Euro 2008 Gaffers Notes

Latest News from the world of football

26th June 2008

Barcelona could be ready to offer Andrei Arshavin his dream move to the Nou Camp after Zenit St Petersburg confirmed the Spanish giants have made an approach for the attacker.

Hull City manager Phil Brown is planning to hold talks with former Bolton Wanderers midfielder Stelios Giannakopoulos.

Lilian Thuram is expected to join Paris St Germain from Barcelona after agreeing a one-year deal with the French club. (L'Equipe, 1001 BST)

Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger has set his sights on Germany front man Mario Gomez, after learning of Adebayors decision to move elsewhere within the transfer window.

25th June 2008

Tottenham are preparing to bid £25.2m for Valencia striker David Villa. (Marca 0919 BST)

Newcastle boss Kevin Keegan is hoping to sign Switzerland striker Eren Derdiyok from FC Basel for £6m. (Daily Mirror)

Arsenal have identified Real Mallorca striker Daniel Guiza as a replacement for Barcelona target Emmanuel Adebayor. (Daily Mail)

Lazio and Lecce are trying to pinch Manchester City striker Georgios Samaras from under the nose of Celtic. (Daily Record)

Germany keeper Jens Lehmann says he would 'give his life' to reach the final of Euro 2008. (The Sun)

24th June 2008

PSG have been linked with the captures of France legends Ludovic Giuly, Claude Makelele, Robert Pires and Lillian Thuram. (skysports.com 1135 BST)

Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez is demanding £50m to secure the transfers of David Villa, Daniel Alves, David Silva and Gareth Barry. (The Mirror)

Turkey have suffered another blow after UEFA on Monday denied goalkeeper Volkan Demirel's appeal against his two-game suspension.

Veteran Czech striker Jan Koller has snubbed a move to Birmingham and is off to Russian club Krylia Sovetov Samara. (Daily Mirror)

New Inter Milan boss Jose Mourinho, is ready to approach FC Porto with an offer for winger Ricardo Quaresma, a former target of Tottenham. (AFP, 1039 BST)

23rd June 2008

Barcelona midfielder Deco is set to become new Chelsea boss Luiz Felipe Scolari's first signing in a £12m deal. (The Sun)

Russian forward Roman Pavlyuchenko has been linked with a move to Real Madrid.

Russian ace Andrei Arshavin says he has offers from England and Germany, but his preference is to play in Spain.

Bolton, West Brom and Werder Bremen have all been rumoured to be considering a move for Milan Baros, who is believed to be valued at £4.5million.

Everton, Newcastle and Schalke are all battleing it out for the signiture of Orlando Engelaar who has said he wants his future resloved as quickly as possible.

20th June 2008

Portugals Cristiano Ronaldo has confirmed he wants to move to Real Madrid

Nasri has completed a medical at Arsenal so his impending move looks to be near completion

The Daily Telegraph reports that Arsene Wenger has 'contacted Dick Advocaat, the coach of Zenit St Petersburg, to discuss the possibility of taking 27-year-old Andrei Arshavin to north London.'

Both The Daily Mirror and Guardian claim that Benitez has added the name of David Silva to his wish-list despite previous indications that buying the £20m-rated Spanish star would be beyond Liverpool's means.

Juventus general manager Jean-Claude Blanc is still confident of signing Xabi Alonso despite Liverpool reportedly holding out for a higher transfer fee reportedly in the region of £16 million

Birmingham are chasing the Czech Republic's 6ft 7in striker Jan Koller. (Daily Mirror, The Sun)

Dutch playmaker Rafael van der Vaart says he will not consider a move to Manchester or Chelsea until his country's Euro 2008 campaign is over. (The Sun)

Chelsea and France midfielder Claude Makelele is close to signing for Paris Saint-Germain. (The Times)

13th June 2008

Arsenal's hopes of signing Marseille playmaker Samir Nasri could be hijacked by Atletico Madrid. (Daily Mirror)

Manchester City have been given a week to sign Zenit St Petersburg playmaker Andrei Arshavin. (The Sun)

12th June 2008

Roma are stepping up their bid for West Ham United midfielder Freddie Ljungberg. (Tuttosport 1342 BST)

Portugal coach Big Phil Scolari has been appointed as Manager of Chelsea and will take charge after Euro 2008

New Chelsea manager Luiz Felipe Scolari will be handed a £100m transfer kitty to lure the best players in the world to Stamford Bridge. (Various)

David Villa is the most wanted striker in Europe with Scolari favourite to land the £25m Spaniard. (Daily Mirror)

Lazio have admitted they are keen on Celtic's Dutch striker Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink - but only at a cut-price fee. (Daily Record)

Paris Saint Germain are set to try their luck with a bid for Chelsea midfielder Claude Makelele who could be deemed surplus to requirements at Stamford Bridge. (Clubcall 1352 BST)

11th June 2008

Bayern Munich striker Lukas Podolski admits he may seek a move after Euro2008 with Manchester City a possible destination. (Blid 1331 BST)

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is keen on Germany midfielder Torsten Frings who would cost around £4m from Werder Bremen. (The Sun)

Ricardo Carvalho has told Chelsea he wants to leave the club to join former Blues manager Jose Mourinho at Inter Milan. (Various)

Portugal manager Luiz Felipe Scolari has hinted that he may be ready to 'live and work in another country', increasing speculation he could be about to join Chelsea. (Daily Mail).

10th June 2008

Lyon and Dutch forward Karim Benzema has admitting he would prefer a move to Real Madrid over Manchester United in the future. "I think that I need to get more experience and I'd like to help Lyon be a European champion," he said. "Then, in the future, we'll see what happens." (Marca, 1130)

Marseille have confirmed their interest in Dutch defender Khalid Boulahrouz who is currently contracted to Chelsea but has been on loan at Sevilla this season. The reports came after Boulahrouz had an impressive first game against Italy

Lazio have completed the signing of Czech Republic defender David Rozehnal from Newcastle.

Portsmouth chief executive Peter Storrie is adamant French midfielder Lassana Diarra will not leave the club, despite rumoured interest from Tottenham in the £10m-rated player. (Daily Telegraph)

And Goodison Park boss David Moyes is planning a daring raid on Sporting Lisbon to snatch Portugal's £16m-rated Joao Moutinho from under the noses of Manchester United and Arsenal. (The Sun)

Chelsea are facing a £10m tug-of-war with old boss Jose Mourinho - now manager at Inter Milan - for Barcelona's Portugal midfielder Deco. (The Sun)

Austria's misfiring striker Roland Linz has had to fight off rumours of being distracted by affairs of the heart after failing to score against Croatia. After splitting with swimmer Fabienne Nadarajah, he has been linked in the Viennese press with Miss Styria 2007. "I am not in love with her, I am single," he hit back. "I am angry." (The Guardian)

9th June 2008

Clashes between German and Polish fans led to 17 arrests in the Austrian city of Klagenfurt on Saturday. Two groups of around 100 supporters gathered in the city centre ahead of Sunday evening's Euro 2008 Group B encounter between the two sides - a match that organisers had already labelled as ''high risk'' for violence. A verbal dispute between the groups escalated into bottle throwing before Austrian police moved into the city centre at around 7pm to try and calm the imminent violence that was about to occur.

Portsmouth manager Harry Redknapp is lining up a sensational move to bring the French captain, Patrick Vieira back to the Premier League.

Real Madrid are desperate for Cristiano Ronaldo to demand a transfer as soon as Portugal's Euro 2008 campaign ends.

Arsenal's Robin van Persie and Real Madrid star Wesley Sneijder clashed in training ahead of the Netherlands' Euro 2008 game with Italy. (Daily Mirror)

Injured Switzerland captain Alexander Frei says Celtic have resurrected their interest in signing him from Borussi Dortmund. (0920 BST, Press Association)

Chelsea are on the hunt again with them now, setting their sights on French playmaker Franck Ribery. The premier league side have been told they will have to pay more than the 30.8 million they shelled out on Ukrainian misfit Andrei Shevchenko which would break the current British transfer record. Ribery is hot property at the moment after a magnificent first season with German Champions Bayern Munich and I’m sure he will have a pivotal role to play in Frances group stages and beyond which could further increase his reputation on the world stage as well as increasing his transfer fee even more. At the moment he is bang on form with a whole host of admiring teams casting an eye on his performances and with Frances opener against Romania tonight it looks like its all eyes on him.

6th June 2008

Tottenham manager Juande Ramos has set his sights on France and Portsmouth midfielder Lassana Diarra. (Daily Mirror)

5th June 2008

Paddy power are now offering customers an -All Group Matches Money-Back Special If a player is shown a red card in any of the group matches, Paddy Power will also refund all losing 1st/last goalscorer, correct score & scorecast singles on that match. (Conditions apply)

They will also have daily Money Back Specials throughout the tournament, to make life easier on their users!

And last but certainly not least they have launched a new Bet Slip Just in time for the start of Euro 2008, and its that good you have to go online and see it for yourself otherwise I will be rambling on for hours about it!

Sporting Lisbon have put a £23.5m price tag on Portugal midfielder and Arsenal target Miguel Veloso. (The Sun)

Celtic will monitor Spartak Moscow's Austrian defender Martin Stranzl at Euro 2008. (Daily Mail)

4th June 2008

Arsenal and Tottenham will do battle over Valencia striker David Villa, who has been made available for around £17m. (Daily Telegraph)

Turkey midfielder Arda Turkan is a £7m target for Newcastle. (Daily Mirror)

Austria star Paul Scharner looks set to leave the JJB Stadium with Sunderland joining Fulham in a £3m race for the Austrian. (Daily Star)

3rd June 2008

The Italy captain Fabio Cannavaro has been ruled out of Euro 2008 after rupturing ligaments in his left ankle during the Azzurri's first training session at their base in Modling, Austria yesterday. The injury was sustained following a tackle by fellow defender Giorgio Chiellini. The extent of the injury is serious and is thought to be ligament damage. Italian coach Roberto Donadoni reacted by calling in the ACF Fiorentina defender Alessandro Gamberini, who only has 2 caps to his name, and is realatively new to the international set up. This will come as a major blow to the Italians chances as Cannavaro is their talismanic captain and was their star during their world cup winning campaign.

2nd June 2008

Midfielder Mathieu Flamini has been called up to the French squad for the Euro 2008 finals following concerns over the fitness of captain Patrick Vieira. "Flamini is arriving today at Clairefontaine (France's training camp) and is added to the 23-man squad," team spokesman Yann Le Guillard said on Monday.

Juventus will resume talks with Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso today over a possible move to Italy. The two clubs are yet to agree a fee for the Spaniard with Liverpool holding out for £18m. (Channel 4 Football Italia)

Ricardo Quaresma, a £15m target for Liverpool, has declared he wants to leave Porto. If he does well at Euro 2008 I’m sure a scramble for his signature will occur amongst Europe’s elite (Metro)

Reports in Manchester have confirmed that Man Utd will make a bid to sign French Starlet Karim Benzema of Lyon, before Euro 2008 kicks off. As they have fears that he will light up the tournament which will cause his transfer fee to rise substantially and United are only willing to pay a maximum of £30 million.

The latest transfer news to surface from the Premier League is that Hamburg’s German defensive midfielder Piotr Trochowski has been revealed as a target by Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger. Local British newspapers have reported that Wenger is likely to make Hamburg a £5m offer as he bids to find a replacement for French midfielder Mathieu Flamini and give some support to Cesc Fabregas.

Italian veteran full back Gianluca Zambrotta has completed his move from Spanish giants Barcelona to Italian outfit AC Milan who are in dire need of a new fullback following the retirement of two of their former stars Cafu and Serginho.

30rd May 2008

Real Madrid have admitted defeat in their battle to lure Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo to the Bernabeu with president Ramon Calderon admitting he does not want to start a "conflict" with the Premier League champions. (Daily Telegraph)

David Trezeguet's agent, Antonio Caliendo, has revealed that Barcelona have contacted him to try and sign the Juventus striker. "Barca are interested in David," he said. "They have been for years." (1110, L'Equipe)

23rd May 2008

Juande Ramos is set to bring France's number one goalkeeper Gregory Coupet to Tottenham for a reported £2.5m from French Champions Lyon. (The Sun)

France striker Thierry Henry has admitted that the prospect of retiring from international soccer after next month's Euro 2008 tournament has crossed his mind. (L'Equipe, 1005)

Portugal’s veteran midfielder Petit has announced he will be retiring after this summers tournament due to persistent injury problems, and also because he wants to concentrate on his club football for the remainder of his career. At 31 Petit is no spring chicken but still adds experience and steel to the heart of Portugal’s midfield which will be vital if they are to make it all the way to the final. He also does the job of guarding the defence allowing players such as Deco, Ronaldo and Quaresma to go and play their attack minded style of football without having to worry too much about tracking back.

22nd May 2008

Veteran striker Thomas Häberli is in line to make a surprise comeback at Euro 2008 after being called up to replace the injured Blaise Kufo. Kufo is almost certain to miss the finals due to a torn thigh muscle. Swiss coach Jakob Kuhn wasted no time in bring in the 34-year-old Häberli. The BSC Young Boys forward has just one cap to his name, but has been in fine form this season which has meritted his inclusion. A tally of 18 goals this season was only bettered by club team-mate Hakan Yakin in the Swiss Super League.

French starlet Samir Nasri is the latest name to be linked with a transfer to Arsenal and reports suggest Arsenal have tabled an £11 million pound bid to try and prise away Nasri from his beloved Marseille. He has been touted as the next Zidane by the French Press so I’m sure he will have a lot to prove at this summer’s tournament.

21st May 2008

French national Claude Makelele has confirmed he intends to quit international football after this summers Euro 2008. The 35-year-old Chelsea midfielder previously announced his retirement from the international stage after the World Cup in 2006.
But Coach Raymond Domenech refused to accept his decision and called him up. This made Makelele go back on his original decision and play in the Euro 2008 qualifying rounds. Makelele has insisted he will not change his mind again, and he will play his final games for Les Bleus at this tournament.

Reports suggest that Spainish international Cesc Fabregas is close to signing a new contract extension at Arsenal after the Gunners successfully warded off Real Madrid and Barcelona for the time being, in their chase for his signature. Hopefully this will impact his performances during this summer’s tournament as he doesn’t have anything to worry about regarding his future.

Italian coach Roberto Donadoni has named his preliminary 24 man squad with a few surprise inclusions, for example; Antonio Cassano, who although has been in great form this season for Sampdoria, has been overlooked by the national set up since early 2006. The reasons for this were that many were unsure about his team ethic as well as his attitude, but this season he has been a revelation since joining Sampdoria on loan from Spanish giants Real Madrid scoring 10 goals in 22 appearances. Donadoni went on to say "I'm not taking any chances with Cassano; he is not a youngster any more and knows what it means to be a member of a group. I know perfectly well what he can give in technical terms.” Cassano has been a mercurial figure throughout his career but for his sake and Italy’s hopefully he can get over his own arrogance and make a name for himself during this summer's tournament.

19th May 2008

A choice that has left many French nationals shocked is the inclusion on Bafetimbi 'Bafe' Gomis over the experienced Juventus forward David Trezeguet. David Trezeguet hasn’t been in the best form this season for his club side but my thoughts are that his experience and proven goal scoring record on the international stage would have been a huge boost for Domenech’s squad.

14th May 2008

Great news for Sweden fans is that their coach Lars Lagerback has managed to convince Henrik Larsson that he still has a future with the Swedish national team. Larsson retired from international football after Sweden was knocked out of the last world cup, but his great form for Helsingborg has meant that Lagerback was forced to recognise that without their former fans favourite Sweden could struggle to progress past the group stages which is why he made it a priority to talk Larsson back into the international Squad.

Bad news for Dutch fans is that one of their stars of the last decade has announced that he wants be withdrawn from the Netherlands squad for Euro 2008 following a telephone conversation with Coach Marco van Basten. In a statement, Seedorf said "It is a decision that comes after serious consideration and months of reflection.Since my return to the national team, the right conditions have not been created to let me perform at my best and to effectively excel as the team member I always strive to be."

Turkey coach Fatih Terim has named his initial 26-man squad for Euro 2008 but a big surprise was the fact that there was no place in the squad for veteran striker Hakan Şükür. Hakan Şükür has been the talisman of the Turkish National team for the best part of a decade and is their leading all time goal scorer. He hasn’t been in the best form of late but his exclusion has still rocked the Turkish fans as they still hold him close to their hearts.

7th May 2008

Tonight is going to be a tasty match up between 2nd and 3rd placed Motherwell and Rangers respectively. The game is so important because for Rangers a win is imperative to keep their title hopes in tact! Rangers might have their eye on another trophy though as they have progressed to the final of the Uefa cup for the first time in a quarter century.

24th April 2008

More news that will bring a smile to the faces of spurs fans is the imminent arrival of Luka Modric, the star of Croatia’s Euro 2008 qualifying campaign. He was a major coup considering half of Europe were chasing after his signature. It could spell the beginning of a new era under Juande Ramos that could bring good times back to White Hart Lane.

21st April 2008

A rumour I had heard recently is that with Czech Republics captain and talisman Tomas Rosicky out injured and likely to miss Euro 2008 the Czech coaches, players and government are trying to get Pavel Nedved out of retirement just for the tournament as he was their star player for the best part of a decade and could prove the difference in a game against a worthy opponent e.g. Portugal in the group stages.