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Football: poland, greece ready for euro 2012 opening game by ferujkll sdff
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Football: poland, greece ready for euro 2012 opening game |
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WARSAW: Poland were on Thursday preparing to kick off Euro 2012 onhome soil, with opponents Greece seeking a morale-boosting win tolift a beleaguered nation hit by political turmoil and cripplingfinancial woes. Both teams were due at the National Stadium in Warsaw for training,a day ahead of the curtain-raiser for the 16-team showpiece, asexcitement builds across the country -- and in neighbouringco-hosts Ukraine -- for the start of the tournament. The kick-off is not just being keenly anticipated for the football,where world champions Spain are looking to the retain the crownthey won four years ago and beaten 2008 finalists Germany seekrevenge. The tournament is also the first behind the former Iron Curtain anda gamble by European football's governing body UEFA to develop thegame beyond its traditional heartlands. Franciszek Smuda's Poles are seeking to emulate the goldengeneration of the 1970s and 1980s while Greece want to prove thattheir 2004 victory was no fluke -- and give their cash-strappedcompatriots something to smile about.
Captain Giorgios Karagounis, of Panathinaikos, said: "We want togive joy to the Greeks. We will do our best, without stress andpressure, and hopefully bring back beautiful memories." The Poland-Greece opener is followed by Russia versus the CzechRepublic in Wroclaw, where Dick Advocaat's side come into thetournament on a high after beating Italy 3-0 last week, promptingpredictions that they may be a team to watch. The experienced Dutchman may play down any talk of Russia asoutside bets but captain Andrey Arshavin believes they are ready totake on and beat the best. "The result of the friendly match with Italy boosted our fans'hopes ahead of the championship's start and all of our playersalso.
However, for a long time we have believed our team is capableof playing at this level," he said. The Czechs' Champions League-winning goalkeeper Petr Cech told fansin an online chat on Wednesday that Group A was wide open, with anyone of them able to progress to the quarter-finals. "Our chances are the same as those of the other three teams inGroup A," he said, predicting that Spain, Germany and theNetherlands would win the title although he suggested: "We mayspring a surprise." Czech coach Michal Balek, however, has injury concerns over captainTomas Rosicky, who resumed training on Monday after a calf injury,as well as Galatasaray forward Milan Baros, who limped out ofTuesday's session with a thigh problem. In Group B, Dutch coach Bert van Marwijk said the Oranje's openeron Saturday against Denmark was "the most important game in thelast six months" but fears have mounted about another potentiallyself-destructive row in the camp.
That followed comments by Bundesliga top scorer Klaas-Jan Huntelaarthat he was unhappy about not being picked as lone striker ahead ofArsenal's Robin van Persie, who was the leading goalscorer in theEnglish Premier League. But Inter Milan playmaker Wesley Sneijder said: "We are fine. Thereare no fights. We've been together in this team for a long time, sothere are no problems." Germany forward Lukas Podolski has meanwhile backed his team tosubdue Portugal star Cristiano Ronaldo, predicting a 2-0 win forthe Mannschaft when the sides meet in Lviv, Ukraine, on Saturday. "We have to be aggressive, entangle him in some tough tackles andtake away his love of football," Podolski said of the Real Madridplayer.
"But one thing is clear, we have enough players of our ownwith great potential." Injury-hit England's preparations for their first Group D matchagainst France in Donetsk, Ukraine, on Monday, were hit furtherwhen striker Jermain Defoe flew home from their Krakow trainingcamp after the death of his father. The Football Association said he would rejoin the squad at a laterdate. France coach Laurent Blanc, however, said a weakened England werestill a threat, particularly given the tradition behind the tie. "Yes of course they are not at full strength but what concerns meis that England will play in a certain style, based on theirqualities, and their philosophy of how to play. "They will give everything because when there are French againstEnglish, it raises the game above the normal international match.We are going to have to be extremely strong physically.
That isgoing to be a difficult match." - AFP/ir. I am a professional writer from Computer Hardware & Software, which contains a great deal of information about hwic 1ge sfp , dvd duplication tower, welcome to visit!
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