About Soccer At The World

Saya masih ingat waktu itu di piala eropa 2004, pasar taruhan seluruh dunia seperti biasa lebih menjagokan tim tim kuat yang akan memenangkannya tak terlepas kita pun sebagai maniak bola menjagokan tim-tim kuat eropa tapi apa yang terjadi selanjutnya dalam kejuaraan tersebut? Tim underdog muncul sebagai JUARA.

PIALA Eropa 2004 adalah final kepagian antara Inggris melawan Prancis. Masihkah Anda ingat laga itu? Ya, pada partai kedua Grup B, 13 Juni 2004. Laga ini menjadi begitu istimewa karena dua raksasa sepak bola terkuat di Eropa bertemu.

Boleh dibilang laga itu adalah laga "bola mati" David Beckham melawan Zinedine Zidane. Pada menit ke-38, Beckham melepas tendangan bebas dari sayap kanan dan disambar tandukan Frank Lampard, 1-0. Beberapa menit kemudian, Beckham mendapat kesempatan dari titik putih 12 pas. Sayang, kiper Fabian Barthez masih diselamatkan tiang gawang.

Menjelang bubaran, terjadi pelanggaran di luar kotak penalti pada menit ke-90! Zizou lantas melepas tendangan melengkung dan menukik ke sisi kanan bawah gawang kawalan kiper David James, 1-1. Hanya 3 menit berselang, back pass Steven Gerrard ke area penalti dicuri Thierry Henry. Atas nama kesucian gawang "St. George`s Cross", James lantas menjatuhkan sang striker. Wasit asal Jerman Markus Merk pun menunjuk titik putih. Zizou membawa Prancis balik unggul 2-1. Namun, bukan Inggris atau Prancis yang lantas menjadi pemenang.

Bicara mengenai Piala Eropa 2004 adalah bicara mengenai Yunani. Bagaimana tidak, "Negeri Seribu Dewa" ini membalikkan segala prediksi dengan membuat kejutan dan menjadi juara. Hadir di Portugal tanpa pemain berstatus bintang, Yunani sempat dipandang sebelah mata. Apalagi mereka berada di grup kuat bersama tuan rumah, Spanyol, dan Rusia.

Pada pertandingan pertamanya, skuad besutan Otto Rehhagel itu mengalahkan Portugal. Ini menjadi awal kejutan yang dilakukan Theodoros Zagorakis dkk. Yunani maju ke perempat final mendampingi Portugal sebagai juara Grup A. Kemudian, Yunani menyingkirkan Prancis lewat gol semata wayang Charisteas.

Namun, Yunani masih dianggap hanya beruntung. Pada semifinal Republik Cheska mereka gebuk 1-0 lewat gol Traianos Dellas saat perpanjangan waktu. Yunani lolos ke final untuk menghadapi Portugal lagi, yang di semifinal menyingkirkan Belanda 2-1. Pada final di Estadio de Luz, Lisabon yang dipadati oleh 62.685 penonton, keperkasaan Yunani terbukti.

Gol Charisteas pada menit ke-57 memastikan kemenangan Yunani, sekaligus membungkam pendukung Portugal yang telah bersiap menggelar pesta. Masih ada kejutan lain ketika tim tangguh Jerman, Italia, dan Spanyol sudah harus tersingkir di babak grup. Sementara Inggris hanya menembus perempat final sebelum disingkirkan Portugal lewat adu penalti setelah bermain imbang 2-2. Pada drama adu penalti tersebut sang kapten David Beckham gagal mencetak gol.

Kemenangan Yunani tersebut sekaligus menunjukkan bahwa kekuatan sepak bola di Eropa sudah mulai berimbang, tidak bisa diprediksi lagi seperti pada kejuaran-kejuaran sebelumnya.

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How are their preparations going for UEFA EURO 2008™?

• With only friendly games to prepare themselves for co-hosting the finals, Austria have endured some tough times.
• Charged with the task of building a new Austria side for 2008, coach Josef Hickersberger knew the process was likely to be a painful one, saying: "It goes without saying that this process means facing and overcoming obstacles and setbacks."
• Hickersberger lost his first three games in charge before a 2-2 draw against Costa Rica in September 2006 helped ease the pressure. He finally earned a first win at the fifth attempt, 2-1 against Liechtenstein thanks to a late Thomas Prager goal, and followed that up with a 2-1 victory against fellow hosts Switzerland.
• René Aufhauser struck a hat-trick in a 4-1 success against Trinidad & Tobago in October 2006, but it was to be another year – and another ten games – before Austria won again, beating Ivory Coast 3-2 in Innsbruck.
• Hickersberger continues to blood young talent, and said: "I'm convinced we will see a very different national team at the European Championship. Both Austria and Switzerland will be excellent hosts. They will put on a sensational tournament and I am convinced that both teams will reach the quarter-finals."

How did they perform in 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifying?
• A third-placed finish in Group 6 meant Austria missed out on their second successive FIFA World Cup finals, having last appeared at the 1998 event in France.
• Hans Krankl's Austria made a bright start, holding section favourites England to a 2-2 draw in Vienna, after two goals in four minutes from Roland Kollman and Andreas Ivanschitz cancelled out efforts from Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard.
• However, a 3-1 home defeat by Poland in their fourth game was a disappointment from which they never quite recovered.
• A second defeat against Poland ended any realistic hopes of qualification, and Krankl resigned with two qualifiers still to play, angry at the news that he was to be replaced by Hickersberger - then coach of SK Rapid Wien.
• Austria subsequently lost 1-0 in England and beat Northern Ireland 2-0 at home.

How did they perform in UEFA EURO 2004™ qualifying?
• The Czech Republic and the Netherlands proved too strong for Austria as they finished third in Group 3, well out of the qualifying picture.
• Successive 2-0 wins in their opening qualifiers against Moldova and Belarus augured well, but a 3-0 home defeat against the Dutch followed by a 4-0 mauling in the Czech Republic represented the writing on the wall.
• Both the section's big names would inflict further defeats on Krankl's side before the end of the campaign, and to add insult to injury, Austria also lost 1-0 in Moldova.

What is their best performance in the UEFA European Championship?
• Austria have never qualified for a UEFA European Championship final tournament, and so will be playing in the finals for the first time when they co-host UEFA EURO 2008™. They came within one round of the four-team final tournament of the inaugural 1960 competition, but lost 9-4 on aggregate to France in the quarter-finals.

Key facts
• Austria will be one of two first-time contenders at the UEFA European Championship finals along with Poland. However, they have played at seven FIFA World Cup final tournaments.

All-time record
• Going into the finals of UEFA EURO 2008™, their record in the tournament was 80 matches played, with 33 wins, 13 draws and 34 defeats, and 146 goals scored and 125 conceded.

Opportunity

• A Biggest weapon in the form of the team is a public support in the country
• Spirit of big invert status underdog
• Young domination player will place forward physical

Weakness

• Too old do not come up in formal competition
• Josef Hickersberger not yet found best skuad
• Minim in the case of player items

Formation

( 4-4-1-1) Manninger; Garics, Prodl, Hiden, Fuchs; Sariyar, Aufhauser, Weissenberger, Standfest; Ivanschitz; Linz

Squad

Goalkeepers Jürgen Macho,Alex Manninger,Helge Payer

Defenders Johannes Ertl,Ronald Gercaliu,Martin Hiden,Andreas Ibertsberger,Markus Katzer,
Jürgen Patocka,Sebastian Prödl,Franz Schiemer,Joachim Standfest,Martin Stranzl

Midfielders René Aufhauser,Christian Fuchs,György Garics,Andreas Ivanschitz,Veli Kavlak,
Christoph Leitgeb,Michael Mörz,Thomas Prager,Klaus Salmutter,Yüksel Sariyar,Jürgen Säumel, Markus Weissenberger

Forwards Martin Harnik,Roman Kienast,Saniel Kuljic,Roland Linz

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KROASIA
Pelatih: Slaven Bilic
Kapten: Niko Kovac
Masuk FIFA: 1992
Masuk UEFA: 1992
Stadiun: Maksimir Stadium
Kapasitas: 38.000
Kaos: Merah
Celana: Putih

Datang Meniti Prestasi Gemilang
Timnas Kroasia bisa dikatakan sebagai kekuatan level II di benua Eropa. Kroasia belum mampu bersaing dengan sederet negara raksasa sepakbola seperti Belanda, Jerman, Italia atau Prancis. Maklum, Kroasia merupakan negara baru di dataran Eropa.

Kroasia adalah pecahan Yugoslavia dan mulai aktif pada 1990. Namun Badan Sepakbola Dunia (UEFA) dan Federasi Sepakbola Internasional (FIFA) baru mengakui keberadaan Kroasia, dua tahun kemudian.

Kompetisi resmi perdana yang dikuti Kroasia adalah kualifikasi Euro 1996. Hebatnya, Kroasia berhasil melenggang hingga perempat final. Kroasia tiba-tiba mengejutkan publik sepakbola dunia ketika merebut posisi ketiga pada World Cup 1998 di Prancis. Prestasi itu semakin lengkap setelah Davor Suker meraih sepatu emas.

FIFA bahkan menobatkan Korasia sebagai tim yang mengalami peningkatan sangat pesat atau Best Mover of the Year pada 1994 dan 1998. Sejak itu, Kroasia menjadiperhatian jagad sepakbola dunia. Negara besar pun selalu memperhitungkan penampilan Kroasia.

Kroasia bahkan tidak pernah mengalami kekalahan ketika tampil di kandang sejak 1994. Hasil serupa juga ditorehkan pada babak kualifikasi World Cup 2002 dan 2006.

Pada Euro 2008, Kroasia datang tetap dipandang sebagai underdog. Namun bukan berarti kekuatan Kroasia bisa diabaikan tim lawan. Apalagi, Kroasia berada di Grup B bersama Jerman, Polandia dan Austria. Artinya, peluang Kroasia mengulangi prestasi World Cup 1998 terbuka lebar.

The Star
Niko Kranjcar
Kroasia pantas dinobatkan sebagai negara pencetak pemain bintang. Sederet nama bintang dimiliki Kroasia. Sebut saja Dario Simic (AC Milan), Marko Babic (Real Betis), Igor Budan (Parma), Mladen Petric (Borussia Dortmund), dan Eduardo da Silva (Arsenal).

Dari nama-nama tersebut, ada satu pemain yang kemungkinan akan menjadi bintang Kroasia di Euro 2008. Niko Kranjcar, gelandang yang dikenal energik menyuplai bola matang bagi striker dalam timnnya. Gelandang tengah ini merupakan tulang punggung skuad Timnas Kroasia pada World Cup 2006.

Penyuplai bola yang sangat kreatif ini menjadi kapten Dinamo Zegreb, saat berusia 19 tahun. Karirnya dimulai ketika bergabung dengan akademi Dinamo Zegreb. Debut pertamanya membela Timnas Kroasia saat berlaga di level U-21. Dia juga turut andil dalam laga Euro 2004.

Kranjcar mengejutkan manajemen Dinamo ketika memutuskan hengkang ke Hajduk pada tahun 2005. Usai membela Timnas Kroasia di World Cup 2006, dia hengkang ke Portsmouth. Musim pertamanya membela Pompey, dia hanya berlaga sebanyak lima kali tanpa mencetak gol.

Pemain kelahiran 13 Agustus 1984 di Wina itu adalah anak kandung mantan pelatih Timnas Kroasia, Zlatko Kranjcar. Sejak bergabung dengan Kroasia pada 2004, pemain yang mengenakan kostum nomor 9 itu, tampil dalam 38 laga internasional. Dia bahkan menyumbangkan lima gol bagi Kroasia.

Kostum Tim :







Skuad Kroasia:
Kiper: Stipe Pletikosa (FC Spartak Moscow), Mario Galinovic (Panathinaikos FC), Vedran Runje (RC Lens)

Belakang: Dario Simic (AC Milan), Josip Simunic (Hertha BSC Berlin), Robert Kovac (Borussia Dortmund), Vedran Corluka (Manchester City), Hrvoje Vejic (FC Tom Tomsk), Dario Knezevic (AS Livorno), Dino Drpic (Dinamo Zagreb)

Tengah: Ivan Rakitic (FC Schalke 04), Marko Babic (Real Betis), Niko Kovac (FC Red Bull Salzburg), Darijo Srna (FC Shakhtar Donetsk), Luka Modric (Dinamo Zagreb), Jurica Vranjes (SV Werder Bremen), Jerko Leko (AS Monaco), Niko Kranjcar (Portsmouth), Danijel Pranjic (SC Heerenveen), Ognjen Vukojevic (Dinamo Zagreb),

Depan: Bosko Balaban (Dinamo Zagreb), Ivica Olic (Hamburger SV), Igor Budan (Parma), Mladen Petric (Borussia Dortmund), Eduardo (Arsenal), Mario Mandzukic (Dinamo Zagreb), Nikola Kalinic (Hajduk Split).

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