European Football Cup 2008’s Weblog

Cristian Chivu is desperate to reach the UEFA EURO 2008™ quarter-finals but the Romania captain refuses to accept that his former AFC Ajax team-mates in the Netherlands camp will do him a favour by smoothing the Tricolorii’s progress.

Win needed
With the Oranje already through as Group C winners, coach Marco van Basten has admitted he may rest players against Romania at the Stade de Suisse on Tuesday. A victory would ensure Romania’s passage to a tie with Spain regardless of the result between France and Italy in Zurich, yet Chivu expects tough opposition in Berne whatever his Dutch connections.

No let-up
“It’s pretty difficult to say something like that because I know the Dutch game very well and I know what football means to them,” Chivu told euro2008.com. “They have waited a long time to play and win with this kind of attacking football. I don’t think they will relax at all. Even though they have qualified, they still want to win to show continuity in their results and they also want to be confirmed as favourites to win the trophy.” Chivu’s insight comes from his stay with Ajax between 1999 and 2003, when he captained a side featuring exciting prospects such as Wesley Sneijder and Rafael van der Vaart.

Opportunity
Irrespective of the outcome against the Oranje, the centre-back insists the tournament has been a major success for Romania. Many pundits gave the Tricolorii no chance of a top-two finish in the group but draws against France and Italy have opened the door to the last eight and the 27-year-old is determined to emulate the Romania team that made the UEFA EURO 2000™ quarter-finals.

History beckons
“What we have already achieved is tremendous,” said the FC Internazionale Milano player. “If you had told me before the tournament that we would hold both France and Italy, I would have signed a sheet of paper and I would have been very happy. But now we have the chance to go through and I can see this team’s potential. I want this very much and so do my team-mates. This is the most important match for our generation and qualifying from this group would be a historic moment for Romanian football.”