Euro 2008 Curious facts

Rakitic better than Suker?

The media are obviously comparing this Croatian team with the epic 1998 team that featured the likes of Suker and Prosinecki who climbed to 3rd place at the French World Cup. However Darijo Srna said: “We are better.”

Console the Austrians!
A German travel agency offers a 10% discount on flights to Austria. The reason? Console the Austrians.
However, the motto says: “Enjoy the faces of losers.”

Fussy Ref
Despite not openly criticizing the referee’s decisions during the Austria-Germany game, Jens Lehmann shared with us a peculiar decision of the ref: “At the beginning of the game the ref asked the Austrian captain to change the white band he was wearing around his shinpad. He wanted it to be red.”

Acquitted!
According to Poles Leo Beenhakker is not the reason for Poland’s disappointing campaign. The main reasons are “the people in charge who don’t do anything about corruption”, “the players who didn’t put enough effort” and “politicians who neglect sport in Poland”.

Banned Advertisement
A Paris-based society has made an advertisement that has been censored in Austria. It represents a passionate French Kiss between a German and an Austrian fan.

Rubbish
500,000 fans have left over 95 tonnes of rubbish in the old town of Vienna. Monday evening, following Austria-Germany, five trucks emptied the public WC’s of 52,000 litres!

Swiss Holidays
Due to the early exit, the Swiss players are heading towards their summer destinations. Inler is going to stay in Braga, Portugal. Philipp Degen is going to be divided between Basel and Ibiza (quite different climates, huh?. Barnetta, Lichtsteiner, Zuberbuehler and Gygax have no idea yet! They certainly didn’t expect to have such long holidays. Alas.

Bankrupt Hotel?
France’s exit is ruining someone else’s summer. The Bleus had their lodgings at the Hotel Mirador Kempinski (Vaud - Switzerland) and were supposed to be the only guests until the 1st of July. Yet they left today and the Hotel doesn’t know whether they’ll be able to open before that date.

Fan Village fails to impress
The Fan Village in Bout-du-Monde, Geneva, has had a very low attendance. The owners of the stands had to pay the lease beforehand and have lost a considerable amount of money. They demand that they be reimbursed. The organisation was excellent in Geneva although the choice of placing a fanzone in such a remote area is a questionable one, hence the consequences.

Heat Wave approaching!
According to the Swiss Meteorological Service a heat wave is approaching. The temperature should rise to 30° on Sunday which is quite a change compared to the 15° in Romania-Netherlands. We shall see what consequences this will have on the players.