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Stories
Defensive performance against Spain went against coach Pavel Vrba’s usual style
17 June ~ Disappointment at conceding a late goal against Spain has given way to a more positive mood in the Czech Republic, with everything still to play for against Croatia today. Having taken an atypically defensive approach against Spain, coach Pavel Vrba has promised to return to his trademark attacking style for the remaining group games. Sparta Prague midfielder Borek Dockal, the Czechs’ leading scorer in qualification, is expected to return to the starting line-up.
Players are being criticised by fans and pundits after 1-0 defeat to Croatia
14 June ~ A week before the Euros kicked off, Turkey’s manager Fatih Terim tried to lower fans’ expectations. He declared that a draw against Croatia would be a great start to the tournament, and noted that should Croatia qualify for the knockout stages they would go very far in the tournament. By the looks of pre-game commentary on social and other forms of media, he was successful.
As domestic football improves in Ireland, players are earning professional contracts later in their careers, says Ciaran McCauley
James McClean is one of the finds of the season, a £350,000 steal for Sunderland from Derry City. Depending on what you read, he is now worth anywhere between £10 million and £200m and could yet be on his way to Euro 2012 after winning his first cap in February’s friendly against Czech Republic.
Ronnie Esplin relfects on an encouraging Euro 2012 campaign for Craig Levein’s Scotland
Craig Levein sat defiantly in the basement of the Estadio José Rico Pérez in Alicante on October 11, following Scotland’s Euro 2012 qualifier defeat by Spain, and told the media the future of the national team was bright. The manager bullishly claimed his side had “improved enormously in the last year” and looked forward to building on that for the 2014 World Cup qualification campaign.