Source: Xinhua
06-06-2008 21:49
Special Report: 2008 European ChampionshipsGENEVA, June 6 (Xinhua) -- With Switzerland's playmaker Tranquillo Barnetta recovering from injury in time, the co-hosts of European Championship saw their best chance of making history in the tournament opener against the Czech Republic in Group A on Saturday at St. Jakob-Park in Berne.
The Swiss, who qualified automatcically for the 23-day tourney, had made first-round exits in both of their two previous appearances in 1996 and 2004, on both occasions following up an opening draw with two defeats.
A result more than a tie will be expected when they raise the event's curtain with desperate wish for a positive start, despite facing the daunting Czech who reached the semifinals at Euro 2004 and qualified for this event as one of the seven group winners.
After making the Round of 16 of the 2006 World Cup with a tie with France and victories over Togo and South Korea to win their group, Jakob Kuhn's men are now hunting for a European breakthrough on home soil.
The hosts, which held a 1-2 head-to-head record in the previous three encounters against the Czech in the 1990s, got boosted by recent wins in latest warming-ups after beating Slovakia 2-0 and Liechtenstein 3-0, as well as a full squad in fitness.
Barnetta, who sustained the ankle injury over a fortnight ago in a training-ground tackle with teammate Gelson Fernandes, only returned to full training Wednesday but survived the session without any ill-effects and declared afterwards "everything went smoothly".
The 23-year-old Bayer Leverkusen player is not certain to retain his left-midfield position in the starting lineup for Saturday's first outing after his replacement Johan Vonlanthen impressed during the matches against Slovakia and Liechtenstein.
Karel Bruckner's Czech Republic side had a disappointing World Cup campaign in 2006, falling at the group stage after the promise of an opening win against the United States vanished with defeats by Ghana and Italy.
However, all previous marks hint a tough task for sure for the host Swiss to win the Euro 2008 opener.
The Czech, among hot candidates to advance from the group stage alongside with Group A favorites Portugal, is making their fourth successive appearance in the European Championship finals after they qualified as winners of Group D, where they finished two points clear of world cup semifinalists Germany having won nine and lost just one of 12 qualifying games.
Their best performance to date coming in 1996 when they finished runners-up to Germany following a 2-1 final defeat at Wembley Stadium. After a first-round exit in 2000, the Czechs reached the last four in 2004, where they succumbed 1-0 to eventual winners Greece.
The other Group A match up later on Saturday pit the runners-up of Euro 2004 Portugal and Turkey in Geneva.
Portugal have an upper hand in the one-sided head-to-head record of 6-1 in their seven previous encounters with Turkey, while the latter only returned to the international spotlight after six years in the shadows.
Turkey have not appeared at a major tournament since the 2002 FIFA World Cup in South Korea and Japan, when their surprise run to the semifinals was ended by a Brazil side coached by Luiz Felipe Scolari, the man now in charge of their opening opponents.
Editor:Zhang Ning
