Van Marwijk cuts provisional Dutch squad to 27

Posted on May 20, 2012 by admin

Among 36 players selected last week, uncapped trio Jetro Willems, Adam Maher and Luciano Narsingh have retained their places in the Netherlands‘ reduced provisional squad.

Bert van Marwijk has retained three uncapped players in his reduced, yet still provisional, 27-man Netherlands squad for UEFA EURO 2012.

PSV Eindhoven left-back Jetro Willems – at 18 a possible candidate to replace injured club-mate Erik Pieters in the starting XI – AZ Alkmaar midfielder Adam Maher and sc Heerenveen forward Luciano Narsingh will travel to a training camp in Lausanne on Thursday having been on the 36-strong list released by Van Marwijk on 7 May.

Two surprise omissions from that enlarged selection are Urby Emanuelson and Hedwiges Maduro, capped 14 and 18 times respectively. The other seven players cut from the party announced last week are: Alexander Büttner, Jasper Cillessen, Ola John, Erwin Mulder, Nick Viergever, Stefan de Vrij and Georginio Wijnaldum. From the team which started the 2010 FIFA World Cup final, only retired left-back Giovanni van Bronckhorst is missing.

In attack, Van Marwijk must decide whether to pair Robin van Persie and Klaas-Jan Huntelaar together, both of whom have enjoyed prolific seasons in England and Germany respectively, or continue with his policy of deploying one central striker.

“They can play together,” said Van Marwijk. “I’m glad that Klaas-Jan became top scorer in Germany and Robin in England, but I’m also glad that Wesley Sneijder is fit again and Arjen Robben has been doing good things.”

Club commitments this weekend preclude Robben, Ibrahim Afellay and Stijn Schaars from joining up with the rest of squad, but the trio could be considered for selection when the Dutch play UEFA Champions League finalists FC Bayern München in a friendly on 22 May. The Oranje then tackle Bulgaria (26 May), Slovakia (30 May) and Northern Ireland (2 June) before travelling to their tournament base in Krakow on 4 June.

Provisional Netherlands squad
Goalkeepers: Tim Krul (Newcastle United FC), Maarten Stekelenburg (AS Roma), Michel Vorm (Swansea City AFC).

Defenders: Vurnon Anita (AFC Ajax), Khalid Boulahrouz (VfB Stuttgart), Wilfred Bouma (PSV Eindhoven), John Heitinga (Everton FC), Joris Mathijsen (Málaga CF), Ron Vlaar (Feyenoord), Gregory van der Wiel (AFC Ajax), Jetro Willems (PSV Eindhoven).

Midfielders: Mark van Bommel (AC Milan), Nigel de Jong (Manchester City FC), Siem de Jong (AFC Ajax), Adam Maher (AZ Alkmaar), Stijn Schaars (Sporting Clube de Portugal), Wesley Sneijder (FC Internazionale Milano), Kevin Strootman (PSV Eindhoven), Rafael van der Vaart (Tottenham Hotspur FC)

Forwards: Ibrahim Afellay (FC Barcelona), Klaas-Jan Huntelaar (FC Schalke 04), Luuk de Jong (FC Twente), Dirk Kuyt (Liverpool FC), Jeremain Lens (PSV Eindhoven), Luciano Narsingh (sc Heerenveen), Robin van Persie (Arsenal FC), Arjen Robben (FC Bayern München).

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Untried duo in provisional Russia squad

Posted on May 13, 2012 by admin

FC Dinamo Moskva defender Vladimir Granat and FC Lokomotiv Moskva midfielder Magomed Ozdoev, both uncapped, have been named in Russia’s provisional 26-man EURO squad.

Russia coach Dick Advocaat has selected two uncapped players in his 26-man provisional squad for UEFA EURO 2012.

FC Dinamo Moskva’s 24-year-old defender Vladimir Granat and FC Lokomotiv Moskva midfielder Magomed Ozdoev, 19, are the stand-out inclusions in a list which also features FC Spartak Moskva striker Artem Dzyuba, who won his only cap to date in a 1-1 draw against Greece last November.

With PFC CSKA Moskva defender Vasili Berezutski doubtful due to a thigh injury, Advocaat – who will take charge of PSV Eindhoven following next month’s finals – has called up FC Rubin Kazan captain Roman Sharonov. The 35-year-old has not appeared for his country since September 2004, three months after playing in two group games at the UEFA European Championship in Portugal.

Another notable returnee is Marat Izmailov, who earned the last of his 31 caps in 2006. Hampered by injury in recent times, the midfielder has returned to form in the second half of the season for a Sporting Clube de Portugal team which reached the last four of the UEFA Europa League.

The squad will convene in Moscow on 20 May. Russia start their EURO campaign on 8 June against Czech Republic in Wroclaw before facing Poland and Greece in Warsaw. Prior to the tournament they will play three friendly matches: against Uruguay (25 May, Moscow), Lithuania (29 May, Nyon) and Italy (1 June, Zurich)

Russia provisional squad
Goalkeepers: Igor Akinfeev (PFC CSKA Moskva), Vyacheslav Malafeev (FC Zenit St Petersburg), Anton Shunin (FC Dinamo Moskva).

Defenders: Aleksandr Anyukov (FC Zenit St Petersburg), Aleksei Berezutski (PFC CSKA Moskva), Vasili Berezutski (PFC CSKA Moskva), Sergei Ignashevich (PFC CSKA Moskva), Vladimir Granat (FC Dinamo Moskva), Yuri Zhirkov (FC Anzhi Makhachkala), Dmitri Kombarov (FC Spartak Moskva), Roman Sharonov (FC Rubin Kazan), Roman Shishkin (FC Lokomotiv Moskva).

Midfielders: Igor Denisov (FC Zenit St Petersburg), Konstantin Zyryanov (FC Zenit St Petersburg), Roman Shirokov (FC Zenit St Petersburg), Denis Glushakov (FC Lokomotiv Moskva), Magomed Ozdoev (FC Lokomotiv Moskva), Igor Semshov (FC Dinamo Moskva), Marat Izmailov (Sporting Clube de Portugal), Alan Dzagoev (PFC CSKA Moskva).

Strikers: Andrey Arshavin (FC Zenit St Petersburg), Aleksandr Kerzhakov (FC Zenit St Petersburg), Artem Dzyuba (FC Spartak Moskva), Aleksandr Kokorin (FC Dinamo Moskva), Roman Pavlyuchenko (FC Lokomotiv Moskva), Pavel Pogrebnyak (Fulham FC).

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Ben Arfa selected by France coach Blanc

Posted on May 9, 2012 by admin

Newcastle United FC’s Hatem Ben Arfa has been rewarded for his form by being named in a list of non-Ligue 1 based players who will contribute to Laurent Blanc’s final France squad.

by Christian Châtelet
from Paris
 

Hatem Ben Arfa is the notable inclusion in a list of 12 players plying their trade outside of Ligue 1 who will contribute to Laurent Blanc’s final 23-man France squad for UEFA EURO 2012.

To complete the pool from which Blanc will choose his party for the tournament, the 46-year-old will release a second list, composed solely of domestic-based players, on Tuesday.

Explaining the selection process, Blanc said: “We have a peculiarity in France in that the league ends after the other major leagues. Many of the players abroad will stop on 13 May. For this reason, and to keep them involved, we have drafted an initial list containing some of them.”

Ben Arfa earned the last of his eight caps in August 2010 in Blanc’s first match in charge of Les Bleus, a 2-1 friendly victory against Norway in which he scored. The 25-year-old, who broke the tibia and fibula in his left leg two months later, has enjoyed a fine second half of the season with Newcastle United FC, scoring memorable solo goals against Blackburn Rovers FC and Bolton Wanderers FC.

“It took time for him to recover physically,” said Blanc. “His talent is there and will remain forever. He has made a step forward and seems to be more mature. Those players, the very talented ones, can struggle to put their talent at the disposal of the team but that’s what he has done in his last three games for Newcastle.”

Before France’s opening match of UEFA EURO 2012, against England in Donetsk on 11 June, Blanc’s team play home friendlies against Iceland (27 May), Serbia (31 May) and Estonia (5 June).

Provisional France squad (non-Ligue 1-based players only)
Defenders: Gaël Clichy (Manchester City FC), Patrice Evra (Manchester United FC), Younès Kaboul (Tottenham Hotspur FC), Laurent Koscielny (Arsenal FC), Adil Rami (Valencia CF), Philippe Mexès (AC Milan).

Midfielders: Yohan Cabaye (Newcastle United FC), Florent Malouda (Chelsea FC), Samir Nasri (Manchester City FC).

Forwards: Hatem Ben Arfa (Newcastle United FC), Karim Benzema (Real Madrid CF), Franck Ribéry (FC Bayern München).

Thank!!! ©UEFA.com 1998-2012. All rights reserved.

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Golden oldies of the EURO

Posted on April 29, 2012 by admin
Experience can be vital at a UEFA European Championship as Dutchman Arnold Mühren showed in 1988. UEFA.com looks at the veterans who made their mark on past EUROs.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

They say there is no substitute for experience and there have been times in UEFA European Championship history when this has proved the case – the prime example being Arnold Mühren.

When the Dutch midfielder provided the cross for Marco van Basten’s astonishing top-spin volley in the 1988 final against the Soviet Union, he was 37 years and 23 days old, setting a record for the oldest player to pick up a winners’ medal.

Muhren was fortunate because not all players can bow out in a blaze of glory. Germany duo Lothar Matthäus and Jens Lehmann set their own records on their final international appearances but while the latter had to settle for a runners-up medal in 2008, the former suffered elimination from the group stage in 2000. UEFA.com takes a closer look at the tournament’s oldest contributors.

Oldest player to win:
Arnold Mühren (37 years and 23 days)
The 1988 final in Munich will forever be remembered for Van Basten’s volley but few know the significance of Mühren’s appearance. The former AFC Ajax, FC Twente, Ipswich Town FC and Manchester United FC midfielder delivered the ball for Van Basten to give the Dutch a two-goal lead and he remains the oldest member of any winning team. “Only when we came back to Holland did we realise the madness, the sheer joy and the celebrations that were going on,” he recalled. “We missed all that in Germany. The boat trip in Amsterdam was a high point, I couldn’t believe what I saw.”

Oldest player to appear:
Lothar Matthäus (39 years and 91 days)
Matthäus’s appearance against Portugal at UEFA EURO 2000 made him the oldest player to have featured at a European Championship and also marked his 150th cap for Germany on his final appearance. The former VfL Borussia Mönchengladbach, FC Bayern München and FC Internazionale Milano midfielder surpassed the record set by Denmark coach Morten Olsen, who was 38 years and 308 days old when he featured in a 2-0 defeat by Italy in 1988. The Dane was 37 days older than England goalkeeper Peter Shilton had been when he made his 100th international appearance against the Netherlands in the same tournament two days earlier.

Oldest player in a final:
Jens Lehmann (38 years and 232 days)
Having enjoyed a successful career with FC Schalke 04, Borussia Dortmund and Arsenal FC, Lehmann was on course to bow out of international football on a high in 2008, only to be denied a winners’ medal by Spain. The goalkeeper was an ever-present in Germany’s run to the final, keeping two clean sheets on the way, but could not prevent Fernando Torres sealing Spain’s first major title in 44 years in Vienna. It will have been a mere consolation for the German to learn that he set a record that night as the oldest player to have appeared in a European Championship final.

Oldest player to score:
Ivica Vastic (38 years and 257 days)
The former SK Sturm Graz and FK Austria Wien man came off the bench with 26 minutes remaining against Poland in a UEFA EURO 2008 group stage match and kept his cool in added time to salvage a draw for Austria from the penalty spot. It was his 14th goal on his 50th appearance at international level and one that made him the oldest player to have scored at a final tournament.

Thank!!!! UEFA.COM

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Smuda proud of Poland’s progress

Posted on April 2, 2012 by admin

Poland coach Franciszek Smuda believes he has made “massive progress” with the UEFA EURO 2012 co-hosts, despite the country suffering what he describes as a “football crisis”.

UEFA European Championship debutants in 2008 and now co-hosts four years later, Poland are seeking to continue their rise this summer.

Franciszek Smuda realised a “dream” when he was appointed Poland coach in October 2009, but it was far from an ideal situation. Poland had just finished second from bottom of Group 3 in qualifying for the 2010 FIFA World Cup and were not to play another competitive game until summer 2012. Fast-forward 18 months and they have lost just two of their last 11 friendlies, a run that has included creditable draws against Germany and Portugal and a win against Argentina.

“We are experiencing a bit of a football crisis in Poland, so to speak, in terms of individual talents and great footballers,” said Smuda. “It is not as it was in the 1970s, 80s or 90s.

“We’ve created a young team, with an average age between 23 and 24 years old. However, we have found a team that plays to 100% of its capabilities. Firstly it was necessary to find the first XI, and then 25, 26 players.

“I think we made a good decision to act as if we were playing competitively, for points. Progress has been made, particularly in terms of tactics. We don’t concede as many goals as we did when I started. We have made massive progress.”

Smuda’s sentiments are echoed by Poland striker, Borussia Dortmund’s Robert Lewandowski. “[Smuda] built a team from scratch, and he needed some time before it started to look like it should. No doubt there was pressure at times, but we handled it, and I think we are going in the right direction.”

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