EURO tickets to be printed and sent

Tickets and vouchers
Everyone with tickets for group-stage games will therefore be in possession of their tickets two weeks before the tournament begins. For Follow My Team Tournament tickets, vouchers will be issued, which can be exchanged for match tickets on site.

Public transport
Tickets and vouchers also entitle holders to free second-class public transport in Austria and Switzerland from the day of the game to midday the following day. Left-luggage facilities will be provided at railway stations in the host cities.

Security procedures
Security cordons will be set up around the stadiums and will open at the same time as the turnstiles for initial checks on spectators, tickets and the items spectators are carrying. In accordance with the latest security procedures, each ticket is bar-coded, among other security features.

Stadium entertainment
Stadiums will open three hours before kick-off, with a variety of entertainment on the programme to get fans in the mood, including a display by a group of 40 gymnasts. When there are two matches on the same day, supporters attending the later game will be able to watch the earlier fixture on giant screens.

Bilić backing Modrić to deliver

The reasons why Tottenham Hotspur FC were in such a hurry to spend €21m on Croatia midfielder Luka Modrić will become clear at UEFA EURO 2008™. That is the message from Modrić's national-team coach Slaven Bilić who has no doubts about the quality of the 22-year-old from NK Dinamo Zagreb.

'The world will see'
Already a captain of his club side, Modrić transferred his leadership qualities to the international stage under Bilić during Croatia's successful UEFA EURO 2008™ qualifying campaign. Bilić, acquainted with his chargfe's prodigious talent from their days with the Under-21 team, is now convinced that his man is "one of the best European players". He said: "Modrić is a top-class player. I have known him since I was coaching him in the U21s and, although he is still very young, I consider him one of the best. You will see it at the EURO, when the world will see his talent."

Blossoming talent
Tottenham needed no such persuasion to sign the playmaker from the Croatian champions last week. Perhaps they had seen Modrić blossom as an international footballer during his 12 appearances in qualification for Austria/Switzerland. Although armed with a total of 24 caps, and the experience of the 2006 FIFA World Cup, he only fully established himself once Bilić had replaced Zlatko Kranjčar at the helm after those finals. The former Croatia defender has used Modrić as a defensive midfielder with licence to get forward, yet he is just as adept operating further upfield. This season he has scored 13 goals in 22 games for an unstoppable Dinamo Zagreb side.

Next generation
It is Croatia and Bilić's good fortune that the country may finally have found worthy successors to midfield maestros Zvonimir Boban, Aljoša Asanović and Robert Prosinečki – in both Modrić and Niko Kranjčar. The latter is well known to English audiences for his performances with FA Cup finalists Portsmouth FC. Eduardo da Silva and Vedran Ćorluka, from Arsenal FC and Manchester City FC, have also given Croatian football a good name in the Premier League this term.

Cruyff comparison
Modrić and company also helped to eliminate England from the EURO, so Tottenham Hotspur fans will not be completely incredulous of the comparisons their recruit has earned with both Lionel Messi and Johan Cruyff. Increasingly, he has been likened to Cruyff, whom he resembles both in frame – being of slim build – and in speed, agility and creativity, as master of the pinpoint pass. And if Modrić could become NK Zrinjski's star player in the Bosnia-Herzegovnian top flight as an 18-year-old loanee in 2003/04, Bilić will be expecting a similar impact from his protégé in north London and beyond.

Photographer’s naked ambition comes to Euro 2008

Renowned photographer Spencer Tunick has set his sights on bringing his unique style to Euro2008. For those who have thus far avoided Tunick’s work (and frankly if you have you must have been living in a hole for the last few years), this is the guy that gathers lots of people together and take photographs of them. Naked. The people, not him. That would be weird.

To elucidate, Tunick has requested that at least 2008 willing volunteers (see what he’s done there) congregate in the Ernst Happel Stadium on 11th May to form another of his naked canvasses. Unfortunately, this date does not coincide with any of the tournament games (imagine how much attention would be paid to the on field action if there was a section of the crowd made up of 2000 naked people), but will nevertheless form part of the ‘cultural’ aspect of the competition.

With the Austrian National railway offering free travel to the first 2008 men and women to sign up, there really seems no reason not to be a part of it. If you live in Vienna. And like taking your clothes off. And don’t mind being photographed in the buff. We’ll even give you the link to where you can sign up.

For the easily offended, look away now. For those of a more ‘curious’ persuasion, take a look at some examples of Tunick’s work below…

EURO 2008 Round Up at Fryday

So as Thursday drifts into Friday, and I receive a panicked phone call from good pal, and fellow blogger, Tom – it is with a blissful ‘knowing’ serenity that I realise that for the first time we have missed Euro 2008 Random Round Up Thursday (didn’t I say last week that Thursday was the new Friday)… And thus, please bang your kettle drums; shake your rattles and blow ‘dem horns – for this is Euro 2008 Random Round Up Friday!

And as our first port of call of this voyage around the net, is the nifty new idea from Adidas to send Interesting big names to small places. For example, according to worldcupblog.com, the likes of David Beckham and Steven Gerrard will visit the Isles of Scilly, home to the world’s smallest football league (with just two teams). Well, they won’t be doing much else this summer will they? Perhaps they could send Ashley Cole to Basra?

Meanwhile, the Austrian first team coach has thrown somewhat of a curveball by selecting the 38 year old attacking midfielder Ivica Vastić (pictured below with small child) for his provisional squad. The wily old dog (I presume he must be if he’s that old) however has scored 13 goals in 31 league matches for Linz this season – and despite not playing for the Austrians since 2005, has amassed 46 caps in his career. Could he be the next Toni Polster? We watch and wish!

Also – an interesting comparison is drawn to the Italian World Cup Winners of 2006 by Ivan on the Russian Football blog, as he surmises that Russia’s Euro 2008 may well be made up solely of domestic talent. Of course, there are a number of Russians plying their trade across Europe (amongst them Fulham’s Alexi Smertin of course) – but their chances of being in the squad look pretty bleak.

Oh – and for a totally neutral perspective over the next few weeks, why not pop over to Aaron Stollar’s blog, where he will be talking look at each of the groups and giving his professional opinion on how Euro 2008 might just go!

EUFA EURO 2008 Q & A

We speak to the game’s producer about life without England and the future of the series.

You may not have noticed, but the FIFA series has emerged in the last year as a very real challenger to the videogaming football throne. Last year’s FIFA 08 offered the definitive football package and EURO 2008 serves as a stop-gap before this year’s installment, further pushing the game towards online play and embellishing the game’s mechanics with some extra polish. We spoke to the game’s producer Simon Humber about the new game and where the series is heading.

A stadium, looking lovely, yesterday.

IGN: Do you think England’s absence in the tournament will affect the game’s sales over here?

Simon Humber: I think there’s a certain percentage of people that buy tournament games because they’re engaged in the tournament. I’d like to think there’s a bigger percentage of people who are football gamers who just want the best game on the market at the time. Given that it’s six months from the last FIFA and PES, and six months to the next FIFA and PES, if you’ve got a better game out you can play that for six months, then I’d like to think people will buy it for that reason.

IGN: A great feature of FIFA 08 was the roster update, and the persistent updates and connectivity to the real football world. Is that something that’s going to be a feature of EURO 2008?

Simon Humber: We’ve got one update coming, which is for when all the squads are announced. England were difficult to decide which players to put in, because Capello has come in and changed the make up of the squad a bit. At the moment we’ve left it as McLaren’s team, and when the update comes we’re going to change it to Capello’s team.

IGN: The series is moving to online and social play. How important is that to FIFA’s future?

Simon Humber: Critical. The time of just playing the game by yourself and not being connected to anyone is vanishing, especially with football because it’s such a social environment. As we build technology we’re constantly aware of where that should go in terms of design and being able bring more people into football and making the experience better for them.

IGN: This game is a halfway house between FIFA 08 and FIFA 09, and as a full price release how would you allay fears of people who may be skeptical of buying the game due to its shorter shelf life?

Simon Humber: Personally, I’d buy it because it’s the best game on the market. I realise that the tournament itself ends in June, but come July 1 it’ll still be the best game on the market. We’ve got feedback from people who’ve played the demo and gone back to FIFA 08 and said they couldn’t play it anymore, because they’ve got used to the increased responsiveness.

Some bouncing Czechs.

IGN: Will there ever be a point where the big tournaments could become integrated into one FIFA package?

Simon Humber: FIFA and Euro could never come together because you’ve got FIFA and UEFA, who both want their own game on the market. FIFA and World Cup in theory could, but to do that you’d need to include so much that’s special about the World Cup. FIFA’s got a challenge already because you’ve got so many cultural differences from different leagues around the world that everyone wants you to work in, they want South American football to feel different, they want Southern European football to feel different to Northern European football, so they all really belong in their own products so we can do them justice.

IGN: How do you assign player attributes?

Simon Humber: We’ve got a department in Vancouver, and one in Germany as well, called the data collection department, and there’s a bunch of guys there who run and maintain the database, and there’s a community of editors. There’s a community around the world that gives us the stats, and it’s up to the guys to balance it to make sure that players aren’t under or overrated, we always have an eye on the next big player as well.

IGN: So England are dreadful?

Simon Humber: Individually they’re good, but the chemistry’s not great.

IGN: Congratulations on getting the Peter Crouch robo-dance in there, but we’re hoping that Robbie Earnshaw’s somersault and machine gun combo will be in there…

Simon Humber: I’m afraid not.

Flash Base UEFA Euro 2008 Countdown Timer

I found a funny Flash file which is counting down the time till the begin of the big football event Euro 2008.

It works perfectly with Flash Lite 2 and Flash Lite 3 players. You can download it here, password: symbianwebblog

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Euro 2008 Countdown Widget

Euro 2008 Countdown description
Euro 2008 Countdown is a free countdown to the opening of the Euro 2008 on June 7, 2008

Count the time untill the UEFA Euro 2008 starts. A widget for football / soccer sites.

Developer: Sebastian Schimli More programs by this producer
License: Freeware
Size / OS: 103 KB, Windows All
Requirements: Yahoo Widget Engine

Download here
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Dutch rally to beat Austria 4-3 in one of 11 friendly matches involving Euro 2008 teams

LONDON (AP) - The Netherlands rallied to beat Austria 4-3 Wednesday, and David Beckham made his 100th international appearance in England's 1-0 loss at France in two of the friendlies involving the 16 European Championship teams.
Klaas-Jan Huntelaar scored two goals, including the game winner in the 86th minute, as the Dutch rallied from a
three-goal deficit at Austria.
Defending champion Greece, Germany, Spain and Romania also won, while the Czech Republic, Croatia and Turkey played to draws and Italy, Poland, Sweden, Russia, Portugal and Switzerland lost.
Austria was leading 3-0 in Vienna off two goals from Sebastian Prodl and another from Andreas Ivanschitz. But Huntelaar started the comeback in the 38th, with John Heitinga and Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink also scoring to make it 3-3.
«We got 3-0 behind due to personal errors by our defenders, not because we were outplayed by Austria,» Netherlands coach Marco van Basten said. «But I was a bit surprised by their attacking and quick play in the opening 30 minutes.
Sweden lost to Brazil 1-0 in a rematch of the 1958 World Cup final that was held in London. Alexandre Pato scored in the 72nd minute, helped by a major blunder from substitute Sweden goalkeeper Rami Shaaban.
«Pato has the style of Ronaldo, although he's a bit more timid,» Brazil coach Dunga said of the 18-year-old striker.
Both sides were missing their top players. Brazil was without both Kaka and Ronaldinho, and Sweden was missing Inter Milan striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
Mario Gomez helped his chances of making the Germany squad for Euro 2008 with two goals and an assist in a 4-0 win over Switzerland.
Gomez, who is fighting for a place in Germany's starting lineup, set up Miroslav Klose for the first goal in the 23rd and scored in the 61st and 67th minutes in Basel, Switzerland. Lukas Podolski added the fourth in injury time.
With England failing to qualify for the European Championship, the team hoped for a win to mark Beckham's 100th appearance for his national team.
But Franck Ribery scored from the penalty spot in the 32nd after England goalkeeper David James had raced off his line to foul Nicolas Anelka.
«I was happy to start the game, but it was more about getting on the pitch, getting that 100th cap,» Beckham said.
While France readies for Euro 2008, England coach Fabio Capello is trying to build a team capable of qualifying for the 2010 World Cup. But his team failed to adapt to the shape he wanted and did little to worry France goalkeeper Gregory Coupet.
Spain beat World Cup champion Italy 1-0 with a 76th-minute volley from David Villa.
The Valencia striker met Fabio Cannavaro's headed clearance just inside the area and curled his shot past outstretched goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon into the top left of goal.
Defending European champion Greece maintained its 12-year unbeaten streak over Portugal with a 2-1 win in Duesseldorf, Germany. It was the first time the two countries had played since the final of the 2004 European Championship, which Greece won 1-0.
Georgios Karagounis scored both goals, curling a shot from the edge of the area over the wall in the 33rd and producing a similar goal in the 60th. Nuno Gomes pulled one back in the 75th for Portugal, which was missing injured midfield playmakers Cristiano Ronaldo and Deco.
Poland lost 3-0 to the United States, which got goals from Carlos Bocanegra, Oguchi Onyewu and Eddie Lewis. Poland is preparing for its first European Championship.

Croatia, which finished ahead of England in Euro 2008 qualifying, was held to a 1-1 draw by Scotland.
Croatia took the lead in the 10th when Niko Kranjcar scored with a long-range shot after taking a throw-in from Luka Modric, while Scotland leveled in the 30th through Kenny Miller.
Romania showed its potential when it beat Russia 3-0 in Bucharest off goals from Ciprian Marica, Daniel Niculae and Marius Niculae.
Turkey drew 2-2 at Belarus, needing a 71st-minute equalizer from Tumer Metin.
Jan Koller scored to salvage a 1-1 draw for the Czech Republic against Denmark. Koller, the all-time leading Czech scorer, headed in the equalizer in the 42nd off a cross from Libor Sionko.
Nicklas Bendtner had put the Danes ahead in the 25th.
Argentina beat Egypt 2-0 in Cairo off goals from Sergio Aguero and Nicolas Burdisso, and Mexico rallied to beat Ghana 2-1 in London.

Euro 2008 bedder book quickly!

there’s still 2 months to go, and a whole host of (extraordinarily important) Championships, relegation and promotion to be decided within the domestic game – but it seems that anyone looking at booking accommodation over at Euro 2008 should do so quickly, or so our pals at India eNews tell us anyway. You see, with only 31,000 hotel beds available for the hundreds of thousands of fans expected to descend on the normally tranquil towns of Zurich, Berne, Geneva and Basel – those that haven’t got in already may well be scrumming for campsites, town centre benches, or pleading with barmen to let them sleep on the floor if they promise to drink the bar dry.

And the situation already looks a touch hopeless, with Berne tourism spokesman Bernhard Rhyn telling the Swiss wire agency ATS/SDA “In Berne the hotels are all booked up for match days.’ The city has just 2,000 hotel rooms while between 60,000 and 120,000 guests are expected. The situation is similar in the other three cities.”

And with cruise ships moored up in Basel to accommodate more fans – expect to see a number of crazy schemes put in place from those enterprising Swiss. Already with so called Fan Camps springing up to provide additional overnight accommodation (or plans for them at least) – I won’t be surprised to see spare rooms, sheds, or even tree-houses with ‘To Let’ signs above them come June 2008.

But why should one visit Euro 2008 other than for a feast of non-English related football? Well, just follow this link for some very good, (large-breasted) reasons from World Cup 2006….

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Sevilla starlets out to impress

As Luis Aragonés continues to cast his eye over the talent at his disposal ahead of UEFA EURO 2008™, Sevilla FC starlets Diego Capel and Jesús Navas will have been delighted to discover Spain assistant coach Armando Ufarte in the stands the Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán Stadium on Sunday night.

Young hopefuls
Ufarte is likely to report back to Aragonés with glowing remarks after the midfield pair both impressed in the 2-0 win against Villarreal CF. Neither Capel nor Navas have played for Spain and it is ten months since a Sevilla player, Javi Navarro, last represented the country. The 34-year-old Navarro made his debut under Aragonés and has been capped four times, but a knee injury has kept him out of action all season. Goalkeeper Andrés Palop was called up for a friendly match against Greece in August 2007, but is yet to make his debut. He could now be beaten to that honour by Capel and Navas who will hope to force their way into Aragonés's plans for the summer following good campaigns at club level.

Spanish dream
Like the 22-year-old Navas, Capel has been a regular for both Spain's Under-21s and Seville, and having enjoyed his first taste of the UEFA Champions League this season, he is hoping to step up another level. "I'm doing well with the U21s and I want to carry on working to make my dream of playing with the senior side come true," the 20–year-old told uefa.com in March. "Every player strives to get that far." Both will be waiting anxiously to see if that dream is fulfilled this summer.

France stars to relive 1998 glory

The French Football Federation has announced plans to celebrate the ten-year anniversary of France's FIFA World Cup triumph with a gala match between the triumphant 1998 team and a world XI at the Stade de France on 12 July.

'An honour'
Les Bleus clinched the title for the first time with a 3-0 victory over Brazil in Paris thanks to Zinédine Zidane's double and a further goal from Emmanuel Petit, and Aimé Jacquet's victorious side will now be reunited exactly a decade later. "It's a great pleasure and an honour for me," said Jacquet, who confirmed at a press conference on Tuesday that he would be retaking his place in the dugout for the game. "Today the France shirt has a real identity."

Lizarazu memories
Meanwhile, former France left-back Bixente Lizarazu said he was looking forward to commemorating "the most beautiful moment of my career". He added: "The more time goes by, the more I tell myself that what we did in 1998 was simply incredible. My best memory remains the moment I lifted the trophy. Today there is still something special between the players who participated in France '98."

Too good to be forgotten?

Antonio Cassano and Alessandro Del Piero may yet force their way into the reckoning for Italy's UEFA EURO 2008™ squad despite missing out on recent friendlies.

Friendly absentees
With just two months and a day to go until Italy's opening Group C game against the Netherlands on 9 June, many believe that coach Roberto Donadoni has already got a clear idea of the squad that he will take to Austria and Switzerland, but Cassano and Del Piero are not giving up hope despite being excluded from recent friendly get-togethers with the national team.

Fierce temper
Currently on loan from Real Madrid CF at UC Sampdoria, Cassano's strength and creativity mark him out as a special talent, but the 25-year-old's temperament has become almost as famous. The former AS Bari and AS Roma star's fiery response to referees and even team-mates has seen him collect a steady flow of red and yellow cards. As a case in point, he only just returned from a five-match suspension on Sunday to help his side win 2-0 against AS Livorno Calcio and keep Sampdoria in the hunt for a UEFA Champions League place.

'Second to nobody'
Cassano scored the final goal of Italy's ill-fated UEFA EURO 2004™ finals campaign but was not in the squad for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Nonetheless, his record of seven goals in 16 league games this season may prove hard for Donadoni to ignore. "I spoke with Donadoni a few days ago," said Cassano. "You have to deal with him in a certain way and I hope I managed it. In my opinion I'm second to nobody, not even Cristiano Ronaldo or Kaká, so I think my presence in Austria and Switzerland would be an advantage for Italy."

Splendid performance
At 33, Juventus striker Del Piero is a little more reserved in his outlook, but his goalscoring record speaks for itself, with 13 strikes from 30 Serie A games this season. His side lost 3-2 at US Città di Palermo on Sunday, but Del Piero scored twice and also rattled the post with a magnificent free-kick, as if any reminder were needed of his ability.

'Dual target'
The vastly experienced Del Piero has not given up hope of a UEFA EURO 2008™ berth either, saying: "I have two targets this year. First, I will do my best to help Juventus get into next year's UEFA Champions League. Second, I hope Donadoni will make me part of the squad for UEFA EURO 2008™. I have worked hard this season and I think I deserve the call, even though the coach is free to make his own decision." It will surely not be a decision he will take lightly.

Ronaldo to receive Red Cross cheque

Cristiano Ronaldo will be presented with a cheque for CHF100,000 by UEFA for the UEFA EURO 2008™ Score for the Red Cross campaign before Wednesday's UEFA Champions League quarter-final second leg between Manchester United FC and AS Roma at Old Trafford.
Dual recognition

The presentation is in recognition of his selection in the uefa.com users' Team of the Year 2007 and his being named as ambassador for Score for the Red Cross, which is jointly organised by UEFA and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to benefit land-mine victims in Afghanistan by providing them with artificial limbs, physiotherapy and vocational training.

Attractive prizes
The cheque is also a first donation from UEFA to the Score for the Red Cross online fundraising campaign. Internet users will be able to help their favourite UEFA EURO 2008™ side win the title of Most Humanitarian Team by purchasing virtual goals on www.scorefortheredcross.org. They will have the chance to win attractive prizes including tickets to EURO matches in Austria and Switzerland. The winning team will be announced on 6 July.

'Everyone's a winner'
UEFA will also donate €4,000 for every goal scored and €5,000 for every goal scored by Ronaldo for Portugal during the final tournament. "The great thing about this campaign is that everyone is a winner when it comes to giving and receiving," Ronaldo said. "The website offers football fans a chance to have fun while making a difference. What could be better than that?"

Fan favourite
The 23-year-old – who has scored 37 goals in all competitions this season – was voted into the annual uefa.com Team of the Year announced in January by uefa.com users, receiving over 170,000 votes in the right midfielder category. The other players voted into the XI were: Iker Casillas (Real Madrid CF), Daniel Alves (Sevilla FC), Alessandro Nesta (AC Milan), John Terry (Chelsea FC), Eric Abidal (FC Barcelona), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool FC), Kaká (AC Milan), Clarence Seedorf (AC Milan), Zlatan Ibrahimović (FC Internazionale Milano) and Didier Drogba (Chelsea FC). Ronaldo's manager at Old Trafford, Sir Alex Ferguson, took the coaching honours.

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Germany celebrate 100th anniversary

German Football Association (DFB) president Dr Theo Zwanziger reflected on an "incredible journey" ahead of the 100th anniversary of Germany's first match, a 5-3 loss to Switzerland on 5 April 1908.

Becker opener
A crowd of 3,500 braved a hailstorm to watch the match at the Sportplatz Landhof in Basel and they saw Fritz Becker put Germany ahead with his country's first goal. Switzerland quickly hit back and went into the interval 3-1 in front before the teams shared four goals after the break. Since then, Germany have seen more ups than downs, winning the FIFA World Cup in 1954, 1974 and 1990 and the UEFA European Championship in 1972, 1980 and 1996. From 1952, the team was known as West Germany for 38 years until 12 September 1990 when they defeated Belgium 2-0 in the first international match following reunification.

'Successful run'
"We've had quite a successful run," Zwanziger said. "Eight years after the DFB was founded, the national team played its inaugural game. Just think about of the achievements that were triggered by football in Germany, especially after World War II. Football always moved the people living here, either because of the many major triumphs or our defeats. We have really had an incredible journey."

Matthäus record
Germany's biggest victory was 16-0 against Russia on 1 July 1912; their worst defeat was against rivals England, 9-0 on 16 March 1909. To mark the anniversary, the 'Club of former national players' will be founded on 5 April. It will have 630 members, including Germany's most capped player Lothar Matthäus who made a record 150 appearances for his countr