Austria Austria has never played in the Euro Championships Finals.
How they qualified It was an epic struggle that was played out in the soccer boardrooms, conference centres and bars of Europe. Along the way Russia, Hungary, four Nordic countries, Croatia and Bosnia, Greece and Turkey, Scotland and Ireland were all outmanouvered and eventually beaten by a unprecedented and overpowering display of power point presentations, computer animations, and scenic views of very large snow capped mountains.
The Coach Josef Hickersberger is in charge of the national team for a second time having helped Austria to Italia ’90. However, a shock 1-0 loss to the Faroe Islands in Euro ’92 qualifying brought his first spell to an abrupt end. This was the Faroe Islands first win in a competitive competition and the two countries have been drawn together in World Cup 2010 World Cup qualifying.
Key Players Former Sunderland and Chelsea goalkeeper Jurgen Macho looks set to start for Austria. Macho moved to Rapid Vienna for a short spell after leaving Stamford Bridge and then switched to Kaiserlautern in Germany before settling at AEK Athens last summer. Captain Andreas Ivanschitz is another Greek based player and is on a two year loan with Panathinaikos and generally plays in an attacking midfield role.
Great Euro Memory The announcement on December 12, 2002 by then UEFA President Lennart Johannsen that Austria and Switzerland would stage the tournament.
Synopsis Austria’s performances on the international stage have been so bad that at one point some fans raised a petition calling for the team to default and allow another country to take their place.
(Remenbering their success in 1992 after entering through the backdoor the Danes were excited at that prospect but nothing came of it.)
Unusually for a host nation expectations are at rock bottom. It is certainly a long way from the iconic Austrian side of the early 30s or even the team of Hans Krankl that went to the 78 and 82 World Cups. One win would be better than expected for this Austrian side.
Coming Up in World Cup Qualifying In Group 7 together with France, Romania, Serbia, Lithuania and Faroe Islands.
Croatia Croatia previously qualified for the 1996 and 2004 finals and made it to the quarter finals in 1996 before losing 2-1 to the eventual tournament winners Germany.
How they qualified As every English supporter can tell you Croatia won Group E with a game to spare and five points better than runners-up Russia. Eduardo da Silva was the man that led the scoring for Croatia with ten goals – only three behind David Healy of Northern Ireland who led all scorers with thirteen. Mladen Petric was next with seven goals.
The Coach Charismatic coach Slaven Bilic was in charge of the Under-21 side before stepping up to the senior team two summers ago. Bilic was member of the 1996 Euro side and also played two years later in the team that finished third at the World Cup in France.
As a player he plied his trade in Germany and in England with West Ham and Everton. A successful Euro 08 will only fuel the speculation that a managerial move to a Premiership team will come sooner rather than later.
Key Players The team is extremely well balanced although playmaker Luka Modric has received most of the attention to date. Modric has already signed for Tottenham Hotspur a next season he will play in the Premiership.
Croatia must get over the loss of top striker Eduardo da Silva who had his leg horrifically broken earlier this year while playing for Arsenal in the Premiership. Borussia Dortmund striker Mladen Pertric might pick up the slack.
Ivica Olic is more than capable of scoring goals as is Parma striker Igor Budan who enjoyed a good run of form towards the end of the Serie A season. The midfield is another area of strength with Niko Kranjcar a recognizable name to followers of the Premiership. The Kovac brothers Niko and Robert provide years of top class experience to the team both in defence and midfield.
Great Euro Memory After beating Turkey 1-0 in their very first finals game in 1996, Croatia followed the result up with an emphatic 3-0 shellacking of reigning champions Denmark. All three goals came in the second half with a double from Davor #### and he also set up the other for Zvonimir Boban.
Synopsis Croatia is considered to be a dark horse and one of the leading second tier contenders after the likes of France, Italy, and Germany. If there is a weakness in the side it may be in goal with Spartak Moscow keeper Stipe Pletikosa.
Coming Up in World Cup Qualifying Will meet England once again as well as Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Andorra in Group 6.
Ivan Rakitic...if you don't know about this guy yet, you will after the Euros. This kid can flat out play.
Austria...when does the skiing season start again?
lgb - there is no doubt that the English league is more physical than the Croatian one.
There is also no doubt in my mind that the Premiership is the best if not the most entertaining league on Earth.
What I was trying to say though, regardless of how tough it gets, a top class player like Modric will always find a way to excell in the league. It does not matter where he comes from.
Last edited by Sleeper000 on May 31st at 12:07 PM.
Rakitic is a phenomenal player but I do not think he's going to get enough playing time to truly explode in the competition.
Bilic favors two strikers over a 4-5-1 formation. He is not going to start Ivan instead any of the starting midfielders either unless one of them gets hurt.
It's not because the others might be more talented. It's just like Bobby said during yesterday's report, coaches tend to stick with their reliable, experienced players.
I would prefer us playing Rakitic in favor of one of the strikers, but I don't think that's happening.
Still, the player is so gifted, that averaging 30 min. per game might be all that he needs to explode for Croatia.
Bobby, good, short analysis on Croatia.
In terms of Pletikosa, you are correct in saying he's not a great keeper, but truly he's the best we've got.
I still think our defense is our greatest weakness due to their age.
I was hoping that Bilic would have included Spartak's Krizanac who had completely shutdown Tony in the UEFA semis. I mean he's definately better than Simic who has warmed up the bench at AC Milan for about a year. The general idea is the coaches prefer to rely on players they have used throughout the competition, but I believe there is more to it. After all, he has called up the likes of Kalinic who he has not used during the competition at all. I heard rumors that Bilic and Krizanac had a strife. Apparently, they have settled their differences, but that was not enough to include Krizanac in the squad.
Another interesting thought: It seems like Croatian coaches would rather pick players from the Croatian leaugue than the players from other Eastern European countries, even if those countries might have stronger leagues than the Croatian one. One other talent that was overlooked was the talented forward, Keric who plays in the Czech league.
I guess, they cannot pick everyone.
Either way, I have nothing but respect for Bilic.
Last edited by Sleeper000 on May 31st at 11:48 AM.
I envision Rakitic making the kind of impact Jaoquin made in WC 2002 for Spain, assuming the coach has the brains to put him in and give him some playing time.
There is no doubt in my mind that La Liga is the best and msot entertaining league on earth. But our opinions are just that, opinions.
Cause of concern: loss of Eduardo for the European competition. We have plenty of talent and depth in our squad but losing your difference maker will make it tough on any squad. This reminds me of WC 2002. At the time, Croatia's greatest strength was their defense. They were so good defensively that it led the likes of Klinsman to rate Croatia's defense as the best in the world and they truly were. Kovac and Simic were in their prime and the defense was martialed by the talented Igor Tudor who was one of Juventus' star players at the time. He was Croatia's best player at the time and his injury was such a huge blow that they couldn't overcome it during the competition. They lost to Mexico and embarrasingly enough to Ecuador (their first win in international competition). Of course we beat Italy again. We always play those guys tough. It makes no difference how good they are.
I sure hope Bilic has found a way to compensate for Eduardo. My pick is Rakitic in a 4-5-1 formation in favor of Olic.
We'll see.
Last edited by Sleeper000 on May 31st at 12:05 PM.
Ok. I was playing FIFA 08 and and a couple of surpirses:
- The game assumes RVP is fit and he starts ahead of Ade on the bench.
- B/c i don't know how to play, Arsenal lost 3-0 to Derby country bc the next game was against liverpool, I have to reset and learn how to play.
- I immediately traded bendtener to Liverpool in exchange for Babel, and they accepted. :)
Apparently Milan have blocked Chelsea from talking to Ancelotti about the managerial position. Abramovich reportedly has had an "informational" meeting with Ancelotti.
Also, Mourinho's replacement of Mancini is being described as the most expensive managerial move in history, with a bill that could cost the club close to £70 million. The Portuguese is expected to earn about £23million over the next three years, while Mancini is owed £37 million through to 2012, with a further £8million earmarked for his staff, whose contracts expire in 2010 and who have also been released.
Bobby, Tudor plays for Hajduk Split in Croatia. Once again, he's injured though and nobody knows when he's returning to the pitch. Sad to see a talented player like that plagued by injury after injury.
A dismal performance against Hungary, 1:1. Niko Kovac is the scorer once again.
It's only a friendly but our lack of goalscoring since Eduardo's injury worries me a little.
As we all know, the beautiful game is quite fickle and I think that Austria can still make an impact on this tournament even with one draw and two losses. Whichever nation, Poland or Croatia, does not take the full points against them will probably be left out of the knock out rounds.
But then again, Austria might lose all of their games as expected. Should be fun to see. How many more days until the Euros start? I am dieing.
Olic not the answer?
Ever since he had put on the Croatian jersey, Olic has been an enigma for the Croatian team. He is done well at club level, but for Croatia, it's been a different story. At times, he'd show flashes of brilliance like against Italy at WC 2002 or England recently. But, then there are performances like the ones against Hungary.
I see him as good backup nothing more.
If we have to go with two strikers, I'd pick the youngster Kalinic who would bring in something new or even Klasnic who would be eager to prove himself after all he's been through.
Utimately, I feel Croatia have a talented group of strikers, but currently seem out of sync. Bilic must find a way to rectify the situation.
Milan have signed Zambrotta from Barca for undisclosed terms. No doubt, at 31, a couple of years past his prime, but hopefully finds the right motivation with this new challenge.
I think Austria could play a spoiler for one country. I feel it will be most difficult for the Croats as they are playing the opening game against the hosts.
I still think, we'll go through to the QF though.
Wow, I thought Milan would try to get younger. Of course being out of the CL will cut funds significantly. Or at least the owners will say as much.
Am the only one who thinks Mancini is a step down from Grant? Hell, Chelsea had Mourinho as its manager and dismissed him because he wasn't "good enough". Now he's going to be the manager of Inter and seen as a step up from Mancini...which makes you wonder why would Chelsea go after him?
Last edited by LetsGoBuffalo on May 31st at 4:07 PM.
Just when you thought the FA couldn't sink any lower in their effort to buy votes ,after prostituting themselves at the altar of Warner ,they go and order their puppet/muppet to make Beckham the captain.
Why don't they all just bend over and....
Ha-ha... That write-up on Austria is gold. Why are they so bad? They're Germans of a sort after all?
Anyway, Croatia has a chance to make some major waves. Likeable team. Likeable coach. A good choice for English fans who have no one to root for...
Wot?
Ask Arse End Wenger what to do next? He would know. He's already preparing for life after Ar5ena1. Like, chop, chop, mon ami.
Flash, haven't told that Pharmasave can renew your prescriptions over the internet?
why in the world would Wenger go to PSG, when chelsea position in vacant? Wenger is looking to win the title next year with Arsenal, if that really worries you a lot, sorry. :)
Pumpkinseed that guy is real good, Schalke player, of course you pimping him out. Luka Modric is gonna be dynamite, but I don't want them to do to well, I want him well rested for training.
Being out of the UCL will cost Milan approx €20m. Zambrotta is still one of the best in the business at his position. The problem with players at his stage of their careers is lack of motivation more than anything. Look at many of the older Juve players the last couple of seasons - they were faced with a new challenge and they responded very well. Hopefully this Milan team, and these Milan players, most of whom have had very successful careers, see next season as a new challenge worth the fight.
Wenger will be at Arsenal till hes 65. Cesc will be at Arsenal longer then Ronaldo will be at ManU and Spurs will never move to their new stadium in Flashes lifetime and they will never win a real trophy in my lifetime.
You kind of wander through the comments and this weekend FLASHY and LGB standout from the crowd.
It's kind of like they are both just a bit out there.
One is like your mad old gran, actually quite pleasant; despite holding some seriously antiquated and/or irrelavent views; and mostly harmless and the other is just a loon, the kind that will chew carpets given the chance.
THE ENGLISH
I really don't think that any English supporter would actually "follow" any other team as they battle it out in the shadow of the Alps; and as for "root for" that would be tantamount to treason - the tower - and the headsman's axe.
We will watch it (the Euro08 tournamaent) with the goblin of regret perched on our shoulder and rarely be more than a shadow away from such thoughts as, "Rooney would have buried that one" or "Terry would have won that tackle" or For fook's sake when will the England manager realize that Lampard and Gerrard are utterly cack together in the middle?"
THE ENGLISH
We didn't qualify on merit.
PREDICTIONS
No team outside Europe will win it all.
There will be some suprises as a BIG TEAM gets handed it's posterior in front of an audience of millions.
A contentious refereeing decision will decide the fate of another team or two until the semis.
The bulk of the Austro-Swizz Riot Police will be annoyed at the lack of overtime.
Sepp and Leche will not become pen-pals.
Club football will inevitable rear it's ugly little head as compartmentalization will be eschewed in favour of something much less attractive.
Flash:
We all have to set goals - yours seems as good and ambitious as any - hope it works out for you. Now 'bag' is just photography shop talk for get some good photos, right!?
I have read reports that Ancelotti was at the top of Abramovic's wish list. I doubt that will happen, but I wouldn't mind at all. This past season or so, Milan have been as unmotivated, under achieving, lethargic as I've ever seen. I don't know how any of that can change, without making any changes, and it doesn't look there will be any changes, so all I can do is hope.
Congrats to Usain "Lightning" Bolt for breaking the world record time for the 100 metres previously held by fellow Jamaican Asafa Powell. Bolt clocked 9.72 seconds at 9:15 pm at the Rebook meet in New York yesterday to beat the 9.74 seconds held by Asafa Powell.
Last edited by ReggaeGunner on June 1st at 7:52 AM.
Apologies for being unriveted by the Euros this week (I'm sure I'll watch when it starts).
My observation of matters EPL are... while Chelsea are faffing around dusting off available managers (Roman's poison pill probably scares off the good ones), they are not being active in the transfer market. It seems that it's something that's needed if Chelsea are to make a go of it in Europe next term, maybe more than a new gaffer. If they think that hanging around till July to hire a manger and then do a major overhaul on the Chelsea engine they may be mistaken. This more than anything could de-rail their ambitions.
If Ronaldo bails and with Rooney seemingly fading, if Carvahlo is whisked away by Mourinho, if Arsenal can't find the money, it could be a bumpy ride for the fab four in Europe. We shall see.
Last edited by LosAngelesChelseaFan on June 1st at 10:56 AM.
I am the soccer analyst for the Fox Soccer Report and appear twice a week - every Monday and Friday at 10:00 EST. I have also been a regular contributor to the Fox Soccer Channel website since the summer of 2004. Over the last twenty years I have contributed to various radio and television programs throughout North America as well writing about the game for newspapers, magazines and websites.
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