I´ve lost one major final, I don´t want to lose another: Cesc

VIENNA (AFP) - Spain’s Cesc Fabregas says that he has no intention of letting Sunday’s Euro 2008 final against Germany slip through his hands. 

The Arsenal midfielder, who set up Spain’s last two goals in Thursday’s 3-0 semi-final win over Russia, knows all too well what it’s like to fall at the final hurdle having lost out to Barcelona with the Gunners in the 2006 Champions League final.

And after the Russian rout which set Spain up for a tilt at their first major honour in 44 years he insisted: "Listen I know what it’s like to lose a major final, I don’t want to lose another one."

Coach Luis Aragones has preferred to start Xavi in midfield throughout this Euro with Fabregas coming on as a super sub late on in the game.

But here at the Ernst Happel stadium Fabregas got called up sooner than expected when striker David Villa had to come off injured in the 34th minute.

Fabregas, who scored the winning penalty in the spot kick shoot out over Italy in the quarters, made what many regarded as a match winning contribution.

After Xavi had set Spain on their way the 21-year-old Fabregas was at the heart of goals from Daniel Guiza and David Silva.

Asked if this was the best game of his life he shrugged: "Maybe, but I’ll have to watch it on video again to have a better opinion.

"I don’t think I changed the game though when I came on, I just played the way I could."

He said converting the penalty that secured Spain’s 4-2 victory over Italy in the last eight had been crucially important to him and the team.

"It was a defining moment, one of the most important of my life. Everything went well, it could have gone wrong."

History now beckons for Spain who have fallen at the quarter-final stage of the World Cup or Euro three times in recent years, with their sole major honour the European championships of 1964.

"History is waiting for us, hopefully! We’ll have to try to play our best game of the tournament (against Germany)," said Fabregas.

"The Germans are very experienced and very competitive but if we play like we did tonight we have a good chance."

He’ll be coming up against an old adversary from the Premier League in Germany’s Chelsea captain Michael Ballack.

"Ballack’s doing an amazing job for Germany and for me he is one of the players of the tournament."

One key to Spain’s run of success which has seen it brush aside the Russians twice, Greece, Sweden and Italy, is their mental fortitude, a point underlined by Fabregas.

"We forged this team spirit in qualifying. There’s always this doubt in Spain. We’ve got through the semi-final and now the final but no one was expecting us to be where we are now.

"We’ve displayed great mental strength, that’s the key."

After this latest starring role Fabregas, who scored his first international goal in the opening 4-1 win over Russia, could quite understandably expect to be named in the starting XI against the Germans back here at the Ernst Happel stadium on Sunday.

But he said: "If the boss says I can play that’s better for me, but I just want to help my team."

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Germany v Turkey (Semi Final 1)

UEFA EURO 2008 SEMI-FINAL

Date: Wed 25 June Kick-off: 1945 BST Venue: St Jakob-Park, Basel

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Turkey coach Fatih Terim has been hit by injuries and suspension

Germany coach Joachim Low said Torsten Frings could play against Turkey despite suffering from a fractured rib.

The midfielder was back in training on Monday having missed the quarter-final win over Portugal.

Turkey face the prospect of having just 13 outfield players available for their Euro 2008 semi-clash.

Keeper Volkan Demirel will miss out after his two-match ban was upheld for a red card against Czech Republic and Emre (hamstring) was also ruled out.

Coach Terim said Tumer Metin might be able to play the last 30 minutes of the match despite suffering from a groin strain and he may also have to field third-choice keeper Tolgan Zengin because of the injury crisis.

"He could come on towards the end as a sub as last man in defence or a centre forward," he said.

The Turks were without six players when they beat Croatia 3-1 in a penalty shoot-out in the quarter-finals Friday, and lost a further three - Tuncay Sanli, Arda Turan and Emre Asik - to suspension after picking up yellow cards during the match at Ernst Happel Stadium in Vienna.

Striker Nihat Kahveci was ruled out of the tournament on Sunday with a thigh injury, but Uefa insists it will not be making a special dispensation for Turkey to call up more players to their squad.

Defensive midfielder Mehmet Aurelio returns from a one-match ban, but keeper Volkan still has one game left on his suspension.

Uefa spokesman William Gaillard said: "You can’t replace any players after the first game of the tournament has been played.

"We know some teams are facing difficulties, but this is a hard rule of the tournament. We have no intention of changing the tournament rules.

"If a team only had eight players to choose from before a match, then we might call an emergency meeting. But we have had no requests and we would find it a bit difficult changing now."

BIG MATCH STATS

Head-to-heads

Germany and Turkey have played each other on 17 occasions with Germany winning 11 and losing three.

Turkey are unbeaten in three successive meetings with Germany, recording two wins and one draw.

Germany’s last win over the Turks dates back to May 1992, when they won 1-0 in a friendly encounter.

Their only previous meetings at a major tournament came at the 1954 World Cup in Switzerland, when West Germany won 4-1 and 7-2.

Their last meeting in all competitions was a friendly in October 2005, in which Turkey prevailed 2-1 in Istanbul, through goals by Halil Altintop and Nuri Sahin. Oliver Neuville scored the German goal in injury time.

Played five previous European Championship semi-final matches, progressing on four occasions.

Their sole semi-final defeat came in 1988, when West Germany were knocked out by eventual winners the Netherlands (2-1).

Both Germany and Turkey finished second in their group at Euro 2008. The last two European champions (Greece in 2004 and France in 2000) also finished second in their group.

Team facts - Turkey

This is Turkey’s first European Championship semi-final. Their only previous appearance in the last four of a major tournament came at the 2002 World Cup when they were defeated 1-0 by Brazil.

Been in the lead for only nine minutes in their four matches played at Euro 2008. Including injury time, Turkey were in the lead for 2.5 minutes against Switzerland and 6.5 minutes against the Czech Republic.

Player facts - Germany

Bastian Schweinsteiger has a goal, an assist, a yellow card and a red card to his name at Euro 2008. The only other player to have achieved this feat is Denmark’s Klaus Berggreen in 1984.

If he plays, Kevin Kuranyi will win his 50th cap for Germany. He made his international debut in March 2003 in a 1-1 draw against Lithuania.

Michael Ballack has scored in two successive European Championship matches (against Portugal and Austria).

Ballack and Lukas Podolski both need two goals to equal Jurgen Klinsmann’s German record of five in the European Championship.

Ballack has now scored 38 international goals. Only six German players (Muller, Klinsmann, Voller, Rummenigge, Seeler and Klose) have scored more goals.

Player facts - Turkey

By scoring twice at Euro 2008, Arda Turan, Nihat Kahveci and Semih Senturk have all equalled Hakan Sukur as Turkey’s joint top scorers in European Championship history.

If they take to the field, Hamit Altintop will come up against his Bayern Munich team mates Marcell Jansen, Phillip Lahm, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Miroslav Klose and Lukas Podolski.

If he plays, Gokdeniz Karadeniz will win his 50th cap for Turkey. He made his international debut in a 4-0 defeat against the Czech Republic in April 2003.

35-year-old Rustu Recber is the oldest ever Turkish player in a major tournament (European Championship and World Cup combined). Rustu is Turkey’s most capped player with 117 internationals and also the most experienced Turkish player in the European Championship with eight matches to his name.

Tuncay Sanli, Arda Turan and Emre Asik are suspended for this semi-final. Goalkeeper Volkan Demirel is also suspended pending his appeal.

So far, Turkey have received 15 cards at Euro 2008, only four shy of the competition record set by the Czech Republic in 1996.

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Euro 2008 - Best of Euro 2008

With only one game of Euro 2008 remaining, Eurosport takes a look at the games, goals, gaffes and girls that have caught the eye.

Player of the tournament - To be decided

At this stage of proceedings, no player has yet grabbed the competition by the scruff of its neck and bent it to his will.

Wesley Sneijder was the undisputed star of the group stage, conducting the Netherlands to sensational victories over Italy and France, while Andrei Arshavin sparkled brilliantly before fading completely in Russia’s semi-final defeat to Spain.

The tournament’s top strikers - David Villa, Roman Pavlyuchenko and Lukas Podolski - have impressed only fleetingly, while Spain’s super substitute Cesc Fabregas is yet to start a meaningful game.

Michael Ballack has led the German charge to the final, ably assisted by goalscoring winger Bastian Schweinsteiger, but any one of about six or seven players could land the player of the tournament gong with a match-winning performance in the final.

Goal of the tournament - Wesley Sneijder v Italy

There has been a dearth of quality long-range goals in the tournament, with players struggling to get to grips with a ball that’s displayed the flyaway qualities of one of those 50p balls you find in motorway service stations.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s thunderbolt against Greece, Ballack’s net-busting free-kick against Austria and Sneijder’s stunning coup de grace for the Netherlands in the 4-1 trouncing of France are the obvious exceptions, but there have also been some sublime team goals.

Arshavin’s goal in Russia’s 2-0 win over Sweden was a fine thing to behold, but it’s the Dutch who mastered the art of the counter-attack most effortlessly, and Sneijder’s beautifully struck half-volley after a flowing team move in the 3-0 win over Italy was the best of the lot.

Miss of the tournament - Mario Gomez v Austria

19:49 BST, Monday 16 June, Ernst Happel Stadium, Vienna. Germany are playing Austria and need a win to progress to the next round.

With just four minutes on the clock, out-of-form striker Mario Gomez is presented with an open goal by team-mate Miroslav Klose, but from barely four yards out and with the goal at his mercy he spoons the ball into the air and Austrian defender Gyorgy Garics is able to head it off the line.

Hakan Yakin was guilty of a similarly glaring miss in Switzerland’s 2-1 defeat to Turkey, but for the glimpse into a very private hell that Gomez’s miss provided, the Stuttgart striker gets the nod.

Game of the tournament - Turkey 3-2 Czech Republic

There have been some tremendous games in the tournament, with the Netherlands’ thumping victories over Italy and France catching the eye before they were eliminated in stunning fashion at the quarter-final stage by Russia.

Germany edged a thrilling quarter-final against Portugal 3-2 thanks to some appallingly slack defending from Luis Felipe Scolari’s men, but for pure edge-of-the-seat excitement, it has to be Turkey’s incredible comeback victory over the Czech Republic in Group A.

Needing to win to go through, Turkey trailed 2-0 with just 15 minutes to play, but after Arda Turan had halved the deficit Nihat Kahveci took advantage of a howler from Petr Cech to level before curling a superb injury-time winner in off the crossbar to send the Turks into the last eight.

Save of the tournament - Gianluigi Buffon v Romania

With nine minutes remaining of the Group C match between Italy and Romania, Christian Panucci conceded a penalty that could have knocked the world champions out of the tournament.

Romania captain Adrian Mutu stepped up and drilled the ball firmly down the centre of the goal but, despite having already dived down to his left, Italy keeper Gianluigi Buffon shot out his right hand to claw the ball away and keep his side in the competition.

Gaffe of the tournament - Petr Cech v Turkey

Turkey goalkeeper Rustu Recber produced a horrendous flap which enabled Klose to head Germany into a 2-1 lead in the semi-final between the sides, but Cech’s error against the Turks - when he let a high right-wing cross squirm out of his grasp and into the path of Nihat - was probably the worst of the tournament, even more so because it was so completely out of character.

Coach of the tournament - Fetih Terim, Turkey

Dutchmen Marco van Basten and Guus Hiddink oversaw some fine performances from the Netherlands and Russia, but both sides choked when it mattered most.

Croatia coach Slaven Bilic had his side playing some similarly eye-catching stuff, and somehow managed to ally breathless touchline enthusiasm with effortless cool, but for taking a decidedly unfancied Turkey side to the brink of the final - whilst all the while throwing his arms around like an epileptic orangutang - Fatih Terim is our top boss.

Biggest disappointment - France

How a squad containing the attacking talents of Thierry Henry, Franck Ribery, Karim Benzema and Nicolas Anelka could exit the tournament with just a single goal to their name is something of a mystery, but in the end they were undone by too many ageing legs and a collective loss of form.

Insipid against Romania, they were then trounced by the Dutch and didn’t even look like scoring in the 2-0 defeat to Italy.

Still, every cloud has a silver lining, and in Ribery, Benzema, Samir Nasri and Hatem Ben Arfa - not to mention the likely departure of coach Raymond Domenech - there is hope for the future.

Worst match - France v Romania

Sweden’s 2-0 win over Greece in Group D was an absolute stinker, but it did at least boast some goals.

France’s goalless draw with Romania, on the other hand, had no redeeming features whatsoever, with the sides registering just one shot on target between them in the whole game, and that a side-footed pea-roller from Benzema that might not have made it into the net even if Romanian goalkeeper Bogdan Lobont hadn’t been there to get in the way.

Best WAG - Sarah Brandner

A difficult category to judge, seeing as none of the WAGs have actually done anything, but a top three of Noemie Lenoir (Claude Makelele), Sarah Brandner (Bastian Schweinsteiger) and Sylvie Meis (Rafael van der Vaart) provides plenty of food for thought.

Lenoir and Meis both score highly in the glamour stakes, but for sheer commitment (she turned up to every Germany match, quaffed pints of lager and she’s dating a footballer who looks like a pimply adolescent), it has to be Fraulein Brandner (pictured).

Best fans - Netherlands

It’s a massive cliche, but once again the Dutch fans illuminated the tournament with their crazy orange-clad antics and unstinting commitment to wacky fancy-dress.

So impressed was the mayor of Berne with the behaviour of the Oranje fans during their group-stage sojourn in the city that he presented the squad with turf from the Stade de Suisse Wankdorf where they had played.

As useless gifts go it’s right up there with ornamental animals, but at least they made an impression.

Tom Williams / Eurosport

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Ballack Lifts Germany to Quarterfinals

Germany captain Michael Ballack scored on a wicked second-half free kick Monday for a 1-0 win over Austria and a place in the quarterfinals of the European Championship.
In a game marked by the ejection of both coaches before halftime, Ballack sent in a 25-yard shot in the 49th minute to advance Germany and end the hopes of its smaller neighbor.

Germany finished Group B as runner-up to Croatia and will face 2004 runner-up Portugal in the quarterfinals on Thursday.

Having been irked by several decisions against his team, including a yellow card to striker Erwin Hoffer for a late but minor challenge on Ballack, Austria’s Josef Hickersberger was the first coach expelled, in the 41st minute. Germany’s Joachim Loew then stood toe-to-toe with a UEFA official before being sent from the field as well.

The coaches shook hands before trudging away, with whistles and jeers echoing around the stadium from bemused fans. But the jeers, at least those of the German fans, soon turned to cheers.

Ballack had often dropped deep to help the defense rather than lead from the front as he did so convincingly at Chelsea last season. But a foul by Andreas Ivanschitz gave Germany a free kick and Ballack rocketed it into the top corner, far beyond goalkeeper Juergen Macho’s reach.

Needing victory to edge its rival for a place in the next round, Austria created several chances in front of a sold-out crowd of 51,428 at Ernst Happel Stadium, but — as in its 1-0 loss to Croatia and 1-1 draw with Poland — could not convert them.

The lack of a world-class player to finish off moves was the main reason a spirited and energetic team failed to make it to the next round.

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