The Archive

What are the expectations for the team?
After being drawn in a group containing both 2006 World Cup finalists, the expectations are not high, especially after some shaky qualifying performances, such as a single-goal victory over Luxembourg and a collapse against Belarus in Minsk at the end of 2007. However, the national team have survived the first round of every European Championship since Marco van Basten, Ruud Gullit and Co won the title in 1988 so there is always the possibility of another penalty shootout defeat in the quarter- or semifinals.

Have any players appeared in commercials or any other adverts?
Edwin van der Sar features in a commercial for healthy mints, in which he stops penalties taken by Bad Breath, Tooth Slice and Coffee Stain. The revenues may go to a good cause.

Is the coach popular?
Not really. Van Basten’s preference for Ajax reserves is suspect, while the way he stubbornly clung on to the two-winger system when there wasn’t a recognised one in the squad was a bit strange – but players have recently talked him out of that. However, every Dutch national coach suffers from the nation’s expectation of being entertained. Winning is not good enough, we want “dream football”, too.

Are there any players with unusual hobbies or business interests?
Clarence Seedorf is the owner of a 125cc Moto GP team. He has also founded the Clarence Seedorf Stadium in Paramaribo and aims to lead Surinam to the World Cup. The Netherlands Antilles also hope to dip into the talent pool of black players in the Eredivisie, which may affect the Dutch national team in the future.

What will the media coverage be like?
There is a tendency to use coaches as pundits. “This would never happen against any team of mine” is always a subtext of their comments. Louis van Gaal quit during the qualifying tournament, saying he had pointed out the same mistakes in the team tactics over and over again and felt he was repeating himself. However, it is very difficult for Van Gaal to keep his opinions to himself, so when asked, he will surely turn up somewhere on the telly. As will Johan Cruyff who was simultaneously a TV pundit and an advisor to Van Basten during the 2006 World Cup. After the bad-tempered loss to Portugal in the last 16, Cruyff defended Van Basten in his newspaper column the next day and blamed the defeat on government minister Rita Verdonk, who had refused to give Salomon Kalou a Dutch passport.

Will there be many fans travelling to the tournament?
Most Dutch tickets are taken by sponsors, the biggest one an insurance company, who use them to reward their agents and employees. It is a new form of hooliganism. At the 2006 World Cup there were frightening stories of unsuspecting foreign fans isolated in pub corners by men dressed in orange who bombarded them with stories about life insurance, investment plans and favourable loan rates.

Ernst Bouwes

What are the expectations for the team?
As world champions, Italy are expected to do very well, but a huge question mark hangs over coach Roberto Donadoni, who has done well so far but has little support from the Italian federation. His job security has not been helped by leaving out Alessandro Del Piero, who still has many supporters among the media and has been playing brilliantly for Juventus. Failure to survive a tough group would mean the end for Donadoni, but he may go in any case, unless he wins the whole thing.

Are there any players who have appeared in TV commercials or other advertising?
Rino Gattuso has been starring in ads for Vodafone, most of them alongside Francesco Totti. His strong southern accent casts him as a wily regional character with national appeal, which also helped him get a role in promoting – tongue-in-cheek, as he does not pass as the most erudite person – an encyclopedia. Andrea Pirlo, Marco Materazzi and Daniele De Rossi appeared in an ad for bank giants Unicredit, in which someone in the street looks in their general direction, does a double take, then walks past them to greet three other men in a table behind them with the words: “Hey, I know you, you work for Unicredit!” When the man nods towards the three footballers’ table, pointing his finger at the three bank workers and adding “See, what a team!”, Pirlo stands up in anger but is restrained by his fellow Azzurri.

Which players are good interviewees and who are the worst?
Fabio Cannavaro, as captain, is as close to an official spokesman for the team as there could be, but he doesn’t say much. Gigi Buffon can be blunt and dour at the same time but will never be short of things to say, while Gattuso’s sincerity in calling out those who do not appear to be willing to pull their weight, as he sometimes does for Milan, may also be something you’d like to listen to.

Do any of the players have famous girlfriends or wives?
Buffon’s girlfriend, Alena Seredova, is a Czech model and a TV personality of the kind you’ll see on Italian football shows for no specific reason other than her good looks – while Luca Toni’s is model Marta Cecchetto, no celebrityseeker as they met while he was an unknown lower-division player. Players’ wives and girlfriends are often in the papers and gossip magazines but they have never reached WAG level, although it was said the number of hangers-on and players’ families who were allowed into the team hotel at Euro 2004 in Portugal contributed to the general failure of that side.

What will the media coverage be like?
Sky Italy have bought the rights to the Euro 2008 but RAI, the state-owned television company, will show selected matches, including probably those involving Italy. RAI has become something of an audition stage for coaches in search of a job: Fabio Capello, who has returned as a pundit a decade after he first appeared, provides sharp, insightful comment in between England duties. Generally speaking, Sky, who count Marcello Lippi, Paolo Rossi, Gianluca Vialli and Luca Marchegiani among their contributors, provide much better coverage, if typically over-hyped (Lippi, with a World Cup under his belt, says “there’s nothing like the Champions League” in one of Sky’s ads, for example). Newspapers will typically send two or more reporters to cover every sneeze and breath of the Azzurri and perhaps assign a couple or more to other groups. Coverage and interest would dramatically drop if Italy fail to progress, though.

Will there be many fans travelling to the tournament?
Italy are sure to be among the best supported sides especially in Switzerland. Not only do many Italians live there, but it takes only a few hours to drive from northern Italy to Zurich and Bern, where the Azzurri will play their first-round matches. But there is only a small hardcore group of fans who try to travel everywhere, the rest are just spur-of-the-moment supporters. The Azzurri only enjoy great support when they start winning, but do not be fooled by the TV shots of people cruising the streets on mopeds or cars or jumping into fountains: the average Italy match raises few eyebrows.

Roberto Gotta

What are the expectations for the team?
At the peak of a huge match-fixing and corruption scandal, the national team are seen as the last bastion of honour for Polish football. High hopes were dashed after a recent friendly 30 drubbing at home to the United States and nobody is building their hopes up after the last two disastrous World Cups. Especially considering that we are in a strong group. People may be hoping for floodlight failure as happened during the qualifying game against Kazakhstan – our boys scored three goals straight after the lights came back on. Those at the Polish FA who are currently undergoing a match-fixing investigation categorically have done nothing wrong.

Are there any players who have appeared in TV commercials or other advertising?
Artur Boruc used to advertise McDonald’s and he looks increasingly like he believed what he said in those ads. Coach Leo Beenhakker appears in a Tyskie beer ad where he says: “You’ve got talented people in Poland like in every other country.” It was met with disbelief and analysed more than a zillion times. What if it’s actually true? There must be something in what a man who earns €50,000 a month says.
 
Is the coach popular?
Beenhakker is far more popular than all the players put together. His name is constantly sung during games. He is revered as a sorcerer who has found a way to inspire the often very average players from a weak Polish league. Not only have results improved, but the national team developed their own style for the first time since the 1980s. There are malicious rumours that it’s all down to his interpreter, the former Celtic favourite Jacki Dziekanowski, who apparently says the complete opposite to what Leo means.

Which players are good interviewees and who are the worst?
The Holland-born Ebi Smolarek, when in a mood to speak Polish in an understandable way, has often got something interesting to say. Boruc is a straight talker – after making some amazing saves against Germany during last World Cup he didn’t want any praise at all. All he had to say for himself was that he was just lucky to be hit by the ball. At the other end of the spectrum you will find Ireneusz Jele of Auxerre, who is an interview disaster, his gems including: “We lost because the opponents were more fasterer.”

Are then any players with unusual hobbies or business interests?
Jacek Bak is an enthusiastic skier. Boruc says he wants to travel to away games with Legia Warsaw fans after retiring. Young forward Kamil Grosicki has been treated for gambling addiction.

Will there be any rehearsed goal celebrations?
Does picking the ball out of your own net to restart a game as quickly as possible count?

Are there any players involved in politics?
A good result against the Germans would make Leo a serious candidate for president.

What will the media coverage be like?
Famous former goalkeeper Jan Tomaszewski will certainly have lots to say, but it will be inversely proportional to any sense conveyed. Former national coach Jacek Gmoch will be a close runner-up. His numerous slip-ups and fiendish laughter have earned him cult status, as has his legendary inability to understand the away-goals rule.

Will there be many fans travelling to the tournament?
We were one of the better supported teams during the Euro qualifiers with many exiles travelling from the UK and Ireland. But in a typical piece of cronyism the PZPN (the FA) distributed almost all the finals tickets among the so-called “Polish football family”, leaving only about 2,000 tickets per game for genuine supporters.

Maciej Slominski

What are the expectations for the team?
Expectations are pretty low with Austria for the first time not being listed in the top 100 of the FIFA rankings, below such teams as New Zealand and The Gambia. But the last game against the Netherlands has brought back some hope – Austria took a three-goal lead in the first half, although they did lose 4-3. Of course, when the Euro 2008 euphoria starts all the bad results of recent years will be forgotten. But with opponents such as Germany and Croatia euphoria may not be enough.

Are there any players who have appeared in TV commercials or other advertising?
Our captain Andreas Ivanschitz has been busy flogging LG television sets and the whole team like to eat at McDonald’s, which may offer a clue to their recent performances.

Is the coach popular?
Not that I know of. But Josef Hickersberger has proven that he can absorb a lot of criticism without needing counselling and has therefore has earned some respect among the fans and journalists. Hickersberger was also Teamchef for Austria’s worst ever result, the 1-0 defeat against the Faroe Islands in 1990. He knows that only a successful European Championship – that is, getting to the knockout stages – can help the nation to forget this embarrassment.

Which players are good interviewees and who are the worst?
Striker Roland Linz can be a difficult character but at least he shows a sense of humour. Goalkeeper Alex Manninger can also be entertaining, albeit unintentionally due to the hyper way he tends to behave in post-match interviews.

Are then any players with unusual hobbies or business interests?
In general the team is very young and the unspectacular hobbies range from snowboarding to going to cinema and eating popcorn. Defender Johnny Ertl plays guitar in a Rock band called Ohne Lizenz, which could be translated as “Without concession”, and goalkeeper Jürgen Macho – now with AEK Athens – used to be a member of the diehard supporters’ group Rapid Ultras in his early days in Vienna.

Do any of the players have famous girlfriends or wives?
Roland Linz used to be involved with an international swimmer, Fabienne Nadarajah – but that is a thing of the past. Why should famous women want to be connected with unknown footballers?

Will there be any rehearsed goal celebrations?
Last year Austria scored only seven times in 12 matches. There are no discussions about how best to celebrate goals.

Will any former players be involved in media coverage?
Players from the World Cups of 1978 and 1998 such as Hans Krankl and Toni Polster are doomed to spend the rest of their lives ranting about how they would take the national team to new heights if only someone would let them. But Krankl has already had his chance. One exception is Krankl’s contemporary, Herbert Prohaska, an Austria Vienna legend who also played in Italy. He analyses matches for the national channel ORF and – despite or even because of some linguistic problems – has somehow managed to become a national treasure.

Do Austrian fans have any favourite chants or songs?
Yes, but they are rather boring. Immer wieder Oesterreich (Forever Austria) is probably the best known. Try the league for much better chants.

Stefan Kraft

What are the expectations for the team?
After the astonishing 2006 World Cup, public expectation is high, especially since Germany had the luck of the draw again and all the big names are in the other half. After all, Germany have won at least one major title in every decade since the 1970s. But then again, the Nationalmannschaft haven’t won a single European finals match since 1996.

Are there any players who have appeared in TV commercials or other advertising?
The national team have been sponsored by Mercedes-Benz for several decades and, for every big event, a TV commercial is produced. This time, the players are dressed in 19th-century climbers’ outfits, crossing the Alps to get to Austria. The idea is semi-funny, but Michael Ballack’s fake moustache brings back memories of the days when a hairy upper lip was obligatory if you wanted to play for Germany.

Is the coach popular?
Joachim (“Jogi”) Löw was Jürgen Klinsmann’s sidekick and said to be the mastermind behind Germany’s new attacking style in 2006. He is good looking (except for his moptop haircut) and articulate, so the public and the media love him. Club officials, however, are unnerved by his continuous criticism of their allegedly outdated training methods.

Which players are good interviewees and who are the worst?
From an interviewer’s point of view, Jens Lehmann is the worst person to talk with. Whatever he is asked, he reacts with a disregard that verges on hatred. A sigh of relief was heard in the press corps when Arsenal’s substitute goalie imposed an interview ban before Germany’s friendly with Switzerland in March. On the other hand, Lukas Podolski’s ability to talk faster than he thinks is always entertaining. He says things like “We must roll up our heads. And our sleeves” or “That’s football. Sometimes the better team wins”.

Are there any players with unusual hobbies or business interests?
Werder Bremen’s Thorsten Frings owned a raccoon until his wife became pregnant. He gave it to a friend, saying a voracious beast and a baby don’t mix. Stuttgart striker Mario Gomez enjoys watching the fish in his aquarium, while Schalke’s Heiko Westermann admits that his hobby is sleeping.

Do any of the players have famous girlfriends or wives?
A few years ago, Lothar Matthäus and Oliver Kahn’s nightclub acquaintances were Germany’s B-versions of Posh Spice. Today, Bastian Schweinsteiger walks in their footsteps. He once invited a girl from a Munich disco to the Jacuzzi in Bayern’s training centre. When they were discovered by the security staff at 2am, he claimed that the young lady was his cousin – which made her famous for about a week.

Are there any players involved in politics?
It’s not evident from the style of football they prefer, but Germany’s central defenders are intelligent and socially committed. Real Madrid’s Christoph Metzelder has started a foundation that seeks to help Turkish kids find their way into German society. Per Mertesacker of Werder Bremen is a devout Lutheran protestant and helps promote the church’s youth festivals.

What will the media coverage be like?
Unfortunately, the pundit partnership of 1970s hero Günter Netzer and journalist Gerhard Delling will disappear from the screen at the end of Euro 2008, because Delling wants to spend more time with his family. For ten years, the two of them were a real life equivalent to the Muppet Show’s Statler and Waldorf. The match commentary will be atrocious, as usual. Worst of all is public channel ZDF’s Wolf-Dieter Poschmann, a former middle-distance runner with a special interest in speed skating who doesn’t have a clue about football.

Will there be many fans travelling to the tournament?
Supporting Germany was left to a small group of Deutschland Deutschland chanting dimwits for many years, but in recent times the national team have become sexy. So there will be masses of – hopefully – gentle folks travelling to the tournament round the corner. In the stadium, the German fans have taken up the English habit of singing the national anthem at the start of the second half. The Austria v Germany match will be accompanied by mutual insults on the terraces.

Karsten Blaas