Germany), Pepe (Real Madrid CF, Spain).

Goalkeepers of Portugal for the UEFA Euro Cup 2008: Ricardo (Real Betis Balompié, Spain), Quim (SL Benfica, Portugal), Rui Patrício (Sporting Clube de Portugal, Portugal).

Netherlands almost ready for the UEFA Euro 2008

2008-05-29T00:54:00.001-07:00

Dutch National coach of the Netherlands team, Marco Van Basten, announced a list of 30 players for the UEFA Euro Cup 2008. He emphasized it was not a definitive list of football players and that by the end of may, we will get to know who will be in the final Dutch team for the Euro Cup.

The Netherlands will still play some friendly games against Ukraine, Denmark and Wales, (May the 24th and the 29th and June the first respectively) before their first game in the UEFA Euro Cup 2008 against Italy.

The list of the football players, with few surprises, of the Netherlands is as follows:

Forwards of the Netherlands for the UEFA Euro Cup 2008: Ryan Babel (Liverpool FC, England), Klaas Jan Huntelaar (AFC Ajax, Netherlands), Danny Koevermans (PSV Eindhoven, Netherlands), Dirk Kuyt (Liverpool FC, England), Ruud van Nistelrooy (Real Madrid CF, Spain), Robin van Persie (Arsenal FC, England), Arjen Robben (Real Madrid CF, Spain), Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink (Celtic FC, Scotland).

Midfielders of the Netherlands for the UEFA Euro Cup 2008: Ibrahim Afellay (PSV Eindhoven, Netherlands), Giovanni van Bronckhorst (Feyenoord, Netherlands), Orlando Engelaar (FC Twente, Netherlands), Nigel de Jong (Hamburger SV, Germany), Denny Landzaat (Feyenoord, Netherlands), Hedwiges Maduro (Valencia CF, Spain), Clarence Seedorf (AC Milan, Italy), Wesley Sneijder (Real Madrid CF, Spain), Rafael van der Vaart (Hamburger SV, Germany), Demy de Zeeuw (AZ Alkmaar, Netherlands).

Defenders of the Netherlands for the UEFA Euro Cup 2008: Wilfred Bouma (Aston Villa FC, England), Tim de Cler (Feyenoord, Netherlands), Urby Emanuelson (AFC Ajax, Netherlands), John Heitinga (AFC Ajax, Netherlands), Kew Jaliens (AZ Alkmaar, Netherlands), Joris Mathijsen (Hamburger SV, Germany), Mario Melchiot (Wigan Athletic FC, England), André Ooijer (Blackburn Rovers FC, England).

Goalkeepers of the Netherlands for the UEFA Euro Cup 2008: Sander Boschker (FC Twente, Netherlands), Edwin van der Sar (Manchester United FC, England), Maarten Stekelenburg (AFC Ajax, Netherlands), Henk Timmer (Feyenoord, Netherlands).

UEFA Euro 2008 Cup Friendly matches results

2008-05-29T00:52:00.002-07:00

Is only 10 days to go to the beginning of the UEFA Euro 2008 Cup on June the 7th, and some teams are preparing themselves with friendly matches to warm themselves up. However, most of the final scores of these friendly matches were dissapointing. Here is the list of the friendly matches pre UEFA Euro 2008 Cup and the scores from each game (I am also including the next friendly match of each team, when there is one):

Germany 2 - Belarus 2

Germany was winning 2 to 0 on the first half, but on the last third part of the match, Belarus scored two goals. Today, Germany's coach for the UEFA Euro 2008 Cup, Joachim Löw, reduced the list of players and removed from the team the following players: Patrick Helmes, Marko Marin and Jermaine Jones.

The next Friendly Match of Germany before the beginning of Euro 2008 will be against Serbia in Gelsenkirchen, Germany. The game will be on May the 31th.

France 2 - Ecuador 0

Bafétimbi Gomis scored 2 goals for France, against weak Ecuador. No surprise here, but perhaps more goals were expected. A solid winning with more than 3 goals for France was expected. However, most of the experienced French football players did not take part on the match, as they were resting (What are these matches for then?). Today, France's Coach for the UEFA Euro Cup 2008, will introduce the definitive and final list of players for the French squad.

The next Friendly Match of France before the beginning of Euro 2008 is against Paraguay, in Toulousse. The match will be on May the 31th.

Austria 1 - Nigeria 1

Austria is one of the weak teams for the UEFA Euro 2008 Cup, so it comes as a surprise that the Nigerians did not scored more goals. Perhaps Austria is not so weak after all. Remember Korea? In the 2002 football World Cup?

The next Friendly Match of Austria before the beginning of Euro 2008 will be against Malta, in Graz. The match will be on May the 30th.

Czech Republic 2 - Lithuania 0

Two goals, Two times Jan Koller. When Jan Koller was injured in the last World Cup in 2006 in Germany, the dreams of the Czech Republic faded. This year, in the Euro 2008, Jan Koller is back and with serious intentions of leading the Czechs to the final of the UEFA Euro Cup 2008. Be careful Portugal, Turkey and Swizterland! The Czech Republic is coming to the Euro 2008 with everything!!

The next Friendly Match of the Czech Republic before the beginning of UEFA Euro Cup 2008 will be against Belgium. The match will be on May the 30th.

Sweden 1 - Slovenia 0

The next Friendly Match of the Sweden before the beginning of UEFA Euro Cup 2008 will be against Ukraine. The match will be on June the 1st. The Netherlands defeated Ukraine on a match on May the 24th.

Poland 1 - Albania 0

Dutch Coach Leo Beenhakker has high hopes for the Polish team at Euro 2008, but the game of his team is uninspiring. Perhaps, just perhaps, there could be surprises. Leo Beenhakker has loads of football experience.

The next Friendly Match of Poland before the beginning of Euro 2008 will be against Denmark, on June the 1st.

Greece 2 - Hungary 3

With the spectacular game Greece showed on the qualifiying games for the UEFA Euro cup 2008, everybody is expecting a great game just like they had on the Euro 2004. But this result triggered alarms and perhaps signaled that this year the favourites are elsewhere.

The next Friendly Match of Greece before the beginning of Euro 2008 will be against Armenia, on June the 1st.

Other results of friendly matches before the begining of the UEFA Euro Cup 2008 were:

Switzerland 2 - Slovakia 0
Netherlands 3 - Ukraine 0
Croatia 1 - Moldova 0
Russia 6 - Kazakhstan 0
Turkey 2 - Uruguay 3

Italy Squad UEFA Euro 2008 Cup

2008-05-29T00:52:00.001-07:00

The Italian Coach Roberto Donadoni has recently announced a draft of players for the Italy Squad for the UEFA Euro 2008 Cup. Roberto Donadoni took over the Italian national football team after the departure of Marcello Lippi, when he quit, after Italy won the world cup 2006 in Germany.

Italy is in the Group C of the UEFA Euro 2008 Cup (the most difficult group of Euro 2008), along with the Netherlands, France and Romania. The first game of Italy in the UEFA Euro 2008 Cup is against the Netherlands, on June the 9th at 20:45, in Berne, in Switzerland. Before, France will play against Romania, at 18:00, in Zurich.

Before the begining of the UEFA Euro 2008 Cup on June the 7th, Italy will play a friendly match against Belgium in Florence, in Italy.

The Italy Squad for the UEFA Euro 2008 Cup is as follows:

Italy Squad Forwards for the UEFA Euro 2008 Cup: Marco Borriello (Genoa CFC, Italy), Antonio Cassano (UC Sampdoria, Italy), Alessandro Del Piero (Juventus, Italy), Antonio Di Natale (Udinese Calcio, Italy), Fabio Quagliarella (Udinese Calcio, Italy), Luca Toni (FC Bayern München, Germany).

Italy Squad Midfielders for the UEFA Euro 2008 Cup: Massimo Ambrosini (AC Milan, Italy), Alberto Aquilani (AS Roma, Italy), Mauro Camoranesi (Juventus, Italy), Daniele De Rossi (AS Roma, Italy), Gennaro Gattuso (AC Milan, Italy), Riccardo Montolivo (ACF Fiorentina, Italy), Simone Perrotta (AS Roma, Italy), Andrea Pirlo (AC Milan, Italy).

Italy Squad Defenders for the UEFA Euro 2008 Cup: Andrea Barzagli (US Città di Palermo, Italy), Fabio Cannavaro (Real Madrid CF, Spain), Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus, Italy), Fabio Grosso (Olympique Lyonnais, France), Marco Materazzi (FC Internazionale Milano, Italy), Christian Panucci (AS Roma, Italy), Gianluca Zambrotta (FC Barcelona, Spain).

Italy Squad Goalkeepers for the UEFA Euro 2008 Cup: Marco Amelia (AS Livorno Calcio, Italy), Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus, Italy), Morgan De Sanctis (Sevilla FC, Spain).

No matter the Italian Squad for the UEFA Euro 2008 Cup looks very local, mostly players from the Italian League are on the Italian team, Italy is the favourite to win the Euro 2008 Cup, along with Portugal and Germany.

France Team UEFA Euro Cup 2008

2008-05-29T00:51:00.001-07:00

Raymond Domenech, the coach for France for the UEFA Euro 2008 Cup (who also lead the French team to the final of the World Cup 2008 in Germany), has juts introduced the provisional list of 30 fooball players who will represent France in the European Championship in Austria and Switzerland.

France is in the most difficult group of the UEFA Euro 2008 Cup, the Group C, along with Italy, the Netherlands and Romania. The first game of "Les Bleues" will be against Romania on June the 9th, at 18:00 in the Letzigrund Stadium, in Zurich, Switzerland. The other game of the day, will be the Netherlands against Italy, at 20:45, in the Stade de Suisse in Berne, also in Switzerland.

France will have 3 friendly games before the beginning of the UEFA Euro 2008 Cup: on the 27th of May against Ecuador, in Grenoble; against Paraguay in Toulousse on the 31th of June and against Colombia, on June the 3rd in Paris. France is one of the few teams that will play so many games before the beginning of the UEFA Euro 2008 Cup on June the 7th.

This is the list of players of the France Team / Squad by Raymond Domenech:

Strikers of France for the UEFA Euro 2008 Cup: Franck Ribéry (FC Bayern München, Germany), Florent Malouda (Chelsea FC, England), Sidney Govou (Olympique Lyonnais, France), Samir Nasri (Olympique de Marseille, France), Hatem Ben Arfa (Olympique Lyonnais, France), Nicolas Anelka (Chelsea FC, England), Thierry Henry (FC Barcelona, Spain), Karim Benzema (Olympique Lyonnais, France), Djibril Cissé (Olympique de Marseille, France), Bafétimbi Gomis (AS Saint-Etienne, France).

Midfielders of France for the UEFA Euro 2008 Cup: Alou Diarra (FC Girondins de Bordeaux, , France), Mathieu Flamini (Arsenal FC, England), Patrick Vieira (FC Internazionale Milano, Italy), Claude Makelele (Chelsea FC, England), Jérémy Toulalan (Olympique Lyonnais, France), Lassana Diarra (Portsmouth FC, England).

Defenders of France for the UEFA Euro 2008 Cup: Willy Sagnol (FC Bayern München, Germany), Lilian Thuram (FC Barcelona, Spain), William Gallas (Arsenal FC, England), Eric Abidal (FC Barcelona, Spain), Patrice Evra (FC Manchester United, England), Jean-Alain Boumsong (Olympique Lyonnais, France), François Clerc (Olympique Lyonnais, France), Julien Escudé (Sevilla FC, Spain), Philippe Mexès (AS Roma, Italy), Sébastien Squillaci (Olympique Lyonnais, France).

Goalkeepers of France for the UEFA Euro 2008 Cup: Grégory Coupet (Olympique Lyonnais, France), Mickaël Landreau (Paris Saint-Germain FC, France), Sébastien Frey (ACF Fiorentina, Italy), Steve Mandanda (Olympique de Marseille, France).

The list of players of France for the UEFA Euro 2008 Cup is impressive. However, it is interesting how the French team is not one of the favourites to win the European Tournament. Germany, Portugal, Greece, the Czech Republic, Italy or Spain are among the favourites to win the UEFA Euro 2008 Cup this summer; and France, who was achieved a second place in the last Worl Cup in Germany, is absent from the list.

Squad Germany UEFA Euro Cup 2008

2008-05-29T00:49:00.000-07:00

The coach of Germany for the UEFA Euro Cup 2008, Joachim Löw, introduced recently a provisional list of German football players for the German "Mannschaft". The surprises are 3 players who currently play in the second division of the German professional football league.

Germany is in the Group B of the UEFA Euro Cup 2008 along Poland, Croatia and Austria. Their first game on the European Championship in Austria and Switzerland will be against Poland on June the 8th at 20:45 in Klagenfurt, at the stadium Wörthersee, in Austria. Hours before, Austria will be playing against Croatia, at 18:00, in Vienna.

On May the 27th, Germany will have a friendly game against Belarus in Kaiserslautern, in Germany. It is knot known yet whether the German team will have more friendly games before the UEFA Euro Cup 2008 begins, on June the 7th.

The Squad / Team of Germany for the UEFA Euro Cup 2008 is as follows:

Forwards of Germany for the UEFA Euro Cup 2008: Miroslav Klose (FC Bayern München, Germany), Lukas Podolski (FC Bayern München, Germany), Mario Gómez (VfB Stuttgart, Germany), Kevin Kuranyi (FC Schalke 04, Germany), Oliver Neuville (VfL Borussia Mönchengladbach, Germany), Patrick Helmes (1. FC Köln, Germany).

Midfielders of Germany for the UEFA Euro Cup 2008: Michael Ballack (Chelsea FC, England), Thomas Hitzlsperger (VfB Stuttgart, Germany), Simon Rolfes (Bayer 04 Leverkusen, Germany), Torsten Frings (Werder Bremen, Germany), Bastian Schweinsteiger (FC Bayern München, Germany), Piotr Trochowski (Hamburger SV, Germany), Tim Borowski (Werder Bremen, Germany), Jermaine Jones (FC Schalke 04, Germany), David Odonkor (Real Betis Balompié, Spain), Marko Marin (VfL Borussia Mönchengladbach, Germany).

Defenders of Germany for the UEFA Euro Cup 2008: Christoph Metzelder (Real Madrid CF, Spain), Per Mertesacker (Werder Bremen, Germany), Philipp Lahm (FC Bayern München, Germany), Arne Friedrich (Hertha BSC Berlin, Germany), Marcell Jansen (FC Bayern München, Germany), Clemens Fritz (Werder Bremen, Germany), Heiko Westermann (FC Schalke 04, Germany).

Goalkeepers of Germany for the UEFA Euro Cup 2008: Jens Lehmann (Arsenal FC, England), Robert Enke (Hannover 96, Germany), René Adler (Bayer 04 Leverkusen, Germany).

Less than 10 percent of the players shortlisted for the Germany Squad / Team are playing outside Germany. The Bundesliga is not as competitive as the Premier League, or the Italian League or the Spanish League, and this list of players could indicate that the German team for the UEFA Euro Cup 2008 is not as strong and the French, the Italian, the Dutch or the Spanish might be.

But the fact that Germany is one of the top favourites to win the Euro 2008 Cup, might change your impression. In our poll, Germany is the third favourite. Which is your favourite team to win the UEFA Euro 2008 Cup? Did you vote already?

If you want to know more about Germany and the UEFA Euro 2008 Cup, the qualification, statistics and more, visit my previous post about germany.