UEFA Euro 2008
Fußball-Europameisterschaft 2008 | |
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File:UEFA EURO 2008 New Logo.svg UEFA Euro 2008 official logo | |
Tournament details | |
Host countries | Austria Switzerland |
Dates | 7 June – 29 June |
Teams | 16 |
Venue(s) | 8 (in 8 host cities) |
The 2008 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 2008, will take place in Austria and Switzerland, from 7 June to 29 June 2008. It is the second successful joint bid in the competition's history, following the UEFA Euro 2000 hosted by Belgium and the Netherlands. The 2012 competition in Poland and Ukraine is scheduled to become the third jointly-hosted tournament.
A total of 16 teams will participate in the tournament. Austria and Switzerland will automatically qualify as hosts; The remaining 14 teams have been determined through qualifying matches which started in August 2006. Austria and Poland will be making their first appearance in the tournament. The winner of Euro 2008 will represent the UEFA at the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup.
Bid process
The two countries jointly bid to host the games, and faced major competition from Greece/Turkey, Scotland/Ireland, Russia, Hungary, Croatia/Bosnia-Herzegovina and a 4-way Nordic bid from Norway/Sweden/Denmark/Finland. Austria had already bid with another country before, which was Hungary for Euro 2004. They had eventually lost to Portugal.
Austria/Switzerland, Greece/Turkey, and Hungary were recommended before the final vote. Greece and Turkey were rejected and let Hungary and Austria/Switzerland battle for the win.
Venues
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e8/Euro2008_venues_en.svg/400px-Euro2008_venues_en.svg.png)
Switzerland will play all of its group-stage matches at Basel, and Austria will play all of its group-stage matches at Vienna.
In 2004, the Zürich venue became a problem for the organisers. Originally, the Hardturm stadium was to be renovated and used as the city's venue, but legal challenges delayed the plan to a point that would not have allowed the ground to be used in 2008. This created a problem, as the agreement between UEFA and the organizers stipulated that four venues would be used in each country. The problem was solved when the organizers proposed renovating Letzigrund instead; UEFA approved the revised plan in January 2005. The Letzigrund stadium hosted its first football match on 23 September 2007.[1]
Switzerland
City | Stadium | Capacity | Host Club | Matches |
---|---|---|---|---|
Basel | St. Jakob-Park | 42,500 | FC Basel | Switzerland v Czech Republic, Switzerland v Turkey, Switzerland v Portugal, two quarter-finals, semi-final |
Berne | Stade de Suisse Wankdorf | 32,000 | BSC Young Boys | Netherlands v Italy, Netherlands v France, Netherlands v Romania |
Geneva | Stade de Genève | 32,000 | Servette FC | Portugal v Turkey, Czech Republic v Portugal, Turkey v Czech Republic |
Zürich | Letzigrund Stadion | 30,000 | FC Zürich | Romania v France, Italy v Romania, France v Italy |
Austria
City | Stadium | Capacity | Host Club | Matches |
---|---|---|---|---|
Vienna | Ernst Happel Stadion | 53,000 | Austria (FK Austria Wien and SK Rapid Wien only in European competitions) | Austria v Croatia, Austria v Poland, Austria v Germany, two quarter-finals, semi-final and final |
Klagenfurt | Wörthersee Stadion | 32,000 | SK Austria Kärnten | Germany v Poland, Croatia v Germany, Poland v Croatia |
Salzburg | Stadion Wals-Siezenheim | 31,000 | FC Red Bull Salzburg | Greece v Sweden, Greece v Russia, Greece v Spain |
Innsbruck | Tivoli-Neu Stadion | 30,000 | FC Wacker Innsbruck | Spain v Russia, Sweden v Spain, Russia v Sweden |
New trophy
A new trophy will be awarded to the winners of the Euro 2008 tournament.
The new version of the Henri Delaunay Trophy, created by Asprey London,[2] is almost an exact replica of the original designed by Arthus-Bertrand. A small figure juggling a ball on the back of the original has been removed, as has the marble plinth. The silver base of the trophy also had to be enlarged to make it stable. The names of the winning countries that had appeared on the plinth have now been engraved on the back of the trophy, which is made of sterling silver, weighs 8 kilograms and is 60 centimetres tall.
Qualifying
The draw for the qualifying round took place in Montreux, Switzerland on 27 January 2006 at 12:00 CET.
The qualifying process commenced a month after the 2006 World Cup. Austria and Switzerland automatically qualified for the tournament finals as host nations.
The qualifying format was changed compared to previous tournaments. The winners and runners-up from seven groups automatically qualified for the Championship, with the hosts filling the other two slots in the 16-team tournament. The change means there were no play-offs between teams finishing in second place in the groups - they qualified directly for the finals. Teams that finished in third place didn't have any further opportunity to qualify. Six of the qualifying groups contained seven teams, and the other, Group A, contained eight.
Qualified teams
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/07/Euro_2008.png/350px-Euro_2008.png)
- 1 Bold indicates champion for that year
- 2 as Czechoslovakia
- 3 as West Germany
- 4 as Soviet Union
Spain controversy
FIFA president Sepp Blatter has threatened Spain with expulsion from international football if the Spanish government interferes in the election process of the Spanish Football Federation.[3] Should Spain be suspended for the European Championship, Northern Ireland, as the next highest team in Spain's qualifying group, or England, as the highest non-qualifying European team in the FIFA World Rankings, would take their place in Group D.
Seeding
The draw for the final tournament took place on 2 December 2007, beginning at 12:00 CET. The draw, which was held at Culture and Convention Centre in Lucerne, was conducted by the following people.[4]
- Gianni Infantino, hosting the draw.
- Peter Schmeichel, conducting Pot 1 draw.
- Jürgen Klinsmann, conducting Pot 2 draw.
- Didier Deschamps, conducting Pot 3 draw.
- Theodoros Zagorakis, conducting Pot 4 draw.
- Bernard Dietz, conducting Group A draw.
- Anton Ondruš, conducting Group B draw.
- Franz Beckenbauer, conducting Group C draw.
- Dino Zoff, conducting Group D draw.
In a return to the format used at Euro 92 and Euro 96 the games in each group will be held at just two stadia, with the seeded team remaining in the same city for all three matches. As was the case at the 2000 and 2004 finals, the finalists were divided into four seeding pots, based on average points per game in the qualifying phases of the 2006 FIFA World Cup and Euro 2008, with each group having one team from each pot. Switzerland and Austria, as co-hosts, and Greece, as defending champions, were seeded first automatically.[5][6] The Netherlands were seeded based on their UEFA coefficient in the Euro 2008 finalists ranking.
Pot 1 | Pot 2 | Pot 3 | Pot 4 |
---|---|---|---|
|
Match officials
Twelve referees and twenty four assistants were selected for the tournament:[7]
Country | Referee | Assistants | |
---|---|---|---|
![]() |
Konrad Plautz | Egon Bereuter | Markus Mayr |
![]() |
Frank de Bleeckere | Peter Hermans | Alex Verstraeten |
![]() |
Howard Webb | Darren Cann | Mike Mullarkey |
![]() |
Herbert Fandel | Carsten Kadach | Volker Wezel |
![]() |
Kyros Vassaras | Dimitiris Bozartzidis | Dimitiris Saraidaris |
![]() |
Roberto Rosetti | Alessandro Griselli | Paolo Calcagno |
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Pieter Vink | Adriaan Inia | Hans Ten Hoove |
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Tom Henning Øvrebø | Geir Age Holen | Erik Ræstad |
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Ľuboš Micheľ | Roman Slysko | Martin Balko |
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Manuel Mejuto González | Juan Carlos Yuste Jiménez | Jesús Calvo Guadamuro |
![]() |
Peter Fröjdfeldt | Stefan Wittberg | Henrik Andren |
![]() |
Massimo Busacca | Matthias Arnet | Stephane Cuhat |
There will be a further eight referees who will act as fourth officials:[8]
Results
Group stage
All times are Central European Summer Time (UTC+2)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/70/Euro_2008_Wall_Chart.png/180px-Euro_2008_Wall_Chart.png)
Group A
Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
![]() |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
![]() |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
![]() |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Group B
Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
![]() |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
![]() |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
![]() |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Group C
Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
![]() |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
![]() |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
![]() |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Group D
Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
![]() |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
![]() |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
![]() |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Knockout stage
The knockout stage is different from that of past tournaments. Teams in groups A and B will be separated from teams in groups C and D until the final.
Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||
19 June - Basel | ||||||||||
Winner Group A | ||||||||||
25 June - Basel | ||||||||||
Runner-up Group B | ||||||||||
Winner of QF1 | ||||||||||
20 June - Vienna | ||||||||||
Winner of QF2 | ||||||||||
Winner Group B | ||||||||||
29 June - Vienna | ||||||||||
Runner-up Group A | ||||||||||
Winner of SF1 | ||||||||||
21 June - Basel | ||||||||||
Winner of SF2 | ||||||||||
Winner Group C | ||||||||||
26 June - Vienna | ||||||||||
Runner-up Group D | ||||||||||
Winner of QF3 | ||||||||||
22 June - Vienna | ||||||||||
Winner of QF4 | ||||||||||
Winner Group D | ||||||||||
Runner-up Group C | ||||||||||
Quarter-finals
Winner of Group A | v | Runner-up of Group B |
---|---|---|
Winner of Group B | v | Runner-up of Group A |
---|---|---|
Winner of Group C | v | Runner-up of Group D |
---|---|---|
Winner of Group D | v | Runner-up of Group C |
---|---|---|
Semi-finals
Winner of Quarter-final 1 | v | Winner of Quarter-final 2 |
---|---|---|
Winner of Quarter-final 3 | v | Winner of Quarter-final 4 |
---|---|---|
Final
Winner of Semi-final 1 | v | Winner of Semi-final 2 |
---|---|---|
Match ball
The match ball for the finals was unveiled at the draw ceremony. Produced by Adidas and named the Europass, it is a 14-panel ball in the same construction as the Teamgeist, but with slightly modified surface structure.[9]
Slogan
The slogan for UEFA Euro 2008 was chosen on 24 January 2007: Expect Emotions.
The UEFA President Michel Platini stated "It describes in a nutshell what the UEFA Euro 2008 has to offer: all kinds of emotions — joy, disappointment, relief or high tension — right up to the final whistle."[10]
Mascots
The two official mascots for UEFA Euro 2008, were named after a vote from the public of the two host nations, the options were:
- Zagi and Zigi
- Flitz and Bitz
- Trix and Flix
After receiving 36.3% of the vote, Trix and Flix were chosen. "I am sure the mascots and their names will become a vital part of the understanding of the whole event," said Christian Mutschler, who is the tournament director for Switzerland.[11]
Prize money
UEFA announced that total of €184 million has been offered to the 16 teams competing in this tournament, increasing from €129 million in the previous tournament. The distributions as below:[12]
- Participating fee: €7.5 million
Extra payment based on teams performances:
- Group stage (a match):
- Win: €1 million
- Draw: €500,000
- Quarterfinals: €2 million
- Semifinals: €3 million
- Runner-up: €4.5 million
- Winner: €7.5 million
If the winner of tournament win all the three matches in the group stage, they will receive total prize of €23 million.
Broadcasting rights
Many of the worlds national broadcasters have secured broadcasting rights of the tournament, as of 16 January 2008.[13]
References
- ^ Zurich - Letzigrund Stadion
- ^ New trophy announced at UEFA site
- ^ "Fifa warns Spain of possible ban". BBC Sport. 2008-02-18. Retrieved 2008-02-25.
{{cite news}}
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(help) - ^ "Draw sets up heavyweight contests". uefa.com. 2007-12-02. Retrieved 2007-12-02.
{{cite news}}
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(help) - ^ Format from UEFA Website
- ^ UEFA Euro 2008 Information
- ^ UEFA Euro 2008 referees
- ^ UEFA Announce Euro 2008 Referees
- ^ "adidas "EUROPASS" – the match ball with "goose bumps" for UEFA EURO 2008™". Lucerne/Herzogenaurach: adidas. 2007-12-02. Retrieved 2007-12-04.
{{cite news}}
: Check date values in:|date=
(help) - ^ Expect Emotions at Euro 2008
- ^ Official Mascot Naming
- ^ UEFA raises 2008 prize money
- ^ UEFA Euro 2008 Broadcasting Rights
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- UEFA Euro 2008 Official Site
- Travel guide for the tournament from Wikitravel