Archive for June, 2008

Fabregas looks set to start for Spain in EURO 2008 final

June 30th, 2008

It was a thorough professional performance by Aragones’ Spanish team, who came out winner yet against a strong Russian side by a 3 goal margin. All the goals came in the second half with two of them formed due to excellent crosses, Arsenal midfielder, Cesc Fabregas.

Reports suggest that Fabregas will be in the starting lineup for the Spanish side in the final of EURO 2008 against Germany on Sunday with David Villa, Spanish striker and top scorer of the tournament, ruled out due to a muscle sprain.

Fabregas was star in his sides 3-0 thrashing of Russians in the semifinal, after he was bought in as a substitute for Villa, who seemed to pull a muscle while taking a free kick on what was a soggy outfield at Ernst Happel Stadion in Vienna.

The Arsenal midfielder has not been a part of the starting lineup in most games that have played by Spain in recent times. After his performance and the news of Villa ruled out of the final, he looks set to make the cut.

On being asked of his chances to be starting in one of the biggest games of his life, he said that he will always be there, if his manager will need his services. He added that he is a part of a troop determined to emerge out as winners of Europe and with only a single game left for achieving this goal, he is ready to give his everything for his side even if he fails to make the starting lineup.

Aragones confirmed after their triumph that Villa was sure to miss their final clash against Germany in Vienna, but did not declare his replacement in the starting lineup for the game.

Casillas: Ahead of EURO 2008 Finals

June 29th, 2008

Iker Casillas, captain of the Spanish side, feels that he will now be primarily responsible, if his side beats Germany on Sunday in the finals of Euro 2008.

Real Madrid & Spain goalkeeper was a hero in the game against Italy, when he saved two important penalties for guiding his side past the knockout stage. He has been amongst the consistent performers of his during Spanish’s impressive road to glory thus far.

This is the first game for the Spanish side in a title round of any major tournament, since their 2-0 loss in the 1984 edition of European Championships to 2-times Champion France. St. Iker (as he is popular in Spain) believes that his side will put everything, which they have in making their opponents to submit and eventually crown themselves for the second time with this trophy.

The 24-year old goalkeeper said that he was feeling the tension and responsibility ahead of his side’s attempt to glory. He believed that the responsibility of not letting down Spanish fans, who are millions in number, was also on him as he is captaining the side they worship.

Current Spanish Skipper felt that he knew the job of his side is only to go to the big game with an open mind and give full effort to win it.

There was a shade of nervousness in Casillas’ comments when he said that ‘the job is not going to be easy’, as he knows that Spain will be up against a very strong side in the form of the Germans.With better experience of playing in the crunch games (5 overall in European Championships where they have won three), Germany will surely have the upper hand ahead of the encounter. Still, Iker will make sure that his side can defy all odds to take the European Trophy from Vienna to Madrid.

No room for second place in big tournaments

June 29th, 2008

Luis Aragones, Spanish coach, has come up with a warning for his players a day before their all important game against Germany in EURO 2008 final at Vienna. He has said that there is no room for second place in such a tournament and people tend to forget them within a short time.

Spaniards will be taking on Low’s men at Vienna’s Ernst Happel Stadion with an aim of clinching the title that has eluded the side for 44 years.

Aragones, who might be in his last stint as the coach of the national side, believes that despite euphoria surrounding his side’s achievements for moving to this stage, their will be no reason for celebration, if they fail in taking the important final stride and lifting the coveted trophy.

In an interview a day before the final event, he assured to all the Spanish fans that his players are looking good with a desire of playing with full effort and coming out as champions at the end. Although he had respect for the German side and their impressive road to the EURO finals, he wanted his team to topple them with another incredible performance.

Spain will be going into this all important game as the in-form team and the clear favorites of most experts. With their impressive performance in the semifinals over Russia in a 3-0 routing and no defeats in the tournament thus far, it seems that they might create history on Sunday.

Spanish Coach feels that if his side will give another performance packed with team spirit, which has helped them to get this far, there will be no stopping his men to achieve glory in Vienna.

Fabregas looks set to start for Spain in EURO 2008 final

June 29th, 2008

It was a thorough professional performance by Aragones’ Spanish team, who came out winner yet against a strong Russian side by a 3 goal margin. All the goals came in the second half with two of them formed due to excellent crosses, Arsenal midfielder, Cesc Fabregas.

Reports suggest that Fabregas will be in the starting lineup for the Spanish side in the final of EURO 2008 against Germany on Sunday with David Villa, Spanish striker and top scorer of the tournament, ruled out due to a muscle sprain.

Fabregas was star in his sides 3-0 thrashing of Russians in the semifinal, after he was bought in as a substitute for Villa, who seemed to pull a muscle while taking a free kick on what was a soggy outfield at Ernst Happel Stadion in Vienna.

The Arsenal midfielder has not been a part of the starting lineup in most games that have played by Spain in recent times. After his performance and the news of Villa ruled out of the final, he looks set to make the cut.

On being asked of his chances to be starting in one of the biggest games of his life, he said that he will always be there, if his manager will need his services. He added that he is a part of a troop determined to emerge out as winners of Europe and with only a single game left for achieving this goal, he is ready to give his everything for his side even if he fails to make the starting lineup.

Aragones confirmed after their triumph that Villa was sure to miss their final clash against Germany in Vienna, but did not declare his replacement in the starting lineup for the game.

Russia Vs Spain: It is Germany and Spain in EURO 2008 Championship Final

June 29th, 2008

The fairytale run of Russian side in EURO 2008 came to an end when a confident Spain outfit thrashed them to a 3-0 win at Vienna. With goals from Xavi Hernandez, Daniel Guiza and David Silva (all coming in the second half), Luis Aragones’ men overpowered Hiddink’s troops to book a place in the Final at Sienna on Sunday.

It was a complete show by a Spanish side, who barely gave a sniff to the Russians. Spanish defense was summed up by the fact that there was only one shot on goal in the whole game from Hiddink’s men (coming in the last minutes). Russia was barely given an opportunity to enter their opponent’s half in most part of an evening, which was one of the wettest of the tournament.

With lightning and heavy rainfall, both sides had difficulty in maneuvering the ball in the first half. Aragones’ side had several attempts on the goal. However, Igor Akinfeev, the man with the most saves in the tournament, was a wall in front of the goal and the half ended with both sides failing to score. During the half, Spain lost David Villa, top scorer of the tournament, with a muscle injury and Cesc Fabregas came on as a substitute.

Second half saw Spain overawing Russia with Cesc Fabregas & Sergio Ramos playing at rapid pace. The deadlock was broken by Barcelona midfielder, Xavi, who guided Aniesta’s cross past Russian keeper to make it 1-0 in the fifty minutes.

The first goal seemingly killed Russian hopes, as they were playing ordinary football. Fabregas used this to his advantage and assisted the next two goals. His excellent crosses to substitute Daniel Guiza (73rd minute) and David Silva (82nd minute) were both successful and helped Spain to tame Russia once again by a 3 goal margin.

Spain will now be playing against Germany at this same venue on Sunday. They will be looking forward to repeat this heroic and bid farewell to their manager Luis Aragones in a Royal manner.

Xavi: We have the belief of winning EURO 2008

June 27th, 2008

Spain & Barcelona midfielder, Xavi, was all praise for Hiddink’s men for their performance in the tournament so far. However, he insisted that his side is currently having the belief for winning EURO 2008.

The Russians have comeback strongly after they went down to Spain 4-1 in their opening encounter and showed that defeating England in the EURO qualifiers was not a fluke. They have defeated stronger opponents including Czech Republic & Holland on their way to a showdown against Spain in the second semifinal at Vienna.

However, Xavi felt that unlike Russia, Luis Aragones’ outfit always believed in their chances of bagging the ongoing European Championship. His side had the desire to prove the critics wrong, who felt that Spain always have been an underachiever in the big events. Now after being only two steps away from the coveted trophy, he sees his side going all the way without any hiccups.

28-year old Xavi said that his side will continue the strategy of attacking the ball, even though their opponents have got a deadly counterattack. According to him, the defense will be eyeing for Roman Pavlyuchenko & Andrei Arshavin and do everything to stop them from making a move in the penalty box.

Midfielder added that there was an expectation of the whole team for having a complete different encounter against the Russians from their group game, after the latter gained confidence from their almost annihilation of Netherlands in the knockout stage. Still, Spain is confident of repeating their performance of the group stages against Hiddink’s troops and taking the confidence into the final against a dangerous German side.

Lahm helps Germany to book a place in the finals

June 27th, 2008

If anyone thought that this game would be a mismatch, they were proved wrong by a thoroughly professional Turkish side. Although Terim’s men fell short of booking a place in the finals of EURO 2008, they went down fighting. It was only after a last minute goal from Philipp Lahm that helped Germany scrap through a nail-biting event.

Turkey was a better side in most part of the game with a strong attack and even better defense. Colin Kazim would have got his first international goal and side into the lead within minutes of start. However, the German crossbar avoided what was a skimmer of a shot from him.

Another Kazim shot in the twenty second minute went past Lehman and hit the post. This time though, there was Ugur Boral to send the ball into the German goal to allow the Turks attain a lead. However, the pair of Podolski & Schweinsteiger, who scored the first goal against Portugal, again helped their side to score an equalizer. First half ended with 1-1 and was dominated by Terim’s side with German goalkeeper Lehmann tested to his limits.

The game seemed going into Turkish hands in the second half. However, a Lahm cross caught Bayern Munich forward Miroslav Klose, who headed his side into the lead for the first time in the game defeating both Topal & Rustu. Most experts covering the game felt that this might have ended the hopes for Turkey. However, Fatih Terim’s men made him proud once again by equalizing through a Sarioglu cross that was poked home by Semih.

It seemed that another game was moving into the extra-time. However, Bayern Munich fullback Lahm fired a composed shot passed Rustu in the last minutes of the second half to crush Turkish hopes of a final berth and help Germany claim the same.

Terim confident ahead of Turkeys clash against Germany

June 26th, 2008

Fatih Terim, coach of the Turkish side, believes that his team has got the attention of the global audience with the unlikely run, which allowed them to book a place in the final four of Euro 2008.

With their last minutes efforts to win against Switzerland and Czech Republic for squeezing into the knockout stages and then grabbing an equalizer in the final moments of against Croatia prior to the victory through the penalty shootouts, they have become a force to reckon with in the world of football. Now with the championship reaching its climax, they are looking for yet another big performance against the Germans to book a place in the finals of EURO 2008.

Terim believes that the performances of his men in their 11th hour escapade will be remembered long after the tournament concludes. ‘The Emperor’, as he is dubbed in his homeland, reckons that he has still a lot of work to do for his side, if they are to defeat the mighty Germans on Wednesday in Basle.

Turkish coach will be without the services of eight players in the all-important semifinal clash, which includes the suspended Arda Turan, Tuncay Sanli, Volkan Demirel & Emre Asik and the injured list comprising of Emre Belozoglu, Servet Cetin, Emre Gungor and Nihat Kahveci. Even with such a daunting task clouding the chances of a Turkish victory, he believes that they are not afraid of the Germans and have the determination to see through this tough scenario and surprise the former European & World Champions.

Low feels that his experience in Turkey might not work in their semifinal clash

June 26th, 2008

With an all important clash against the Turkish side around the corner, German Coach Joachim Low is looking to use all his experience to form a combination that can beat Terim’s side, which has surprised some of their stronger opponents with magical display in the tournament.

Although Germans have had a professional outing in EURO 2008, Low is vary of the capabilities of his opponents and hoping that their heroics in the tournament will not be repeated again.

Low has an experience of the Turkish football culture, as he coached two of its clubs, Fenerbahce & Adanaspor, a decade ago. Even with this experience, he feels that there is no chance his knowledge would be handy for forming a strategy against the current lot. He marked considerable change in Turkish football, since he left their league.

He said that players like Turkish goalkeeper Rustu has played under him. Again, he was also in touch with the current coach Fatih Terim. Still, he believes that it will take more than this to secure a place in the final of EURO 2008.

German coach has been happy with the performance of his men in the ongoing tournament. However, he also knows that they need to be prepared for the coming battle against the Turkish side. He feels that there is no room for complacency anymore, as they are at such a stage of the tournament, where a single mistake can end their dreams of becoming Champions of Europe.

Calderon: We cannot pay $157m for Ronaldo

June 24th, 2008

After a month of speculation over the future of Portuguese winger with the reigning Premier League & Champions League winners, Manchester United, it was confirmed by the President of Real Madrid, Ramon Calderon, that there is no chance of a record payment for the player to play in the Spanish Capital.

In 2001, Zinedine Zidane was bought to the Bernabeu for a record breaking deal that was worth a walloping 100m euros ($157m). Initially, there were rumors that Madrid will be paying a similar amount, if not more to get one of the best playmakers playing on the current football map.

President Calderon confirmed that although they want the winger to play for them, still there is no chance of the club to pay such a hefty amount for him. This amount was supposed to change United’s opinion of not putting the Portugal Star on their transfer list. He said that it is not only for Ronaldo, but the club is not eager to spend such a huge sum for anyone.

Recently, it was reported that players like Robinho and Schneider will be put up for transfer for getting the Red Devil’s star into the Bernabeu Stadium. However, officials of the club along with the Coach and President denied such rumors. They felt that both these stars are necessary for them to defend their crown in the coming season.

With things warming up in EURO 2008 for Spanish fans for their team has made the last four, they will also be hoping to see the magic of Ronaldo bracing the Spanish Premiere League in the coming season.