Archive for May, 2008
Saturday, May 31st, 2008
As EURO 2008 is coming, Gelson Fernandes, the second most expensive Swiss player says he is ready to rock!
Although he is only 21 years old, Gelson Fernandes is already one of the most popular Swiss football players and the second most expensive one. He has all the necessary attributes that a holding midfielder has to have, as he has proved them already both for his club, and his country’s national football team. “That’s a healthy toughness,” Fernandes said, adding “He who does not work has already lost.”
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Friday, May 30th, 2008
Turkey 2-0 Finland (click here to watch the highlights)
Although a few days ago Turkey’s chances for EURO 2008 seemed to be decreasing because of some important players’ injuries, coach Fatih Terim’s team is now back in the game. Turkey didn’t give Finland the occasion to score, but Tuncay Sanli and Semih Senturk’s goals were decisive for the game.
Fatih Terim chose Servet Cetin and Mevlut Erdinc to be in the field for the match against Finland. Galatasaray AS’ defender Servet Cetin seems to be fit again for EURO 2008, although he suffered some injuries in the recent period.
In the 16th minute of the game, Tuncay Sanli scored the first goal. Finland’s team tried to do their best, but they never really threatened Turkey’s chances to win this friendly game.
So, when Semih Senturk scored the second goal for Turkey, there was no doubt that Finland lost the friendly.
Turkey won’t play any more friendlies before the first match of EURO 2008. This will be the match against Portugal and it will take place in Geneva on 7 June.
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Friday, May 30th, 2008
Russia might lose player Pavel Pogrebnyak, who has picked up a severe injury at his left knee during his team’s match against Serbia. A few hours after the game, Pogrebnyak was revealed to have gotten a problem with the meniscus in the injured knee. The diagnosis seems to be worse than one has ever expected. Russia’s victory against Serbia was thus saddened by Pogrebnyak’s injury.
After the match, the 24-year-old FC Zenit St. Petersburg player went to Munich alongside Russia’s team doctor, Andrei Grishanov, for precautionary tests. “He has a little irritation of the meniscus and a little rupture of the back part of it,” said Russia’s national football team’s coach Guus Hiddink. He also added that Pavel Pogrebnyak “won’t be training in the next few days but it is possible he will play at EURO. We will have a more precise ruling on him in the next few days. Even if the information about this injury is confirmed, I am not planning to call up another player instead of him.”
After opening the scoring in the 2-1 win against Serbia, Pogrebnyak signaled to the bench that he was in pain. Hiddink took him off immediately. “I didn’t understand [what had happened],” Pavel Pogrebnyak said. “There was no challenge but suddenly my left knee was in a lot of pain,” he added.
So, because of this injury that Pogrebnyak picked up just a few days before Russia’s first match for EURO 2008, the 24-year-old player might be forced to watch the games from the bench.
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Friday, May 30th, 2008
Surprisingly or not, the young football player Bafetimbi Gomis was chosen by France’s national football team’s coach to be part of his 23-man squad for EURO 2008.
Although some would have not even consider including AS Saint-Etienne striker in the final list for EURO 2008, it seems that coach Raymond Domenech was so impressed by Gomis’ recent performance that he had no choice but including the young player in his final list for EURO 2008.
Gomis was preferred to Djibril Cisse. The 22-year-old player impressed Domenech during the match against Ecuador on Tuesday, when he scored the game’s two goals in less than 45 minutes. “He has a real presence in front of goal,” said Arsenal FC manager Arsene Wenger about Gomis.
The young football player became the second French footballer who scored twice on his debut. The first one was the French football legend Zinedine Zidane.
“It’s good to have won the game and I’m pleased to have scored, but that’s not the most important thing,” said Gomis, whose raw power and speed have been compared to Didier Drogba’s attributes. “The fact I’ve settled in quickly and that the other players have given me a warm welcome is more important. That’s one reason why I was able to make a good debut,” Gomis also said.
Gomis might be used as a “surprise element” by coach Raymond Domenech at EURO 2008. While France’s rivals know little about the young football player, the French football fans have already started to call him “a phenomenon.” He has scored 16 goals during this season for Saint-Etienne and only his excellent condition helped the team to qualify for the UEFA Cup. “He is a phenomenon and he has a big career in front of him,” said Les Verts goalkeeper Jérémie Janot.
Nicknamed “the Panther”, Bafetimbi Gomis is already believed to be France’s “secret weapon” at EURO 2008.
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Friday, May 30th, 2008
Being named the Footballer of the Year for 2007, Marek Jankulovski becomes the second defender to receive this award after Jan Kocian, who collected it in 1990.
Marek Jankulovski is 31 years old and he received this highly motivating award as the Czech Republic’s national football team was preparing for EURO 2008. AC Milan’s player defeated Chelsea FC’s goalkeeper Petr Cech and Tomas Rosicky, Czech Republic’s Footballer of the Year for 2006, as he got more votes than these two fellow footballers.
Another “winner” was coach Karel Bruckner, who was honoured as the Czech Republic’s best coach yet again. Excepting last year, when fellow Vitezslav Lavicka took the prize, Bruckner was the only receiver of the award since 2001.
Martin Fenin, Eintracht Frankfurt’s 21-year-old forward, was also awarded as the Young Player of the Year for 2007.
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Friday, May 30th, 2008
When Germany’s national football team’s coach Joachim Low announced his final 23-man squad for EURO 2008, the country’s popular trio represented by midfielders Markus Marin and Jermaine Jones and striker Patrick Helmes did not appeared on Low’s final list.
No mistake! Just Joachim Low’s decision…
However, Germany’s coach did call this his decision a “difficult” one. “It was a very difficult decision for our staff,” said Joachim Low. “It was a millimeter decision, because every one of those three would have deserved a place in the final squad. This is no decision against their quality; they have all left behind a great impression in the training camp in Mallorca. Patrick Helmes, Jermaine Jones and Markus Marin have good chances to be back in the national team after EURO and play a good role in it,” Joachim Low also stated.
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