Rosetti ‘delighted’ to referee final
June 24, 2008 at 9:46 am | In Uncategorized | 2 CommentsTags: Alessandro Griselli, Frank De Bleeckere, Massimo Busacca, Paolo Calcagno, Peter Frojdfelt, Roberto Rosetti
Having taken charge of the opening game of UEFA EURO 2008™, Italian referee Roberto Rosetti will also bring the tournament to a close after being appointed for Sunday’s final at the Ernst-Happel-Stadion in Vienna.
Semi-final appointments
As well as Switzerland’s opening loss to the Czech Republic, the 40-year-old was in the middle for the quarter-final between Turkey and Croatia. He will be accompanied by compatriots and assistants Alessandro Griselli and Paolo Calcagno for the final, with Swedish referee Peter Fröjdfelt acting as fourth official. Meanwhile, Switzerland’s Massimo Busacca will take charge of the semi-final between Turkey and Germany in Basel on Wednesday, while Belgian Frank De Bleeckere has been chosen for Thursday’s other last-four meeting between Russia and Spain in Vienna.
Jacquet still backing ‘delicate’ France
June 16, 2008 at 8:19 pm | In Uncategorized | Leave a CommentTags: Aime Jacquet, France
FIFA World Cup-winning coach Aimé Jacquet believes France are going through “a delicate period” with one highly-successful generation of players gradually being replaced by another, but he is still confident they will claim their first victory of UEFA EURO 2008™ against Italy on Tuesday.
Unprecedented success
France have enjoyed unprecedented success over the past decade, winning the FIFA World Cup in 1998, appearing in the final again in Berlin two years ago, as well as clinching a second UEFA European Championship crown in 2000. During that time the likes of Zinédine Zidane, Marcel Desailly, Didier Deschamps, Lilian Thuram, Thierry Henry and Patrick Vieira have all graced the international scene, playing more than 100 times for their country and ensuring Les Bleus have never fallen far from the summit of the world game.
Zloczower proud of Swiss reponse
June 16, 2008 at 8:07 pm | In Uncategorized | Leave a CommentTags: Austrian Football Association, Friedrich Stickler, Michel Platini, predsident, Ralph Zloczower, UEFA President
Delight at the overall progress of UEFA EURO 2008™, sadness at his own team’s elimination. Mixed feelings, then, for Swiss Football Association (SFV/ASF) president Ralph Zloczower as he reflected on the tournament so far.
Lived up to expectations
Although his country bade farewell to the finals with a 2-0 win against Portugal in Basel last night, Zloczower says the football played and the atmosphere created at UEFA EURO 2008™ have lived up to expectations. “I’m extremely satisfied,” he said. “In nine matchdays in the stadiums, the football has been attractive, exciting and outstanding on occasions. Outside the stadiums, there have been celebrations in the Fan Zones and public viewing areas.” Last night in Basel, the number of visitors welcomed to the eight UEFA EURO 2008™ Fan Zones reached the two million mark.
Brückner laments Rosický’s absence
June 16, 2008 at 8:00 pm | In Uncategorized | Leave a CommentTags: Czech Republic, Karel Bruckner
Coach Karel Brückner said on Monday that Tomáš Rosický’s injury-enforced absence from UEFA EURO 2008™ was a major factor in the Czech Republic’s first-round exit.
Sorely missed
Rosický was in the stands at the Stade de Genève to witness Brückner’s team squander a two-goal lead as they were beaten 3-2 by Turkey to miss out on a place in the quarter-finals. Though the veteran coach praised his strikers, he admitted Rosický’s invention behind them had been sorely missed. “[Jan] Koller, [Milan] Baroš and [Václav] Svěrkoš played very well when they were on the pitch, and did all that I asked of them,” said the 68-year-old. “But there were other parts of the team that were weaker, especially in terms of creativity, and we were weak on the wings. You can’t replace Rosický. We knew that before the tournament. There are only a few teams that can replace a player like that.”
‘The Cat’ eager to devour the cream
June 16, 2008 at 5:28 pm | In Uncategorized | Leave a CommentTags: Bogdan Lobont, Pantaleo Corvino
Romania goalkeeper Bogdan Lobonţ claims the Netherlands are favourites to win UEFA EURO 2008™ but he is hoping his own country can maintain their recent good record against the Oranje by getting the result they require to progress to the quarter-finals.
Dutch favourites
Lobonţ is a huge admirer of Dutch football, having spent six years at AFC Ajax earlier in his career, and the FC Dinamo 1948 Bucureşti custodian has not been surprised to see former team-mates like Wesley Sneijder and Rafael van der Vaart take the tournament by storm in the first two matches. “They are extraordinarily good players,” Lobonţ told euro2008.com. “Everybody has seen Sneijder’s qualities in the first few games, but also Van der Vaart and Ruud Van Nistelrooy. They are a strong team and to my mind the Netherlands have been the most powerful side at this tournament and are the favourites to win it. I won the Eredivisie and reached the quarter-finals of the [UEFA] Champions League with Ajax. I learned a lot there, not just about football but also about life. So I have a lot of time for Dutch football but on Tuesday my focus will be on Romania and we will try to repeat the [1-0 home] win we had against them in our qualifying group.”
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