Fernando Meira likely to leave Stuttgart
July 5, 2008
Local newspaper ‘Stuttgarter Zeitung’ reports on Friday that the skipper wants to leave the club as soon as possible.
Club and player agreed last year that if a bigger club shows interest in Meira, he will be allowed to make a move.
According to player manager Roger Wittman, European giants as Liverpool and Juventus have revealed to have an interest in the defender.
"Once the player is put on the transfer list, everything will go very fast. There’s always interest for a player of his qualities," said Wittman.
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Euro 2008 - Best of Euro 2008
June 24, 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.
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Flying Dutchmen aiming for Euro glory
June 21, 2008
At least one Dutch coach will be in the last four of the European Championships. If a great playing record is among the criteria it will be Marco van Basten; if it’s a coaching pedigree that counts it will be Guus Hiddink.
Netherlands coach Van Basten is aiming to become the first person to win the European tournament as both player and coach after his goal-scoring prowess helped the Dutch clinch their one and only major title in 1988. Hiddink, in charge of Russia, stands in his way in a quarter-final clash in Basle on Saturday as he aims to reach a third major tournament semi-final with three different nations.
Hiddink, at 61, is one of the most renowned coaches in the international game. He has won six Dutch titles and coached four nations - the Netherlands, Russia, South Korea and Australia. Both South Korea and the Netherlands reached World Cup semis under the coach.
VanbastenVan Basten, at 43, is a relative coaching newcomer, in charge of the Dutch national side in his first coaching post and with no experience yet of club management. He takes over at Ajax from July 1 in his maiden club appointment. In 1988, when Basten volleyed a brilliant goal past Soviet Union keeper Rinat Dasayev to seal a 2-0 victory in the Euro final in Munich, Hiddink had been making his own spectacular mark on the game by leading PSV Eindhoven to a domestic double and a European Cup victory against Benfica in Stuttgart.
Their two paths have rarely crossed. Van Basten was an Ajax player who went on to great things at AC Milan before injury cut short his playing career. Hiddink played in midfield for most of his career at De Graafschap, with a spell at PSV Eindoven and in the United States.
A much-travelled coaching career includes spells at Fenerbahce, Valencia, Real Madrid and Real Betis. However, there are similarities. Van Basten may well have noted Hiddink’s management style during the latter’s tenure of the Dutch national side a decade ago, between 1994 and 1998. Hiddink has never shied from confronting big-name players he feels are not fitting in with his scheme of things.
He demands only the best, and needed a firm grip when he took on a talented Dutch squad which was fraught with internal dissent. At Euro 1996 he sent midfielder Edgar Davids home after a dispute, and two years later took a side playing entertaining football to the semi-finals of the World Cup where they were beaten by Brazil on penalties.
Russian players also seem to have benefited from Hiddink’s no-nonsense style. He is a father figure to the youngest squad in the tournament, but that did not prevent him reading the riot act after the team slid to a 4-1 defeat to Spain in their opening game of the tournament.
“I demand a response. I don’t want to sound cocky, but if you want to play at international level then the demands I lay down means you can go one of two ways: either fly, or fight. That’s the choice we offered. They chose to fight,” he said after an impressive 2-0 victory over Sweden to book their quarter-final place. He added: “You cannot guarantee that they will play every game that well, but you can guarantee that players know the principles, what the values are of being in the national team. That’s what we’ve emphasised in our team meetings.” Van Basten has shown similar rigour since taking over the Dutch four years ago.
He had no hesitation in dropping mainstays like Clarence Seedorf, Patrick Kluivert, Davids and Roy Makaay. Seedorf was later recalled but then before the tournament said he no longer wanted to play under van Basten, while Bayern Munich midfielder Mark van Bommel has also fallen out with the coach and appears to be no longer in his planning. Ruud van Nistelrooy is another player who has seen the tough side of van Basten after he was benched at the 2006 World Cup.
The Real Madrid striker quit the international team after the tournament, but is now back in the fold in a Dutch side which impressively defeated world champions Italy 3-0 and France 4-1. The coach was heavily criticised before the tournament by many back home including playing great Johan Cruyff for pragmatic tactics which shun the traditional Dutch 4-3-3 system. But he stuck to his principles.
He has so far been proven right. Both Dutch coaches are flying at Euro 2008 after splendid football from their sides. But on Saturday there will be a hard landing for one of them.
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Man City targets Barca starlet Dos Santos
March 25, 2008
Reports are out that Manchester City have expressed an interest in Barcelona’s 18-year-old forward Giovani dos Santos. This is according to the father of the young player, Zizinho.
Mexico international Dos Santos broke into Barcelona’s senior squad last season, but the rise of fellow young star Bojan Krkic has limited his appearances in the Catalan giants’ starting XI this year.
The player’s father told the media that there is an interest from English side Manchester City but said he cannot give further details as Giovani’s agent is the one who is in charge of all this and that it’s him who is dealing with negotiations.
Zizinho also added that he can’t say for sure if Dos Santos will play for another team and that his son is currently concentrating on Barcelona as there is a few more games left to play for this season.
Dos Santos has played 25 times for the Spanish giants this season in all competitions, scoring once in a Champions League game with Stuttgart.
BIO
Full name: Giovani Alex dos Santos Ramírez
Date of birth: May 11, 1989
Place of birth: Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico
Height: 1.74 m (5 ft 8+1?2 in)
Playing position: Attacking Midfielder
Current club: Barcelona
Number: 17
Popularity: 1% [?]
Stuttgart striker Mario Gomez on Chelsea radar
March 16, 2008
Transfer reports are out that English giants Chelsea FC are moving for Stuttgart striker Mario Gomez.
Media reports reported on Sunday says that owner Roman Abramovich is likely to spend big for another time inorder to beat off competition from AC Milan, Juventus and Roma for a goalscorer known as ‘Mister Zuverlassig’ (Mr Reliable) and is largely being tipped to be a star of Euro 2008 for the German national team.
It is also reported that Chelsea scouts have watched Gomez at least four times and on the last occasion saw him claim a superb hat-trick in a 6-3 win over Werder Bremen, whose attacking midfielder Diego has been touted as a successor to Frank Lampard.
Gomez was named German Footballer of the Year 2007 before the start of the season. It was confirmed that Juventus, Real Madrid and Roma were trying to buy him.
While the rest of his team struggles to keep performing to their 06/07 season standards, Gomez remains at an astonishingly high level, scoring 14 goals with only 17 appearances (as of March 2008). He currently leads the Bundesliga’s Top Scorer list, together with Bayern Munich’s Luca Toni, both having scored 14 goals so far.
BIO
Full name: Mario Gómez
Date of birth: July 10, 1985
Place of birth: Riedlingen, Germany
Height: 1.89 m (6 ft 2+1?2 in)
Playing position: Striker
Current club: VfB Stuttgart
Number: 33
Popularity: 3% [?]
