Velasco Carballo: 'We must enjoy it, have fun'

Carlos Velasco Carballo will become the 13th man to blow the whistle at the start of a UEFA European Championship on Friday and he tells UEFA.com he is determined to savour the moment.

Spain's Carlos Velasco Carballo is no stranger to big occasions, having refereed the 2011 UEFA Europa League final, but being tasked with officiating the opening game at a UEFA European Championship is a rare honour indeed. Only 12 men have previously had the pleasure, and the 41-year-old told UEFA.com that he is confident he will not become unlucky No13 when Poland face Greece on Friday. In fact, he hopes he will barely be noticed.

UEFA.com: How does it feel to referee the opening match at UEFA EURO 2012?

Carlos Velasco Carballo: Above all it's a source of great happiness and honour to have the chance to referee such an important and significant match. After 25 years of refereeing and training – all the matches, all the grounds I have been to, starting in the youth sector and amateur league – to have made it all the way to an important occasion such as this is just great.

UEFA.com: You are known as a great analyst of teams and players. How important is it to know the tactics of each team?

Velasco Carballo: I think that professional refereeing has developed a lot in recent years, with regards to the physical, psychological and technical aspects, and consistency. I think we have to continue on that path and focus on the technical development of football itself as, without a doubt, tactics affect our work. Professional referees of today and the future should know about all of this.

UEFA.com: What will you tell your assistants before the match? What advice will you give them?

Velasco Carballo: During the last few hours I will try to get across the mantra that they should 'enjoy it and have fun', because in matches like these you don't have to worry about motivation and concentration; the match takes care of that. It's more important to release the pressure and tension, to make sure there is a positive vibe within the group. Conversations in the days leading up to the game have been more technical, so we needn't worry about that.

UEFA.com: How do you prepare for the matches?

Velasco Carballo: I'm not such a modern person. I don't like to have music in the dressing room – I'm one of a minority who doesn't. I prefer to talk, to communicate and talk to my colleagues, make jokes and stay relaxed. I'm a very calm person, and a big match like Friday's doesn't affect me that much.

UEFA.com: What are your own aims for UEFA EURO 2012?

Velasco Carballo: It's a dream come true to be here and now my objective is to meet expectations, to make sure with my refereeing colleagues that football is the main thing. That is our ambition, that at the end of the tournament you're all talking about football.

READ MORE

more »

Blanc's France in safe hands

Matt Spiro reports on an eye-opening look at the medical preparations in place in the France camp, from ice vests to cryotherapy chambers and menus planned for every day until the final.

Not many people have heard of Fabrice Bryand. Yet this small, softly spoken gentleman is playing a crucial role for Les Bleus at UEFA EURO 2012. He is the France doctor and heads a medical team that includes one other doctor, an osteopath and three physiotherapists, as well as fitness trainer Philippe Lambert.

On Friday morning, Dr Bryand spoke to the media about his many responsibilities and fielded questions on the huge variety of different measures that have been taken. It is quite amazing to hear how much goes in to preparing a national team for a major finals. From pre-tournament medical tests and vaccinations to diet and temperature control, everything is planned for in the minutest detail.

Dr Bryand explained that menus have been carefully concocted for every single meal right up until 1 July, the date of the final. He has coordinated with club doctors around Europe to assemble complete medical dossiers on the 23 squad members. Every player has undergone comprehensive heart tests, records of haemoglobin levels are monitored, and individual training regimes have been established depending on the player's position, fitness level, past injury record and body fat percentage.

One of the most interesting innovations here is the use of cryotherapy to help regulate body temperature. The climate in Donetsk (the most eastern venue) tends to be extreme, as Les Bleus discovered when their first training session was interrupted by a huge thunderstorm yesterday. Temperatures and humidity levels are generally high.

To ensure they do not overheat, France players will undertake 'icepack therapy' before training and matches, as well as at half-time. "We have 26 special vests that have been developed by the army and fire service in France," Dr Bryand said. "Each vest has eight packs of ice. They are like bulletproof vests. But they are not so heavy – they only weigh 1.9kg with the ice in so the players can even wear them when training."

There are also eight cryotherapy chambers at the team's residence. These are designed to aid recuperation after matches – and also to help the players sleep. "Everyone has three minutes in a chamber before bed," Dr Bryand explained. France's medical team is doing everything to give Laurent Blanc's charges the best possible chance. They seem to have left no stone unturned. Now Les Bleus just have to win some football matches.

READ MORE

more »

Andersen keen to shine in Sørensen absence

"I’ve always tried to take the chances I get, and I'm very happy to be here," Stephan Andersen told UEFA.com as he pondered replacing Thomas Sørensen as Denmark's No1 at the finals.

Capped just ten times in eight years since his international debut, Denmark's Stephan Andersen is keen to grab his chance to impress with both hands after long-serving goalkeeper Thomas Sørensen was ruled out of UEFA EURO 2012 by injury.

The Évian Thonon Gaillard FC No1 was Sørensen's understudy throughout qualifying but got an unexpected opportunity between the posts two weeks ago when the 35-year-old hurt his back during a pre-tournament friendly against Brazil.

Andersen's subsequent display in the 2-0 victory against Australia prompted Morten Olsen to confirm that the former Brøndby IF custodian will start the 1992 European champions' Group B opener against the Netherlands in Kharkiv.

"I’ve always tried to take the chances I get and I'm very happy to be here now," Andersen told UEFA.com at Denmark's training camp before the team travelled to Ukraine. "Thomas [Sørensen] played most of the games in qualifying for the Euros and he worked hard to be here, and of course I feel sorry for him."

Andersen is no stranger to suddenly being thrust into the spotlight. He arrived at Ligue 1 newcomers Evian last summer as a No2, only for Bertrand Laquait to succumb to a long-term injury which enabled the Copenhagen-born keeper to excel in the starting lineup, particularly in the latter part of the campaign.

"A goalkeeper has a certain influence, because there are situations when he has to perform some miracles and that is necessary if you want to succeed in the tournament, and of course I hope that we can achieve that," said the 30-year-old.

Andersen is one of a four players in the Danish squad who was at Evian last season, along with Christian Poulsen, Daniel Wass and Thomas Kahlenberg. The understanding they have developed over the course of the campaign is certainly a positive for Olsen, even if the goalkeeper is the only one like to start against the Netherlands.

Andersen's elevation to No1 status created an opening for Kasper Schmeichel, son of Danish legend Peter Schmeichel, to join the squad. "Kasper is a fantastic guy – he has a lot of positive energy and great charm," said Andersen of his uncapped team-mate. "He is always in a good mood, which is a positive thing for a squad. Apart from that, he is a fantastic goalkeeper and he also increases the competition."

As for Schmeichel senior, Andersen has nothing but admiration for one of the stars of his country's EURO '92 triumph in Sweden. "The majority of young goalkeepers in Denmark considered Peter to be an idol when he played and, of course, I was no exception."

READ MORE

more »

Reasons to be cheerful for Kranjčar

Niko Kranjčar has endured a testing season at club level but is back to fitness and, with a summer transfer already wrapped up, has a big role to play for Croatia says Elvir Islamović.

The first few days of June brought some long-awaited good news for Croatia midfielder Niko Kranjčar. Not only has he recovered from a knee injury, but he also wrapped up a four-year deal to join FC Dynamo Kyiv from Tottenham Hotspur FC. Now he can concentrate on his role at UEFA EURO 2012.


It has not been an easy season for Kranjčar, who spent more minutes on the pitch for Croatia during qualifying than he did for Tottenham in the Premier League. Spurs manager Harry Redknapp has always held Kranjčar in high esteem but has always had the thrilling talent of Gareth Bale at his disposal in the same position.

Kranjčar's knee ligament injury in April may have ended his club season but he has recovered in time to make the trip to Poland/Ukraine and is ready for Sunday's game against the Republic of Ireland. "I am very satisfied with my physical condition, I feel much fitter than on the first day of our preparations for EURO," he said.

Finding a new employer has also been a reason to smile for the winger. "I feel very happy now," he said. "I am moving to a big club and now I am calm and can concentrate on Croatia's big plans for EURO 2012." Last but not least, though he might not start against Ireland, Kranjčar has received a ringing endorsement from coach Slaven Bilić that he has a big role to play in the final tournament.

READ MORE

more »

Tournament blog: 8 June

The wait is over: UEFA EURO 2012 kicks off today and our team of reporters in Poland and Ukraine have all the latest from the 16 camps.

Sam Adams

• The football world awaits the start of UEFA EURO 2012 today.

• Co-hosts Poland play Greece in the first match of the tournament at 18.00CET at Warsaw's National Stadium.

• Russia take on Czech Republic at 20.45CET in the second of today's Group A games in Wroclaw.

• Watch today's pre-match press conferences - for the Netherlands-Denmark and Germany-Portugal games - live on UEFA.com from 16.15CET.

Sam Adams

Garry Doyle in Gdynia
Republic of Ireland team reporter
In the Republic of Ireland, old habits die hard. And so a team that has been largely unchanged for the last two years will once again be handed a nation's trust. The big news is that Shay Given – after a fortnight of speculation – has finally been passed fit to play. His calf injury, which has troubled him consistently throughout the final weeks of the Irish training camp stood up to a rigorous training session today. He will start. The rest of the lineup could shape up like this: John O'Shea, Sean St Ledger, Richard Dunne and Stephen Ward in defence; Aiden McGeady, Glenn Whelan, Keith Andrews and Damien Duff in midfield; Kevin Doyle and Robbie Keane in attack. Whelan did pick up a knock in training but Giovanni Trapattoni was unworried: "The players are ready. They are confident and relaxed. We have prepared meticulously. We have done everything we can."

READ MORE

more »

Germany pick sides for Lahm

Left or right? That is the big question that hung over full-back Phillipp Lahm as Germany's game against Portugal looms, but the answer has only led to another mystery.

Now we all know. In the past few weeks, millions of football fans (at least in Germany) have wondered whether Philipp Lahm will be fielded as left or right-back by Joachim Löw at UEFA EURO 2012, with his captain equally comfortable in both roles.

On Thursday, in the team press conference in Gdansk, Lahm let the cat out of the bag. "I spoke to the Bundestrainer and he wants to see me play as left-back," said the FC Bayern München man. "It will always be the coach's decision and it is no problem for me. I will always serve the team."

Many had speculated, and even hoped, that Lahm would feature as right-back at least for the Portugal match. He brilliantly kept Cristiano Ronaldo occupied for long spells over two legs in Bayern's UEFA Champions League semi-final against Real Madrid CF in April, with Ronaldo likely to play on Portugal's left flank in Saturday's Group B opener. "Ronaldo is a complete player, he basically has it all," Lahm said. "His pace and his finishing are outstanding. He is surely unique in Europe and the entire world."

Their paths will not cross at UEFA EURO 2012, though. "The decision for Philipp to start on the left has been made," confirmed Löw. "I came to that conclusion in talks with him last week. He has played in that position for us for the past two years. I believe it is very, very good for our game if Philipp features on the left."

This is bad but not entirely unexpected news for Borussia Dortmund left-back Marcel Schmelzer, who is now relegated to a secondary role. However, the next question is, who will play at right-back? "I don't know what the Bundestrainer plans on the right wing, but Jérôme Boateng has collected enough experience, especially this season," said Lahm. "I don't think he will need many tips from me."

"Jérôme Boateng would be the first choice on the right side," said Löw, but on Wednesday the 52-year-old had tried out another option in practice which might be more suited to countering the agile Ronaldo rather than the bulky Boateng. "I saw in training that Lars Bender does extremely well in that position," Low said. "I will take my time to make the final decisions."

So is fielding the relatively inexperienced Bender, with just six caps to Boateng's 21 and usually a holding midfielder, really Löw's plan to nullify Ronaldo? We will have to wait until Saturday to find out.

READ MORE

more »

Valdés vaunts Spain's easy virtue

Goalkeeper Victor Valdés feels tournaments can be won with the help of pool tables and ping-pong as he tells UEFA.com how the right atmosphere helps Spain win games.

One of the little secrets of Spain's trophy success over the last four years is achieving that state of grace known in the game as the tournament mentality.

Outside the professional game many people simply think that to be young, talented and well paid is sufficient to keep a footballer totally focused, motivated and operating at high performance. That is not always so.

Boredom, frustration, loneliness, lack of form – these can be like rust on the bottom of a car if a player does not have the correct mentality. However Spain, both under Luis Aragonés in 2008 and two years ago when Vicente Del Bosque's side won the FIFA World Cup, seem to have found both a buoyant spirit and a way of living which keeps spirits high and minds completely on the job in hand.

Victor Valdés saw that trick at first hand in South Africa and intends, if he is not called into action as Iker Casillas' deputy, to do his bit to keep La Roja's elite as a happy camp. "Since I have been part of the national side, I have noticed the importance of areas where the players can relax and play different games, such as cards, pool or table tennis, and share moments with the squad," he told UEFA.com. "All that creates a good atmosphere that you need to win matches.

“For a team to be successful, it's vital that there is a good atmosphere within the squad, that every single player provides what they can for the good of the national side. However, at the end of the day, there must be a good atmosphere for that to take place."

If there are two other teams who have, almost without fail, had such a good tournament mentality that they can turn up and be ultra competitive irrespective of form and injuries they are Germany and Spain's Group C rivals on Sunday – Italy.

The likely starting right-back for the reigning champions, Álvaro Arbeloa, cannot help but admire the perpetually robust nature of the Italian footballing attitude. "Italy can be struggling, perhaps not controlling the game, looking like they are not doing anything, but they are able to hold on, and then with one chance they can win the match," he pointed out to UEFA.com. "That is how the Italians are; they have that competitive edge, that winning nature that has seen them win so many titles."

Valdés knows that Del Bosque hit the mark when he pointed out that of the current Azzurri squad, Andrea Pirlo is the key man. He admires their mentality and he admires the little Juventus playmaker. "He's the player that carries the Italian midfield," said the 30-year-old. "Everything goes through him. They have wingers that get forward a lot, they go on the attack. The strikers play quite deep, but they are always looking for that assist from Pirlo. We'll have to keep an eye on him and how we can counter that type of play."

READ MORE

more »

Name your team: Germany

Former Germany No1 Jens Lehmann has praise for his successor in the latest of our series asking retired greats from each UEFA EURO 2012 hopeful who they would pick in their own XIs.

Throughout the tournament, UEFA.com will be talking to some of the greatest players from UEFA EURO 2012's participating nations and asking who would make their starting XIs if they were handed the reins to their national sides.

In the latest instalment of our series, we canvass the views of former Germany goalkeeper Jens Lehmann, who helped his country finish third at the 2006 FIFA World Cup on home soil.

Lehmann won 61 caps between 1998 and 2008 and is full of praise for one of his successors as Germany's No1, Manuel Neuer – although he believes the midfield pairing of Bastian Schweinsteiger and Sami Khedira could be key figures as Joachim Löw's side begin against Portugal on Saturday.

To view Lehmann's picks, click on the video above.

READ MORE

more »

Italy's Chiellini confident of Spain upset

A fit-again Giorgio Chiellini knows Italy's opening match will be an arduous assignment but insists his side are ready. "We can cause Spain problems," he told UEFA.com. "We believe we can win."

In terms of opening matches of a major tournament, Italy's does not come any harder. Cesare Prandelli's charges start UEFA EURO 2012 against the reigning European and world champions in what promises to be a baptism of fire but defender Giorgio Chiellini is not only confident the Azzurri can match Spain; he insists "We can beat them".

Though they have been shorn of striker David Villa and Carles Puyol, Chieillini does not subscribe to the view that Spain are no longer the indomitable force that have ruled the international stage for the last four years, but he is nonetheless confident his side can overcome the tournament favourites on their own terms.

"Spain have proven that even without certain individuals, their play is not dictated by memory," he told UEFA.com. "Even in their recent friendlies they fielded some new players who proved they have as much quality up front [as the usual starters]. They are a team very much like the one of four years ago that won everything."

That side eliminated Italy in a quarter-final penalty shoot-out as they embarked on a winning cycle by triumphing at UEFA EURO 2008, but Chiellini believes Prandelli's squad can break Spain's stranglehold. "We have great motivation and belief that we can win this game," said the Juventus defender, who won his 50th cap against the United States in February. "We will not wait in defence for the odd counterattack because that is not in our nature. We will try to respect our opponents and try to do what we have been doing over the past two years – play good football."

Playing the beautiful game is a philosophy close to Prandelli's heart and Chiellini, who has completely recovered from a thigh strain that has sidelined him for three weeks, is anticipating a spectacle in Gdansk. "The EUROs are so short that every game is very important, if not decisive. We are well aware that it will be a difficult start, the first game is always complicated. We will take to the pitch aware of the great qualities our opponents but also with the knowledge that we can play our game, that we can win this game. We will try and match them but also cause them problems with our qualities. In all probability it will be a very exciting game."

Much of the build-up to Italy's tournament has focused on the injury to Andrea Barzagli, with Cagliari Calcio defender Davide Astori cutting short a holiday in Miami to join up with the squad as cover for Chiellini's Juventus club-mate. Prandelli has experimented with different ideas in training, but Chiellini, who made his own EURO bow four years ago following an injury to Fabio Cannavaro, insists that attitude is more important than any tactical tinkering.

"Regardless of the tactics, having the right attitude and the desire to help each other out is the most important thing," said the 27-year-old, who played in various formations this season as Juventus claimed the Serie A title. "Our coach has a great deal of experience and in the next few days he will evaluate the best way for the team to play. We have all played at a high level and have played in many different formations so over the next few days we will be able to see what the coach thinks is best for the team. For me, though, tactics are all relative, other factors count."

READ MORE

more »

'Magic moment at our fingertips'

The Royal Castle in Warsaw provided a perfect setting for the European football family to join its guests in celebration of UEFA EURO 2012 – and to thank Poland and Ukraine for their work.

The European football family and its guests gathered together at Warsaw's Royal Castle on Thursday night to herald the much-anticipated start of UEFA EURO 2012 in Poland and Ukraine, with all eyes turning eagerly towards what everyone hopes will be a celebration of football's beauty and values in the weeks to come.

Speaking to government ministers, representatives of the eight host cities, members of European national football associations, and sporting and business guests from throughout Europe and beyond, UEFA President Michel Platini encapsulated the anticipation that is now at fever pitch for the tournament.

"We are finally there! The people of Poland and Ukraine have been waiting for more than five years for this moment," said Mr Platini. "This magic moment is at our fingertips.

"In less than 24 hours, the EURO will kick off and the whole of Europe will finally be able to breathe football, be stirred by football and live football non-stop for more than three weeks," he added. "This kick-off will be like a liberation for all of us, as well as for the players, who are only waiting for one thing – to be on the pitch and show that they can go down in history.

"The three weeks which lie ahead must be an immense festival, a popular celebration of the most beautiful sport in the world, because football is just one thing – happiness in its purest form.

"Above all there will be emotions – joy, tears, and exchanges between supporters," the UEFA President continued. "Passionate fans from throughout Europe – or even further away – who will return home with their heads full of images after having lived through a unique experience."

Mr Platini thanked the governments of Poland and Ukraine, as well as the presidents of the two national associations, Grzegorz Lato (Poland) and Gregoriy Surkis (Ukraine), for the work undertaken since they were awarded UEFA EURO 2012 in 2007. "It is a unique and exceptional opportunity for your countries," he said. "This is an opportunity to be seized. It is an historic opening. Anyone who has not understood this is mistaken, and you are going to show them just how."

The UEFA President welcomed the presidents of the 16 participating associations on stage, and presented them with a symbolic gift – a hand-crafted silver football boot. "Good luck to you all," he said. "I hope all your players will behave in an exemplary manner on the pitch, and hope especially that they will succeed in making us dream during this EURO."

READ MORE

more »