The draw for the 2008 European Championships has thrown up some interesting matches for the participating Werder players.
The draw for the 2008 European Championships has thrown up some interesting matches for the participating Werder players.
The draw for the 2008 European Championships has thrown up some interesting matches for the participating Werder players. In the opening game of their group, Germany’s Per Mertesacker, Torsten Frings, Clemens Fritz and Tim Borowski will be facing their team mate and Auistrian international Martin Harnik. The Germans will also take on Croatia with Jurica Vranjes and possibly Ivan Klasnic as well as Poland, who were in the same group as the hosts of last year’s World Cup finals.
The other Werder men participating at the tournament have some tough tasks ahead too. Hugo Almeida will join his Portuguese teams mates when they clash with co-hosts Switzerland, the Czech Republic and Turkey. Sweden, with striker Markus Rosenberg, are joined in the race for a quarter final spot by holders Greece, Spain and Russia. The only group without Werder representation is without doubt the toughest in the competition with World Champions Italy, France, Holland and Romania pitted together.
Post draw reactions
Martin Harnik: “The draw was world class. It doesn’t get any better than that. Now Austria will really be in the focus. We’re together with Germany and Croatia in one group, that’s fantastic. ‘Merte’ (Per Mertesacker) sent me a text message straight away and I’m sure we’ll discuss it further at training tomorrow. I’m sure there will be a few smart comments made there. Joking aside, I think Germany are favourites to win the group. We want to progress but it will be very difficult.
When I saw the groups in full, my anticipation of the tournament really shot up. The whole of Europe is talking about the tournament now. You get the feeling that it could start at any moment. The group with Holland, France and Italy is stunning.”
Per Mertesacker: “The draws at the moment have set up some clashes with well know faces. That’s how it was for the World Cup qualifiers and now again. As soon as the drawwas completed I sent Jurica Vranjes and Marnik Harnik a welcoming text message. Our group will be exciting. I can’t really comment on the role of favourite. Germany and Croatia are apparently the strongest sides but Austria will want to prove themselves on their own turf and Poland qualified with flying colours. We have been warned and we’ll need to show what we’re capable of when we’re there. The important thing is to play a good first round, all the talk beforehand is worthless.”
Hugo Almeida: “That is a tough group but one that it doable. The difficulty is the unpredictability of the other teams. I’ve never played against any of those teams. I know the Swiss, as hosts, will be difficult to play against. Turkey are always difficult to calculate and the Czech’s have a lot of strong individuals who play at the top level in their clubs all over the world.
Portugal may be the favourites but we can’t allow that to cloud our judgement. We will have to be cautious and concentrated, then we will progress. I’m really looking forward to the European Championships.”
Jurica Vranjes: “It’s a really good group for us and we are favourites along with Germany. We are very satisfied with the draw. I’m quite convinced that it will be the two favourites that come out of the group and then maybe we’ll have a Germany versus Croatia match at the semi-final stage.”
Torsten Frings: “It’s a good group and one we shouldn’t underestimate.”
