Euro 2012 - Poland & Ukraine

National Association
and Coach Profiles
National Association and Coach Profiles

ALBANIA
UEFA European Championship record
P74 W11 D17 L 46 F58 A140

2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying
Group 1: P10 W1 D4 L5 F6 A13 Pts7
With Dutchman Arie Haan at the helm, Albania made a promising start to qualifying, picking up
scoreless draws with Sweden and Portugal and a 3-0 victory against Malta in autumn 2007.
Successive defeats by Hungary and Denmark in March and April 2008 spelled the end of
Haan's reign, however, and Croatian Josip Kuze took the helm for the final three matches a
2-1 loss to Portugal in added time, a 1-1 draw with the Danes and a 4-1 defeat by the Swedes.

UEFA EURO 2008
Qualifying Group G: P12 W2 D5 L5 F12 A18 Pts11
Croatian coach Otto Bari led Albania on arguably their best run in UEFA European
Championship qualifying. Two draws with Bulgaria, which spoiled their opponents' hopes of
progressing, two more with Slovenia and one with Belarus, along with victories over
Luxembourg, secured a respectable fifth-placed finish. Things might have been even better a
91
st
-minute goal by Netherlands forward Ruud van Nistelrooy goal inflicted a 1-0 defeat on
Bari's side in Tirana in September 2007 and the following month they conceded an 87
th
-
minute equaliser at home to Bulgaria. Two closing reverses 4-2 against Belarus and 6-1 in
Romania led to Bari's resignation.

UEFA European Championship best performance
Mathematically, Albania achieved their best points-per-game ratio in UEFA EURO 2004
qualifying, when they took eight from a possible 24. Drawn in Group 10 with Russia,
Switzerland, Ireland and Georgia, they emerged with an unbeaten home record having beaten
both Russia and Georgia 3-1, and drawn against Switzerland and the Republic of Ireland.

Key facts
Albania have played in all but three UEFA European Championship qualifying competitions
missing out in 1960, 1976 and 1980. Their first appearance came in the last 16 of the 1964
edition, following up a 4-0 defeat by Denmark with a 1-0 victory in Tirana.

Head coach: Josip Kue
Date of birth: 13 November 1952
Nationality: Croatian
Playing career: NK Dinamo Zagreb
Coaching career: Sydney Croatia, BSK Slavonski Brod, FK Borac Banja Luka, NK Dinamo
Zagreb, Rot-Weiss Erfurt, 1. FSV Mainz 05, Gamba Osaka, NK Zagreb, Chemnitzer FC, NK
Inter Zaprei, NK Dinamo Zagreb, Rwanda, JEF United Ichihara Chiba, Albania
Spent his entire playing career as a defender with Dinamo Zagreb, making 384 appearances
and scoring 14 goals between 1971 and 1981.
Started to coach in Australia, with Sydney Croatia, before working in Germany and Japan as
well as his homeland.
Dismissed by Inter Zaprei at the end of a disappointing 2003/04 season, he returned with
a bang to win the 2005/06 Prva Liga title with Dinamo Zagreb, schooling future Croatian
internationals Luka Modri and Eduardo in the process.
Sacked by Dinamo in November 2006, but not before becoming the first coach to take an
overseas team to Arsenal FC's new stadium, in a UEFA Champions League qualifier.
Rwanda coach for two months from November 2007 to January 2008, he returned to
international football in May 2009, replacing Dutchman Arie Haan to become the fifth
successive foreigner to take charge of Albania. A 6-1 win against Cyprus in his third game in
charge represented a record margin of victory for Albania.

ANDORRA
P30 W0 D0 L30 F6 A88

Just as in UEFA EURO 2008 qualifying, Andorra were in the same group as England and Croatia
and they fared comparatively better though they lost all four games, it was by a 14-0
aggregate this time rather than 21-0. In their second fixture against England in Barcelona,
David Rodrigo's team held out for 48 minutes before falling to two Joe Cole goals. The closest
they came to a point was against Belarus four days later when they were holding their
opponents 1-1 until the 79
th
minute. That was as good as it got for a team later beaten 6-0 by
both England and Ukraine.

UEFA EURO 2008
Qualifying Group E: P12 W0 D0 L12 F2 A42 Pts0
Andorra opened with a 5-0 defeat by England at Old Trafford and worse was to follow a month
later when Croatia put seven past them in Zagreb. Things improved for Rodrigo's minnows
when they met England again in Barcelona in March 2007 the locals keeping it scoreless until
the 54
th
minute. England went on to win 3-0 but the positives gained from that match served
the Andorrans well. Indeed an 82
nd
-minute equaliser scored by Fernando Silva away to Estonia
that August would have brought them their first ever qualifying point but for Indrek Zelinski's
winner in added time.

Andorra's best showing came during the UEFA EURO 2000 qualifiers. Although they failed to
register a point in ten games, conceding just three goals in two qualifiers against eventual
tournament winners France was deemed a huge feat for the team from the Pyrenean
principality. That campaign also yielded their highest number of goals scored in a UEFA
European Championship campaign, namely three.

Key facts
Andorra made their competitive international debut in qualifying for UEFA EURO 2000 and
have lost all 30 European qualifiers. However, on 13 October 2004, they registered a historic
milestone when they collected their first competitive international triumph with a 1-0 home win

Armenia
P40 W7 D8 L25 F24 A61

Armenia made a miserable start to their qualifying programme losing their first four games
with 12 goals conceded and just one scored. Although Gevorg Ghazaryan's late equaliser
brought a first point at home against Estonia in March 2009, Danish coach Jan Poulsen had
made way for Vardan Minasyan by the time Armenia lost the return fixture in Tallinn the next
month a result that virtually guaranteed them the wooden spoon. They finally gave their
home supporters something to celebrate with a 2-1 win over Belgium in September 2009,
courtesy of goals from Hovhannes Goharyan and the long-serving Sargis Hovsepyan, who
reached the 100-cap milestone during the course of the campaign.

UEFA EURO 2008
Qualifying Group A: P12 W2 D3 L7 F4 A13 Pts9
It was an emotionally draining campaign for Armenias footballers who achieved some
commendable results but were left mourning their Scottish coach Ian Porterfield, who died in
September 2007, less than three weeks after his team's 1-1 home draw with Portugal.
Porterfield had guided his charges to successive wins over Kazakhstan (2-1) and eventual
group winners Poland (1-0) that June and the Armenians would concede just three goals in six
home games overall, including a draw against Serbia in their first fixture after their coach's
passing. Armenia together with Azerbaijan played two matches fewer than the section's other
sides after UEFA cancelled their two encounters following a disagreement over venues.

Armenia's best points-per-game ratio came in UEFA EURO 2004 qualifying when they beat
Northern Ireland both at home and away and held Ukraine at home to finish fourth in their
five-team group. They had their moments in UEFA EURO 2000 qualifying too when they also
finished one off the bottom, achieving their biggest margin of victory in the competition with a
3-0 triumph in Andorra in October 1999, earning home draws with Iceland and Ukraine, and
running eventual European champions France close in a 3-2 reverse in Yerevan.

Key facts
Armenia got the better of Belgium at the sixth time of asking with that 2-1 World Cup
qualifying win in 2009. The countries had previously met on five occasions and Belgium had
won each time, with Armenia not managing a single goal. Armenia's first international match
was a goalless home draw with Moldova on 14 October 1992.

Head coach: Vardan Minasyan
Date of birth: 5 January 1974
Nationality: Armenian
Playing career: FC Ararat Yerevan, FC Homenetmen Yerevan, FC Pyunik (twice), FC
Lokomotiv St. Petersburg
Coaching career: Armenia, FC Pyunik
A forceful midfielder, he spent the bulk of his playing career with Pyunik (formerly FC
Homenetmen Yerevan), winning six Armenian championships with the club in two spells (1992-
97 and 2001-03).
Capped 17 times by Armenia between 1996 and 2003.
Began coaching career as an assistant both with Pyunik and Armenia; stood in as joint-
caretaker for the latter following coach Ian Porterfield's death in September 2007 and was in
sole charge for the country's final two UEFA EURO 2008 qualifiers.
Assistant coach since 2005, he took sole command at Pyunik in May 2008 and led the club to
eighth successive Armenian championship; stretched sequence to nine in his first full season at
the helm in 2009 and also secured the domestic double by with victory in the Armenian Cup.
After previous experience with national team as caretaker, assistant and Under-21 coach, he
was handed head role in April 2009 (in addition to his day job with Pyunik), replacing Dane Jan
Brge Poulsen; led Armenia to their only 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying win 2-1 at home to
Belgium five months later.

AUSTRIA
Final tournament: 2008
P83 W33 D14 L36 F147 A128

Austria finished third in Group 7 having begun their campaign with one of the surprise results
in European qualifying, a 3-1 victory over 2006 finalists France in Vienna. That was soon
forgotten as four days later Dietmar Constantini's team lost 2-0 in Lithuania, before a 1-1 draw
with the Faroe Islands and 3-1 home defeat by Serbia all but ended their hopes of progress to
an eighth finals. Constantini's focus therefore shifted to molding a young, vibrant team with
the aim of finishing third in the pool behind Serbia and France, which they duly did.

UEFA EURO 2008
Having qualified for the final tournament as co-hosts along with Switzerland, Austria suffered
the same fate as their neighbours by failing to advance beyond the group stage. In their
tournament opener, an early penalty from Croatia's Luka Modri consigned them to a 1-0
defeat, before a spot-kick of their own, converted by veteran Ivica Vastic in added time,
earned a 1-1 draw with Poland. Needing a win against Germany to advance, Josef
Hickersberger's side ended Group B as they had started it, with a 1-0 defeat; Michael Ballack
scoring four minutes into the second half.

Austria's best performance came in the first edition of the competition in 1960 when they
reached the quarter-finals thanks to a 6-2 aggregate win against Norway. France proved far
tougher opposition in the next round, however, defeating Austria 9-4 over two legs to advance
to the four-team final tournament.

Key facts
At 38 years and 257 days, Vastic became the oldest player to score in a UEFA European
Championship when he converted a late penalty against Poland in 2008.

Head coach: Dietmar Constantini
Date of birth: 30 May 1955
Nationality: Austrian
Playing career: FC Wacker Innsbruck, LASK Linz, SPG Innsbruck, Kavala FC, FC Union Wels,
Favoritner AC, Wiener Sportclub
Coaching career: Austria Under-21, Austria (three times), LASK Linz, FC Admira Wacker, FC
Tirol Innsbruck, 1. FSV Mainz 05, FK Austria Wien (twice), FC Krnten, FC Pasching
Spent most of playing career with hometown club Wacker Innsbruck, where he won two
championships; appeared 198 times in the Austrian Bundesliga, scoring five goals, and also
played briefly in Greece with Kavala.
Joined Austrian Football Federation (FB) coaching staff after two years as assistant coach at
SK Rapid Wien; had two brief spells as interim coach of national team (in October/November
1991 and November 1992) and learned his trade under the great Ernst Happel.
Coached several Austrian Bundesliga sides during mid-1990s while running a popular
summer camp for young footballers in the Tyrol; returned to FB payroll in 1999 as assistant
to national-team coach Otto Bari.
Returned to club football with FK Austria Wien in 2001/02; also coached the side briefly in
spring 2008, having previously led FC Pasching into the UEFA Cup.
Handed the reins of the Austrian national team in March 2009 midway through the 2010 FIFA
World Cup qualifying campaign, as a replacement for Karel Brckner, kicking off with a 2-1 win
against Romania.

AZERBAIJAN
P40 W3 D5 L32 F19 A103

With former Germany coach Berti Vogts in charge, Azerbaijan managed to avoid finishing
bottom of the section during a campaign which improved in the closing stages. They ended
2008 with just a goalless draw with Liechtenstein to show for their efforts but increased their
points' total to five in their final two matches, beating Liechtenstein 2-0 in the return in Vaduz
and then drawing 1-1 draw at home to Russia Vagif Javadoz scoring in both games. The win
in Liechtenstein marked the first time since 2003 that Azerbaijan had succeeded in scoring
twice in a qualifying match.

UEFA EURO 2008
Azerbaijan recorded just one victory en route to finishing bottom of their eight-team group
an unexpected 1-0 success against Finland in Baku in March 2007 courtesy of Emin
Imamaliev's late strike. By the time they faced the Finns in the Helsinki return that November,
coach Shakhin Diniev had resigned he chose to step down in the face of a 6-1 home
drubbing by Serbia. Azerbaijan played their last two matches under Gjokica Hadievski, losing
narrowly in Finland and Belgium. For Azerbaijan and Armenia, however, their campaign was
shorter than the other teams' in the section because the two countries' head-to-head meetings
were cancelled by UEFA following a disagreement over venues.

Though they finished bottom of Group 9, Azerbaijan's UEFA EURO 2004 qualifying campaign
ranks as the country's best performance given they claimed four points from their eight
games. The first came with an inspired 2-2 draw away to Serbia and Montenegro trailing 2-0
in Podgorica, Gurban Gurbanov scored twice as Asker Abdullayev's side battled back to
equalise. Azerbaijan went one better in the return fixture after an even more thrilling fightback
in which Gurbanov converted an 88
th
-minute penalty to make it 1-1 before substitute Farrukh
Ismaylov's dramatic winner.

Key facts
Andre Ladaga's goal 16 minutes into Azerbaijan's 1-1 draw with Kazakhstan in their second
UEFA EURO 2008 qualifier ended a scoring drought that had lasted for 951 minutes of
competitive football. Their first UEFA European Championship qualifying campaign was for
EURO '96, when they collected their only point in their final game, a 0-0 home draw with
Poland. France had earlier inflicted their heaviest competitive defeat 10-0 in Auxerre on 6
September 1995. Azerbaijan have won three matches in UEFA European Championship
qualifiers, the victories over Finland (2007) and Serbia and Montenegro (2003) following a 4-0
triumph against Liechtenstein in a UEFA EURO 2000 qualifier on 5 June 1999.

Head coach: Berti Vogts
Date of birth: 30 December 1946
Nationality: German
Playing career: VfL Borussia Mnchengladbach
Coaching career: Germany, Bayer 04 Leverkusen, Kuwait, Scotland, Nigeria, Azerbaijan
A feisty, tenacious right-back, he was among the most prominent footballers in his country
during the 1970s; the two-time West German Player of the Year won five league titles and two
UEFA Cups with his only club, VfL Borussia Mnchengladbach; an unused member of the West
Germany squad that won the 1972 UEFA European Championship, he was a FIFA World Cup
winner in 1974.
Retired from playing in 1979, having made 419 Bundesliga appearances for Gladbach,
scoring 32 goals; won 96 caps for West Germany, at the time a tally second only to his
contemporary, Franz Beckenbauer.
Oversaw various West Germany age-group selections from 1979-90; assistant coach to
Beckenbauer at the 1990 World Cup triumph in Italy before becoming first coach of Germany
following reunification.
Had eight years in charge of Nationalmannschaft, winning EURO '96 while reaching
quarter-finals of 1994 and 1998 World Cups; quit in September 1998.
After brief spell as a Bundesliga trainer, with Leverkusen in 2000/01, he has coached four
national teams; took charge of Azerbaijan in April 2008, helping them finish their unsuccessful
2010 World Cup qualifying campaign with a 2-0 win in Liechtenstein and a 1-1 draw at home
to Russia. Signed a new contract for two more years on 10 November 2009.

BELARUS
P38 W8 D6 L24 F33 A66

Belarus finished fourth in Group 6 behind England, Ukraine and Croatia, a return of one point
from a possible 18 in their six matches against that trio ruining their chances of climbing any
higher. Kazakhstan and Andorra were both beaten twice with three of those four wins achieved
by four-goal margins 5-1 and 4-0 against Kazakhstan and 5-1 at home to Andorra.

UEFA EURO 2008
Belarus again had to be content with a fourth-placed finish, 12 points behind the team who
finished immediately above them, Bulgaria. The campaign contained notable highs and lows
for Bernd Stange's squad, who lost home and away to both Bulgaria and Romania and were
surprisingly beaten 1-0 at home by Luxembourg but finished on a positive note with a famous
2-1 victory against section runners-up the Netherlands in Minsk.

The fourth-placed finish in qualifying for the 2008 edition matched that achieved in EURO '96
qualifying, Belarus' first appearance as an independent country in the competition. On that
occasion they earned eleven points from ten matches, two fewer than last time out when they
played 12 times.

Key fact
Belarus have twice defeated the Netherlands in UEFA European Championship qualifying, the
first success coming prior to the 1996 final tournament (1-0).

Head coach: Bernd Stange
Date of birth: 14 March 1948
Nationality: German
Playing career: BSG Chemie Gnaschwitz, ASG Vorwrts Bautzen, HSG DHfK Leipzig
Coaching career: East Germany, Hertha BSC Berlin, VfB Leipzig, FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk,
FC CSKA Kyiv, FC Carl Zeiss Jena, Perth Glory, Oman, Iraq, Apollon Limassol FC, Belarus
Stopped playing at 22 due to injury and moved into coaching at Carl-Zeiss Jena, working as
a youth coach and then assistant coach.
Progressed through the ranks at the Football Association of the German Democratic Republic,
becoming the senior East Germany coach from 1983-88.
Coached Hertha Berlin and VfB Leipzig in the reunified Germany before moving to Ukraine
and later Australia, where he was named Coach of the Year as Perth Glory finished runners-up
in the 1999/00 season.
Returned to international management with Oman, then Iraq, where he was in charge from
2002-04.
Moved back into club football at Apollon Limassol FC in Cyprus, guiding the team to the
2005/06 league title with an unbeaten record; left midway through the following campaign and
was appointed Belarus coach in July 2007, replacing Yuri Puntus.

BELGIUM
Runners-up: 1980
Semi-finals: 1972
Final tournament: 1972, 1980, 1984, 2000
P96 W42 D23 L31 F138 A112

A new-look Belgium squad started out with high hopes after victories over Estonia and
Armenia, along with a draw in Turkey. Those hopes took a dent with a late 2-1 home defeat by
European champions Spain in October 2008 and disintegrated after 4-2 and 2-1 losses to
Bosnia-Herzegovina in the spring of 2009. Ren Vandereycken was promptly replaced as coach
by Frank Vercauteren but a 5-0 rout by Spain and 2-1 loss in Armenia then led to his
replacement by Dick Advocaat. Belgium went on finish fourth after a 2-0 victory over Turkey
and a 2-0 defeat in Estonia.

UEFA EURO 2008
After missing out on UEFA EURO 2004 and the 2006 FIFA World Cup, coach Aim Anthuenis
made way for Vandereycken but it proved an underwhelming campaign. An opening 0-0 draw
at home with Kazakhstan was an early warning sign, although the real damage was done by
four successive defeats between November 2006 and June 2007 home-and-away losses to
Portugal and defeats by Poland and Finland. The Red Devils rallied with a 3-2 home win over
Serbia in August 2007 and lost just one of their last six fixtures but it was not enough to finish
higher than fifth.

Belgium contested the 1980 UEFA European Championship final, losing 2-1 to the Federal
Republic of Germany at Rome's Stadio Olimpico. Horst Hrubesch struck the 88
th
-minute
winner, his second goal of the game, after Vandereycken had drawn Belgium level. It was their
only defeat of a competition in which they drew with England and Italy and beat Spain to reach
the final. In their eight qualifying games, Belgium had drawn their first four before winning the
next four against Norway, Portugal and Scotland (twice).

Key facts
Since appearing in the 1980 UEFA European Championship final, Belgium have competed in
only two final tournaments the 1984 finals in France and UEFA EURO 2000, where they
qualified automatically as co-hosts with the Netherlands. In total, they have appeared in 11
editions of the competition.

Head coach: Dick Advocaat
Date of birth: 27 September 1947
Nationality: Dutch
Playing career: ADO Den Haag (twice), Roda JC, VVV Venlo, Chicago Sting, Sparta
Rotterdam, K. Berchem Sport, FC Utrecht
Coaching career: DSVP, HFC Haarlem, FC Dordrecht, Netherlands (twice), PSV Eindhoven,
Rangers FC, VfL Borussia Mnchengladbach, United Arab Emirates, Korea Republic, FC Zenit
St. Petersburg, AZ Alkmaar, Belgium
A combative midfielder, his playing career lasted 18 years and included three seasons in the
North American Soccer League with Chicago Sting.
Twice served as assistant coach to Rinus Michels with the Dutch national team, where he
earned the nickname 'Little General', before taking charge himself and leading the Oranje to
the 1994 FIFA World Cup quarter-finals in the United States.
Won the Dutch Cup and Eredivisie with PSV (1995-98) before moving to Scotland and picking
up the domestic treble in the first of four successful seasons with Rangers.
Returned for a second spell with the Netherlands and led team to semi-finals of UEFA EURO
2004; two years later he was in charge of Korea Republic at the World Cup finals.
Enjoyed a highly successful return to club football in Russia with Zenit, winning the Premier-
Liga in 2007 and the UEFA Cup where he defeated former club Rangers and UEFA Super
Cup in 2008; left in August 2009 and became Belgium coach two months later before agreeing
to coach AZ Alkmaar for the rest of the season.

BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA
P30 W11 D4 L15 F37 A47

Play-offs: Lost 2-0 on aggregate to Portugal
Bosnia-Herzegovina enjoyed real success in their qualifying group, finishing runners-up behind
European champions Spain and ahead of UEFA EURO 2008 semi-finalists Turkey. Among the
highlights were a 4-2 victory in Belgium and a 7-0 rout of Estonia, their record international
victory to date. On an individual level, Edin Deko's nine goals were an impressive haul in the
country's fourth participation in FIFA World Cup qualifying. However, there was no fairytale
ending for coach Miroslav Blaevi and his men, who lost 1-0 in both legs of their play-off with
2006 World Cup semi-finalists Portugal.

UEFA EURO 2008
Qualifying Group C: P12 W4 D1 L7 F16 A22 Pts13
Bosnia-Herzegovina's third appearance in UEFA European Championship qualifying saw them
finish fourth in a group won by defending champions Greece. The team started out with their
biggest away victory, 5-2 in Malta, but followed up with a three-match winless sequence which
concluded with a 4-0 home defeat by Greece and the replacement of coach Bla Slikovi with
Fuad Muzurovi. The team suddenly found their stride with wins in Norway and then at home
to Turkey through Adnan ustovis last-minute goal. After making it three in a row against
Malta, however, the Bosnians' fortunes nosedived and they closed their campaign with five
consecutive defeats.

Of their three qualifying competitions to date, Bosnia-Herzegovina's best showing was for UEFA
EURO 2004, when their hopes of a tournament berth remained alive until the last day. With
four wins and a draw from their first seven games, they needed a home victory in the final
match against a Denmark side they had already defeated in Copenhagen to book a place in
Portugal. In the event, a 1-1 draw in Sarajevo meant the Danes took top spot in Group 2 with
15 points, followed by Norway and Romania on 14 and Bosnia-Herzegovina with 13.

Key facts
Bosnia-Herzegovina's two biggest victories in UEFA European Championship qualifiers have
both been away. Elvir Balji scored all four as they came from a goal down to beat Estonia 4-1
in Tallinn on 9 October 1999, before the aforementioned 5-2 win against Malta on 2 October
2006 in Ta'Qali. Safet Sui, who will coach Bosnia-Herzegovina in their UEFA EURO 2012
qualifying campaign, played for the former Yugoslavia at the 1984 UEFA European
Championship finals in France.

Head coach: Safet Sui
Date of birth: 13 April 1955
Nationality: Bosnian
Playing career: FK Krivaja Zavidovii, FK Sarajevo, Paris Saint-Germain FC, Red Star FC 93
Coaching career: AS Cannes, stanbulspor A, Al-Hilal, Konyaspor, MKE Ankaragc,
Rizespor, Ankaraspor, Bosnia-Herzegovina
An outstanding attacking midfielder with an eye for the killer pass and an excellent
goalscoring record, Sui spent nine years with FK Sarajevo; voted Yugoslavia's Footballer of
the Year in 1979, he was the league's joint-top scorer with 17 goals in 1979/80 as Sarajevo
finished runners-up to FK Crvena Zvezda.
Moved to PSG in 1982 and spent the next nine seasons in the French capital, becoming one
of the country's finest ever footballing imports and helping his side win the Coupe de France in
his first season and the league title in 1985/86.
A long-time stalwart of the Yugoslavia national team, Sui made his first appearance in
1977 and his last in 1990. Scored 21 goals in 54 appearances and played in the 1982 and
1990 FIFA World Cups as well as the 1984 UEFA European Championship.
Launched coaching career in France with Cannes before taking on jobs in Istanbul and
Riyadh, eventually settling in Turkey, where he coached four clubs between 2004 and 2008.
Named as Bosnia-Herzegovina's Golden Player as part of UEFA's jubilee celebrations in 2004,
he succeeded Croatian veteran Miroslav Blaevi as the new coach of his national team on 28
December 2009.

BULGARIA
Quarter-finals: 1968
Final tournament: 1996, 2004
P 101 W46 D23 L32 F149 A108

Bulgaria finished third behind Italy and the Republic of Ireland, missing out on a third
successive World Cup finals for the first time since 1958. Draws in their opening three
qualifiers prompted Plamen Markov's departure as coach and when his replacement Stanimir
Stoilov led the team to a second 1-1 draw against Ireland in his second game in charge, their
fate was effectively sealed. Captain Dimitar Berbatov became Bulgarias all-time top scorer in
2009, surpassing Hristo Bonev's 47 goals, although the campaign was effectively summed up
by a 4-1 loss to Cyprus in their penultimate fixture.

UEFA EURO 2008
Bulgaria finished third despite losing just once, Romania and the Netherlands securing the top
two berths. Their campaign began with Hristo Stoichkov at the helm, Bulgaria taking nine
points from their opening five games under one of their 1994 World Cup heroes. Stoichkov
stepped down after a goalless home draw with Albania, however, prompting the then PFC
Levski Sofia coach Stoilov to stand in for back-to-back wins against Belarus. The experienced
Dimitar Penev then took charge for the rest of the campaign but a 2-0 loss in the Netherlands
in September 2007 effectively ended their chances of progress.

Bulgarias semi-final defeat by Italy at the 1994 World Cup was not the first time a famous run
ended at the hands of the Azzurri. In 1968 they suffered a narrow quarter-final loss to the
Italians, missing out on the four-team final tournament. Stefan Boshkov's Bulgaria actually
beat the eventual European champions in the first leg in Sofia, leading 3-1 through goals by
Nikola Kotkov (penalty), Petar Zhekov and Dinko Dermendzhiev before Piero Prati scored late
on for Italy. Prati also struck Italy's first goal of the return leg in Naples, Angelo Domenghini
subsequently securing a 4-3 aggregate win.

Key facts
Bulgaria have lost just two UEFA European Championship qualifiers in the last decade: 1-0
against Croatia in Zagreb on 11 October 2003, when they had already confirmed their place at
UEFA EURO 2004, and 2-0 against the Netherlands in September 2007.

Head coach: Stanimir Stoilov
Date of birth: 13 February 1967
Nationality: Bulgarian
Playing career: FC Haskovo, PFC Levski Sofia (three times), Fenerbahe SK, PFC CSKA Sofia,
SC Campomaiorense, PFC Slavia Sofia
Coaching career: PFC Levski Sofia, PFC Litex Lovech, Bulgaria (twice)
A stellar name at Levski, he had three spells at the club, starting and ending his senior
career there and amassing four domestic league titles plus five Bulgarian Cups.
Started out as a midfielder but later moved up front and then, towards the end of his career,
into defence; scored three goals in 14 international appearances for Bulgaria, two of them on
his debut in September 1992 in a friendly against Turkey, where he had just arrived to play for
Fenerbahe.
Captain and assistant trainer at Levski in his later years, he was appointed as the team's
head coach in 2004; in four seasons at the helm he won two league titles, two national cups
and became the first man to lead a Bulgarian club into the group stage of the UEFA Champions
League.
Stood in as caretaker national team coach in June 2007 following Hristo Stoichkov's
resignation and led the side to back-to-back UEFA EURO 2008 qualifying wins over Belarus.
Sacked by Levski in May 2008, he joined Litex and took them to victory in the Bulgarian Cup,
having in the meantime been appointed to serve jointly as Bulgaria coach; he quit Litex in
August 2009 to concentrate solely on the national side but missed out on 2010 FIFA World Cup
qualification.

CROATIA
Quarter-finals: 1996, 2008
Final tournament: 1996, 2004, 2008
P51 W31 D11 L9 F91 A40

Croatia missed out on the FIFA World Cup finals in South Africa after a close finish to their
qualifying group left them in third place just a single point behind runners-up Ukraine. Having
denied England a place at UEFA EURO 2008, they found the roles reversed as they suffered
two heavy losses to Fabio Capello's side 4-1 in Zagreb in September 2008 and 5-1 in London
12 months later. Two draws with Ukraine did not help their cause either and their hopes all but
evaporated four days ahead of their final qualifier last October when Ukraine leapfrogged them
with a victory over England.

UEFA EURO 2008
Final tournament: Quarter-finals
Croatia produced an impressive run in qualifying to reach UEFA EURO 2008 ahead of runners-
up Russia and an England side they defeated both at home and away. Slaven Bili's men then
went on to similarly dominate Group B in the finals, winning all three matches against co-hosts
Austria, much-fancied Germany and Poland. However, they bowed out in the quarter-finals on
penalties against Turkey, going down 3-1 after the contest had finished 0-0 in regular time and
1-1 after extra time. Croatia were just one minute from the semi-finals after Ivan Klasni
scored in the 119
th
minute only for Semih entrk to score a dramatic equaliser in the last
seconds.

Croatia's run to the last eight in 2008 matched their previous best performance when they
reached the quarter-finals on their debut appearance at a major tournament at EURO '96 in
England. They opened with wins against Turkey and Denmark to secure a place in the
knockout stages before losing their final group game to Portugal. The adventure then ended
with a 2-1 quarter-final defeat by eventual tournament winners Germany.

Key facts
Current coach Bili, who also plays in a Croatian rock band, was a member of the Croatia sides
who reached the quarter-finals of EURO '96 and then took third place at the 1998 World Cup in
France. Their attack is a cosmopolitan combination of Ivica Oli and Brazilian-born striker
Eduardo da Silva.

Head coach: Slaven Bili
Playing career: HNK Hajduk Split (twice), NK Primorac (loan), HNK ibenik (loan), Karlsruher
SC, West Ham United FC, Everton
Coaching career: HNK Hajduk Split, Croatia Under-21, Croatia
A towering, uncompromising central defender, he began his career with hometown club
Hajduk Split, winning the Croatian domestic double in 1992 before moving abroad to join
German club Karlsruhe.
Having joined West Ham for a club-record fee in January 1996, he represented Croatia at
EURO '96 and helped the team to the quarter-finals; two years later, as an Everton player,
he won a FIFA World Cup bronze medal as Croatia finished third at France '98.
After ending his playing career at Hajduk, he briefly took charge of the team before
launching his coaching career in earnest with the Croatian U21 side.
Stepped up from the U21s to become the senior national side's coach in July 2006 and
masterminded the team's successful qualification for UEFA EURO 2008, where, as the
youngest coach in the tournament, his team's progress was halted only at the quarter-final
stage with a penalty shoot-out defeat by Turkey.
Despite Croatia's position as seeds in their 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying group, he could
only lead them to third place and elimination; announced he would stay on for the UEFA EURO
2012 qualifiers.

CYPRUS
P86 W12 D12 L62 F60 A231

Cyprus were unable to live up to expectations created by an impressive UEFA EURO 2008
qualifying campaign. The highlight for Angelos Anastasiadis's side was a 4-1 victory against
Bulgaria in Larnaca in their penultimate match, but by then the damage had been done. A
return of two wins from ten games Cyprus also beat Georgia 2-1 left them trailing Italy,
the Republic of Ireland and Bulgaria in fourth place. Cyprus did, however, twice give world
champions Italy a scare, Marcello Lippi's side needing injury-time goals to prevail in both
games. Cyprus even led Italy 2-0 in Parma in their final match before Alberto Gilardino's
stunning late hat-trick turned the game on its head.

UEFA EURO 2008
Qualifying Group D: P12 W4 D2 L6 F17 A24 Pts14
Cyprus enjoyed their best qualifying campaign despite getting off to a dire start with a 6-1 loss
in Slovakia. They bounced back to beat the Republic of Ireland 5-2 and followed that with an
impressive 1-1 draw with eventual finalists Germany and a 3-1 win against Wales. But
Cyprus's away form proved costly with their only success being a 1-0 victory against San
Marino and 1-1 draw in Ireland Steve Finnan equalising in added time. Cyprus finished fifth
behind the Czech Republic, Germany, Ireland, Slovakia and Wales, but the 14 points they
collected was still their highest ever tally.

Despite some recent success from the island's club sides in the UEFA Champions League, the
national team have never qualified for a major tournament. The closest Cyprus have come was
when they finished one point behind second-placed Israel in a UEFA EURO 2000 qualifying
campaign which featured a 3-2 win against Spain. Two of their most famous victories have
come in UEFA European Championship qualifiers, that victory against Spain and the 5-2
triumph against Ireland in the last edition.

Key facts
Cyprus' away form has always been their weakness. They again failed to win on their travels
during 2010 World Cup qualifying despite some encouraging performances drawing with
Montenegro and Georgia and losing by a single goal in both Ireland and Italy.

Head coach: Angelos Anastasiadis
Date of birth: 3 October 1953
Nationality: Greek
Playing career: PAOK FC, Panathinaikos FC, Korinthos FC, Diagora FC
Coaching career: Diagora FC, Panargeiako FC, Kavala FC, AC Edessaikos, PAOK FC (twice),
Iraklis FC (twice), Panathinaikos FC, Cyprus
A midfield stalwart at PAOK from 1973-81, he won 12 caps for Greece during his time in
Thessalonika before moving to the capital and joining Panathinaikos.
Paid his dues as a coach in Greece's lower leagues before landing the top job at PAOK in
1997.
Had two spells with Iraklis sandwiching an eventful 2000/01 season at Panathinaikos, during
which he led the Greens into the second group phase of the UEFA Champions League,
eliminating Juventus and Hamburger SV en route.
Returned for a second spell at PAOK in 2002 and led team to Greek Cup success in his first
season, beating local rivals Aris Thessaloniki FC 1-0 in the final.
Appointed as Cyprus coach in December 2004; oversaw team through whole of UEFA EURO
2008 and 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying, including big home wins against the Republic of
Ireland (5-2), Wales (3-1) and Bulgaria (4-1) plus two narrow, last-gasp defeats by Italy.
Handed a two-year extension to lead Cyprus into UEFA EURO 2012 qualifying.

CZECH REPUBLIC
Runners-up: 1996
Semi-finals: 2004
P57 W40 D8 L9 F121 A43 Pts128

Group 3: W4 D4 L2 F17 A6 Pts16
The Czech Republic finished third after winning only four games, two of them against San
Marino. Off the pitch, coach Petr Rada, who had succeeded the long-serving Karel Brckner
after UEFA EURO 2008, lost his job after a 2-1 home defeat by neighbours Slovakia on 1 April
last year. Caretaker Frantiek Straka took brief charge, overseeing a friendly win over Malta,
but by the autumn resumption of qualifying, national association president Ivan Haek had
taken the reins. The Czechs did not lose another game finishing with two wins and two draws
but it was already too late for a team struggling without former stalwarts Pavel Nedvd and
Jan Koller.

UEFA EURO 2008
The Czechs reached their fourth successive UEFA European Championship finals after losing
just one qualifying game against a Germany side they later pipped to top spot with an
emphatic 3-0 victory in Munich. They started the finals by beating co-hosts Switzerland 1-0 but
then went down 3-1 to Portugal. Victory over Turkey in their last group game would have still
seen the Czech side through to the quarter-finals, but they surrendered a 2-0 lead in the final
15 minutes and succumbed to a shock 3-2 defeat. Koller promptly announced his retirement,
as did coach Brckner, who had been in charge since 2001.

The golden goal made its debut in senior international competition at EURO '96 and accounted
for the Czech Republic as they went down 2-1 in the final at Wembley. Oliver Bierhoff scored
the winner five minutes into extra time after the Czechs had lost a lead given them by Patrik
Berger. In their first major tournament as an independent nation, the Czechs had shrugged off
an opening loss to Germany by beating Italy and drawing with Russia to claim second place in
their group. They then defeated Portugal through Karel Poborsk's cheekily lobbed finish
before overcoming France on penalties in the semi-finals.

Key facts
As part of Czechoslovakia, Czech players helped win the 1976 UEFA European Championship
against the Federal Republic of Germany. The final ended in a 2-2 stalemate in Belgrade before
Vclav Jeek's side prevailed 5-3 on penalties with Antonn Panenka famously chipping in the
final spot-kick. Former international midfielder Michal Blek will hold the reins as coach going
into the UEFA EURO 2012 campaign.

Head coach: Michal Blek
Nationality: Czech
Playing career: AC Sparta Praha (four times), RH Cheb, Real Betis Balompi, FK Viktoria
ikov, FK Teplice
Coaching career: FK Teplice, CS Cartagins, Czech Repiblic Under-19, FK Chmel Blany, FK
Viktoria Plze, AC Sparta Praha, MFK Ruomberok, Czech Republic
A gritty midfielder who was an expert at free-kicks and penalties, Blek had four spells at
Sparta Praha, the most memorable between 1986 and 1990 during which he won three league
titles and two Czechoslovakian Cups.
Travelled to the 1990 FIFA World Cup as the reigning Czechoslovakian Player of the Year;
played all five matches at right-back to help Czechoslovakia to quarter-finals, scoring from the
penalty spot in each of the opening two matches against the United States and Austria.
Extended his international career beyond break-up of Czechoslovakia, winning 35 caps and
scoring eleven goals.
Had sketchy start to coaching career, including spell in Costa Rica, but eventually established
himself at top level back at home and was appointed coach of Sparta in September 2006; won
domestic double in his first season but dismissed in May 2008.
Led Slovakian club Ruomberok in 2008/09 before taking on assistant role to former team-
mate Ivan Haek with Czech national side; promoted to top job in October 2009 as Haek
returned to his position as association president.

DENMARK
Winners: 1992
Semi-finals: 1964, 1984
Final tournament: 1984, 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004
P121 W50 D27 L44 F185 A162

Denmark will play at a FIFA World Cup for a fourth time after an impressive qualifying
campaign that included away wins against their two closest rivals, Portugal and Sweden. A 1-0
home success against Sweden last October sent the Danes to South Africa, though their most
memorable contest came a year earlier in Portugal, when the visitors trailed 1-0 with seven
minutes left. First Nicklas Bendtner equalised, then Deco restored Portugal's lead from the
penalty spot three minutes later only for Christian Poulsen to level again in the 88
th
minute
and Daniel Jensen to hit an unlikely winner in added time.

UEFA EURO 2008
Qualifying Group F: P12 W6 D2 L4 F21 A11 Pts20
Denmark missed out on the European finals for the first time since 1980 after finishing fourth
behind Northern Ireland, runners-up Sweden and section winners Spain. A first negative omen
came in their second match, a 0-0 home draw with Northern Ireland. After the first of two
defeats against Spain, in March 2007, things went badly wrong in their next match against
Sweden when a spectator assaulted the referee on the pitch at the Parken Stadium, leading to
sanctions and the awarding of a 3-0 defeat. Morten Olsen's men now faced an uphill battle and
their fate was sealed with a 2-1 loss in Northern Ireland in their penultimate qualifier.

Denmark famously won the 1992 UEFA European Championship in Sweden after entering the
competition as last-minute replacements for Yugoslavia, having failed to qualify. Richard
Mller-Nielsen's outsiders scraped through the group stage with three points from three
games, two points behind Sweden but one ahead of France and England. In their semi-final
against the Netherlands, two Henrik Larsen goals meant they twice led the defending
champions before Frank Rijkaard's 86
th
-minute equaliser forced extra time. Undaunted, the
Danes held their nerve to prevail 5-4 on penalties and then went on to defeat Germany 2-0 in
the final, with John Jensen and Kim Vilfort the scorers.

Key facts
Denmark have appeared in all 13 UEFA European Championship qualifying competitions,
playing their first game in September 1959, a 2-2 draw with Czechoslovakia in Copenhagen.
The Danes were subsequently beaten 5-1 in the return leg. Their last appearance in a final
tournament was at UEFA EURO 2004, where Olsen's side reached the quarter-finals before
bowing out in a 3-0 defeat by the Czech Republic.

Head coach: Morten Olsen
Date of birth: 14 August 1949
Nationality: Danish
Playing career: B 1901, Cercle Brugge KSV, RWD Molenbeek, RSC Anderlecht, 1. FC Kln
Coaching career: Brndby IF, 1. FC Kln, AFC Ajax, Denmark
A commanding central defender, he played most of his club football in Belgium, winning
three national titles and the UEFA Cup with Anderlecht during a six-year spell from 1980-86.
Twice crowned Danish Player of the Year, he was captain of the legendary 'Dynamite' team of
the mid-1980s that reached two successive UEFA European Championships and the 1986 FIFA
World Cup; became the first Danish footballer to reach 100 caps in an international career
spanning 19 years.
Went straight into coaching after hanging up his boots and proved an immediate success,
leading Brndby to two Danish titles and to the semi-finals of the 1990/91 UEFA Cup the
furthest any Danish team had progressed in Europe.
Moved on to coach former club Kln and then, following a two-year break, Ajax, where,
assisted on the field by his ex-Denmark team-mate Michael Laudrup, he won a Dutch league
and cup double.
Appointed Denmark head coach in 2000 and led team to finals of 2002 World Cup and UEFA
EURO 2004; retained position despite failure to qualify for next two major tournaments but
enjoyed success again as Denmark topped their 2010 World Cup qualifying group, celebrating
qualification with 1-0 win against Sweden in his 100th match in charge. Subsequently named
Coach of the Year in Denmark.

ENGLAND
Final tournament: 1968, 1972, 1980, 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004
P105 W58 D28 L19 F204 A78

England advanced to their fourth successive FIFA World Cup finals by comfortably seeing off
Ukraine and Croatia in Group 6. Fabio Capello's charges won their first eight games and
dropped their only points, a 1-0 loss in Ukraine, in their penultimate fixture having already
qualified thanks to a 5-1 win against Croatia the team who had denied them a spot at UEFA
EURO 2008 two years earlier. Only Spain and the Netherlands, who finished with perfect
records, enjoyed a better winning percentage than England, Europe's top scorers with 34 goals
of which Wayne Rooney contributed nine.

UEFA EURO 2008
England missed out on the finals for the first time since 1984 after finishing third in Group E,
six points behind winners Croatia and one behind Russia. The warning signs were there when
England drew 0-0 at home against FYR Macedonia in their third game then lost 2-0 in Croatia.
A subsequent stalemate in Israel increased the pressure on Steve McClaren's side and a 2-1
defeat in Russia in their penultimate fixture left qualification hinging on their final game
against Croatia at Wembley. The visitors won 3-2, Russia claimed second place and England
were out.

England have never claimed the European crown, with a pair of semi-final defeats the closest
they have come. Their first appearance in the last four came in 1968 when, as world
champions, they lost 1-0 to Yugoslavia in Florence. More recently, as tournament hosts,
England advanced to the semis of EURO '96 before losing out 6-5 on penalties to eventual
winners Germany after a 1-1 draw at Wembley.

Key facts
England's three defeats in their failed UEFA EURO 2008 campaign is the most they have
suffered in a UEFA European Championship qualifying round. The loss to Croatia on 21
November 2007 was their first at home in UEFA European Championship qualifying since a 1-0
reverse against Denmark on 21 September 1983. Since then, they have played 20 home
qualifiers, recording 14 victories, five draws and that single defeat by the Croatians. They did,
however, lose a final tournament play-off match at home to Scotland on 17 November 1999
and succumbed to Germany on penalties in the EURO '96 semi-finals.

Head coach: Fabio Capello
Date of birth: 18 June 1946
Nationality: Italian
Playing career: Spal 1907, AS Roma, Juventus, AC Milan
Coaching career: AC Milan (twice), Real Madrid CF (twice), AS Roma, Juventus, England
Forged a successful career as a player, winning four Serie A titles three with Juventus and
one with Milan and scoring eight goals from midfield in 32 appearances for Italy, including
the winner in the Azzurri's first win against England at Wembley in November 1973.
Despite lacking coaching experience Capello replaced Arrigo Sacchi at Milan in 1991,
launching a hugely successful five-year spell in which he led the star-studded team to four
Italian championships (the first of them without losing a game) and the 1994 UEFA Champions
League, defeating Johan Cruyff's FC Barcelona 4-0 in the final.
Left Milan for Real Madrid and won Spanish title in one and only season before unsuccessful
return to Milan.
Re-established himself as one of world's foremost coaches at both Roma, where he won the
2000/01 Scudetto, and Juventus, where he ended each of his two seasons as Serie A
champion only for both titles to be stripped from the club as a result of the sporting fraud
scandal.
Another one-year Spanish-title-winning campaign at Madrid (a decade after his first)
prompted the Football Association to offer him a job; he took over in January 2008 and proved
his class by steering team to 2010 FIFA World Cup finals with eight successive victories, the
last of them a resounding 5-1 home win against Croatia.

ESTONIA
P40 W7 D5 L28 F27 A75

Estonia endured a fairly torrid start to qualifying, suffering defeats by Belgium, Bosnia-
Herzegovina a 7-0 humbling in Zenica and European champions Spain. Yet they then
recovered to take five points from their next three games, which included a home draw with
Turkey and a 1-0 win over Armenia. Despite some spirited Estonian resistance, an eventual 4-
2 defeat in Turkey last September sparked a second three-game losing streak that only ended
on the final day of qualifying when Tarmo Ruutli's fifth-placed side defeated Belgium 2-0 in
Tallinn.

UEFA EURO 2008
Painful though that start to FIFA World Cup qualifying proved to be, it was a lot better than the
way the Estonians opened their campaign for UEFA EURO 2008 they suffered seven straight
defeats without scoring a single goal. Their luck finally turned when Indrek Zelinski struck an
injury-time winner to beat Andorra 2-1 in August 2008. Further points followed with a 1-1
draw with FYR Macedonia and a second win over Andorra as Estonia finished sixth in their
seven-team group.

Estonia claimed third place in their group in UEFA EURO 2000 qualifying after collecting eleven
points from ten matches. Two wins against the Faroe Islands and a 2-1 victory in Lithuania
were the highlights of a campaign which also featured a goalless home draw with runners-up
Scotland and a 1-1 away draw against a Bosnia-Herzegovina side whom Teitur Thrdarson's
side eventually pipped to third place on goal difference.

Key facts
Though they have yet to qualify for a major tournament, Estonia can certainly give higher-
profile opponents a difficult time besides that 2-0 victory against Belgium, they also achieved
a 0-0 friendly draw with Portugal and a narrow 1-0 friendly defeat by Brazil during 2009.
Estonia have taken part in the last four qualifying competitions for a UEFA European
Championship and have improved since losing all ten games of their campaign for EURO '96.

Head coach: Tarmo Rtli
Nationality: Estonian
Playing career: FC Norma Tallinn, Prnu Kalev, Prnu Kalakombinaat, JK Tervis Prnu
Coaching career: JK Tulevik Viljandi (twice), FC Flora (twice), Estonia (twice), FC Levadia
Tallinn
An indefatigable midfielder, his playing career lasted well into a third decade, the majority of
it spent in the Estonian SSR league and Meistriliiga in early 1990s.
Launched his coaching career by taking his hometown club Tulevik Viljandi to fifth place in
the 1998 Meistriliiga and runner-up spot in both league and Estonian Cup the following year.
Replaced Teitur Thrdarson as coach of both FC Flora and Estonian national team in 2000 but
ceded both positions to Dutchman Arno Pijpers after just a year in charge despite a positive
sequence of results with the latter.
Returned to Tulevik Viljandi before taking over at Levadia Tallinn in May 2003; won three
Meistriliiga titles and three Estonian Cups to earn another crack at the national team job,
replacing Dane Viggo Jensen in December 2007.
Led Estonia through 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign, ending on positive note with
2-0 victory over Belgium; coached Flora again in 2009, winning the Estonian Cup, but given a
position working with the club's youth players after a disappointing fourth-placed league finish.

FAROE ISLANDS
P48 W3 D5 L40 F28 A139

Narrow defeats in their first two qualifiers against Serbia and Romania raised hopes of the
Faroes earning their first point in a competitive match since a 2-2 draw with Cyprus back in
2004. That hope become reality in October 2008 when teenage substitute Bogi Lkin earned a
1-1 home draw with Austria. The Faroese, who saw Irish coach Brian Kerr replace the retiring
Jgvan Martin at the helm midway through the campaign, went one better in September 2009
when Sni Olsen and Arnbjrn Hansen scored to earn a 2-1 victory over Lithuania their first
qualifying victory since beating Luxembourg eight years earlier.

UEFA EURO 2008
Qualifying Group B: P12 W0 D0 L12 F4 A43 Pts0
The Faroe Islands endured their worst ever European campaign, failing to earn a single point.
Many new players had joined the team and the defence was particularly fragile from the off
they suffered 6-0 defeats in their first two games against Georgia and Scotland. Their best
performance came in June 2007 with a narrow 2-1 home defeat by Italy, when Rgvi Jacobsen
hit the first of two goals against the world champions. But they soon reverted to type
conceding six goals against France and five against Ukraine in the space of five days in
October 2007.

With two victories against San Marino, the Faroe Islands' best return came during qualifying
for EURO '96 when they recorded six points from ten matches with ten goals scored and 35
conceded. The Faroes defeated San Marino 3-0 in Toftir in May 1995, their biggest competitive
home win to date, and five months later, they achieved a 3-1 success in Serravalle courtesy of
a Tdi Jnsson hat-trick.

Key facts
The Faroe Islands have won two matches in the qualifying stages of three separate
competitions: EURO '96 (two victories against San Marino), the 1998 World Cup (two victories
against Malta) and the 2002 World Cup (two wins against Luxembourg).

Head coach: Brian Kerr
Nationality: Irish
Playing career: none
Coaching career: St. Patricks Athletic FC, Republic of Ireland, Faroe Islands
Decided at an early age he would make a better football coach than a player and, after
taking on various minor appointments in his native Dublin, was handed the reins of St. Pat's in
1986.
Spent a decade restoring the fortunes of the club, winning the League of Ireland in 1990 and
1996.
Left St. Pat's to become coach of Ireland's youth selections, achieving remarkable success,
leading Irish teams to eight final tournaments in five years and to a unique victory double at
the UEFA Under-16 and U18 European Championships in 1998. Assumed dual role as technical
director of Football Association of Ireland.
Appointed manager of the Republic of Ireland senior side, replacing Mick McCarthy in January
2003; unable to steer team to the finals of either UEFA EURO 2004 or the 2006 FIFA World
Cup and was dismissed in October 2005.
After a year back at St. Pat's as technical director, Kerr accepted an offer to return to
international management with the Faroe Islands in April 2009; five defeats in six 2010 World
Cup qualifiers counterbalanced by 2-1 win against Lithuania the country's first competitive
victory for eight years.

FINLAND
P84 W21 D20 L43 F84 A136

Neighbours Russia proved Finland's undoing during qualifying, inflicting two 3-0 defeats on
Stuart Baxter's side, who eventually finished third in the section. They twice held eventual
group winners Germany, taking the lead three times in their first meeting in Helsinki that
ended 3-3. A mere point from the September 2009 visit to Liechtenstein was a major
disappointment, though their qualifying chances were by then already very slim. Still they
signed off on a positive note, securing a second win over Wales and then drawing in Germany
where only a last-gasp goal denied them victory after Jonathan Johansson's fifth strike of the
campaign.

UEFA EURO 2008
Qualifying Group A: P 14 W6 D6 L2 F13 A7 Pts 24
Finland started the campaign with an impressive 3-1 away win over eventual group winners
Poland and were in the running to qualify until the last game. Roy Hodgson's men faced
Portugal away needing a victory but could only manage a goalless draw that ensured the
opponents advanced instead. Finland played very solidly in defence under Hodgson recording
clean sheets in Belgium Serbia and Portugal and came closer to qualifying for a major
tournament than ever before. Unfortunately, a defeat in Azerbaijan and draw in Armenia
ultimately cost them dear.

Finland have never reached a final tournament. Their best points' tally came during qualifying
for UEFA EURO 2008 when they collected 24 from 14 matches to finish fourth in their eight-
team group, level on points with third-placed Serbia and just three short of second-placed
Portugal. Finland lost only two games and conceded just seven goals. However, they were
restricted to 13 goals themselves and paid for that lack of bite up front.

Key facts
The big question for Finland before the UEFA EURO 2012 qualifiers will be whether their most
experienced players will still be available. Goalkeeper Jussi Jskelinen has already
announced his retirement from international football, though leaving the door open for a
change of heart. Sami Hyypi and Jari Litmanen are yet to make up their minds about the
qualifying campaign. Baxter has new talents coming through, but the backbone of the team
has still been the more experienced players.

Head coach: Stuart Baxter
Nationality: Scottish
Playing career: Preston North End FC, Morecambe FC, Dundee United FC, Stockport County
FC, Helsingborgs IF, South Melbourne FC, San Diego Sockers, rebro SK
Coaching career: rebro SK, IF Skarp, Vitria FC, Halmstads BK, Sanfrecce Hiroshima, Vissel
Kobe (twice), AIK Solna, FC Lyn Oslo, England Under-19, South Africa, Helsingborgs IF,
Finland
Born to a Scottish father and an English mother, Baxter's playing career took him to various
ports of call in Great Britain and beyond before he settled in Sweden.
Started coaching with rebro but made his name in Sweden with Halmstad, where he
experienced promotion to and relegation from the Allsvenskan during his three-year spell.
Spent five years embellishing his coaching CV in Japan before returning to Sweden and
leading AIK both to the Swedish title in 1998 and the group stages of the UEFA
Champions League.
Had first taste of international management with the England Under-19s, from 2002-04,
before taking over as South Africa coach; left after failing to qualify for the 2006 FIFA World
Cup.
A return to Scandinavia, and a UEFA Cup run with Helsingborg, prompted his appointment as
Finland coach, succeeding fellow Briton Roy Hodgson in February 2008; took team to third
place in 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying group with five wins and three draws including two
against Germany from ten games.

FRANCE
Winners: 1984, 2000
Final tournament: 1960, 1984, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008
P120 W67 D30 L23 F237 A115

Qualifying Group 10: P10 W6 D3 L1 F18 A9 Pts21
Play-offs: Beat Republic of Ireland 2-1 on aggregate
After losing their opening game 3-1 against Austria and taking just four points from their first
three matches, Raymond Domenech's side recovered to finish second behind Serbia. It set up
a play-off tie against the Republic of Ireland, where Nicolas Anelka secured Les Bleus a 1-0
advantage in Dublin. Though Robbie Keane forced extra time in the Paris return, William
Gallas's 103rd-minute strike sealed an aggregate victory and a place in South Africa.

UEFA EURO 2008
Two months after losing to Italy in the FIFA World Cup final, France gained a measure of
revenge with a 3-1 win in their second qualifier for UEFA EURO 2008. The Azzurri, though,
would have the last laugh. First they finished above France to clinch top spot in the section,
and the heavyweights were again paired together in the finals. In Switzerland, France drew 0-
0 with Romania then lost 4-1 to the Netherlands ahead of their meeting with Italy. With a
place in the last eight at stake, Eric Abidal was dismissed on 24 minutes and Italy advanced
thanks to a 2-0 victory.

France have twice lifted the Henri Delaunay trophy, with their first triumph coming on home
soil in 1984. The Michel Platini-inspired hosts beat both Belgium and Yugoslavia 5-0 in the first
round before seeing off Portugal 3-2 in a thrilling semi-final and Spain 2-0 in the Paris final.
Their second success came at UEFA EURO 2000 where Roger Lemerre's side finished runners-
up to the Netherlands in Group D, before extra-time victories over Spain and Portugal took
them to the final. The Rotterdam showpiece against Italy also went to extra time after Sylvain
Wiltord's last-gasp strike cancelled out Marco Delvecchio's 55
th
-minute opener, setting the
scene for David Trezeguet's deciding golden goal.

Key facts
France are the only country apart from Germany (three) and Spain (two) to have won the
competition more than once. Their 4-1 loss to the Netherlands in Berne at UEFA EURO 2008
was their heaviest in a UEFA European Championship final tournament. The subsequent 2-0
reverse against Italy was the first time France had lost twice in a row in a final tournament
since the 1978 World Cup. Les Bleus subsequently suffered a third consecutive competitive
defeat for the first time by losing 3-1 to Austria in 2010 World Cup qualifying.

Head coach: Raymond Domenech
Nationality: French
Playing career: Olympique Lyonnais, RC Strasbourg, Paris Saint-Germain FC, FC Girondins de
Bordeaux, FC Mulhouse
Coaching career: FC Mulhouse, Olympique Lyonnais, France Under-21, France
A tough-tackling full-back, he played over 400 matches in the French top flight, winning the
French Cup with hometown club Lyon and the championship with Strasbourg and Bordeaux;
also capped eight times.
Moved into coaching with Mulhouse before taking charge of Lyon, where he remained for five
years, taking them to promotion in his first season, establishing them in the top flight and
leading them into Europe.
Stood down in 1993 to become coach of France's U21 team a position he would hold for
eleven years, the highlight being a runners-up finish at the 2002 UEFA European Under-21
Championship.
Held off stiff competition to become senior France coach in 2004, replacing Jacques Santini;
overcame early difficulties to steer Les Bleus to the 2006 FIFA World Cup final, where they lost
on penalties to Italy in Berlin.
Took France to UEFA EURO 2008, where they were eliminated in the first round, but was
retained for 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying, which again proved troublesome if ultimately
successful after a play-off victory against the Republic of Ireland.

FYR MACEDONIA
P38 W8 D11 L19 F45 A58

FYR Macedonia started out with hopes of reaching the play-offs but eventually had to settle for
fourth in the five-team section behind the Netherlands, Norway and Scotland. Early hopes
were boosted by an opening victory over Scotland 1-0 in Skopje but they faded fast in the
wake of three subsequent defeats. After the third of those losses, 4-0 in the Netherlands,
coach Sreko Katanec made way for Mirsad Jonuz and he steadied the ship with four points in
two home games against Norway (0-0) and Iceland (2-0). Yet the campaign ended in
underwhelming fashion, FYR Macedonia signing off with away defeats by Scotland and Norway.

UEFA EURO 2008
FYR Macedonia made a promising start under new coach Katanec, with three clean sheets in
four matches that included victories in Estonia and Andorra and, most encouragingly, a
goalless draw in England. Given the next five matches produced just one point, that would be
as good as it got until the final month of qualifying, November 2007, and the 2-0 home victory
over group winners Croatia. Goran Maznov and Ilco Naumoski scored the goals that inflicted
the only defeat on a Croatian side already assured of qualification as FYR Macedonia ended
fifth in the section.

FYR Macedonia recorded four wins in qualifying for the last EURO, doubling their total number
of victories in the competition as well as gaining an excellent point away against England.
The only campaign where they came close to matching that performance was for UEFA EURO
2000 where they gained creditable home draws with Croatia and the Republic of Ireland.

Key fact
FYR Macedonia recorded an 11-1 victory away to Liechtenstein on 9 November 1996 in 1998
World Cup qualifying their record win in competitive and friendly internationals.

Head coach: Mirsad Jonuz
Nationality: Macedonian
Playing career: FK Teteks, FK Bregalnica Stip, FK Borec, FK Rad Beograd (twice), FK Vardar,
FK Sutjeska, Levadiakos FC, FK Rabotnicki
Coaching career: FK Rabotnicki (twice), FK Pobeda, FYR Macedonia
A goalkeeper for Teteks, Bregalnica and Borec, Jonuz played in the top division in Yugoslavia
with Rad, Vardar and Sutjeska, moving on to play in the Greek Premier League for Levadiakos
FC.
Hung up his boots in 1996 after a final spell with Rabotnicki to begin the first of two coaching
spells with the Skopje-based club; won the first of two local Coach of the Year awards in 2000.
Took his first major trophy as coach of Pobeda, the 2002 Macedonian Cup, and also won a
record 14 Prva Liga games in succession while in charge of the Prilep club; Coach of the Year
for a second time in 2002.
Returned for a second spell at Rabotnicki in 2002, taking on dual role in tandem with leading
the national Under-21 team; in charge for three successive UEFA European Under-21
Championship qualifying tournaments.
Hired to replace Slovenian Srecko Katanec as FYR Macedonia coach in May 2009; took four
points from his first two games home FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Norway (0-0) and
Iceland (2-0).

GEORGIA
P40 W11 D4 L25 F42 A67

Georgia failed to win a match for the first time in a qualifying campaign, with Argentinian
coach Hector Raul Cper unable to lift his men from last place in the group. Having started out
with a 2-1 defeat by the Republic of Ireland on neutral ground in Mainz, Georgia went on to
collect just three points in as many home draws against Cyprus, Bulgaria and Montenegro in
their remaining matches. Bulgaria brought out the best and worst in Cper's men a 0-0 draw
in Tbilisi being followed by a 6-2 defeat in Sofia.

UEFA EURO 2008
Three victories and a draw under German coach Klaus Toppmller ensured that Georgia
avoided a last-place finish in their section, the Faroe Islands taking the wooden spoon instead.
Georgia opened their campaign with a record 6-0 victory away to the Faroese Shota
Arveladze hitting a hat-trick although their most impressive victory came in their penultimate
fixture, a 2-0 home success against then group leaders Scotland, who eventually missed out
on the play-offs by two points. Georgia also beat the Faroe Islands in Tbilisi and recorded a 1-1
draw there against Ukraine.

Georgia's best showing came in their first appearance in the competition, the qualifying phase
for EURO '96, when they recorded five wins and five defeats from their ten outings. Defeats by
Moldova in their opening and closing fixtures removed any realistic chance of advancing
beyond the group stage, with Germany and Bulgaria occupying the top places in the standings.
Yet they attained some creditable results, beating Wales and Albania both home and away
indeed they crushed the Welsh 5-0 in Tbilisi and ending their home programme with a 2-1
success against a Bulgaria side who had reached the last four in the world 12 months earlier.

Key facts
After previously opting for foreign coaches, the Georgian Football Federation chose homegrown
talent last November, appointing Temuri Ketsbaia. A former Georgian international, Ketsbaia's
record as a coach includes helping Anorthosis Famagusta FC become the first Cypriot team to
reach the group stage of the UEFA Champions League in 2008 and guiding Olympiacos FC
through the same qualifiers during a brief stint earlier this season. Georgia have suffered
three-goal defeats on five separate occasions, their heaviest losses in the competition. The last
was a 3-0 reverse against France on 2 September 2006 in Tbilisi.

Head coach: Temuri Ketsbaia
Nationality: Georgian
Playing career: FC Dinamo Sukhumi, FC Dinamo Tbilisi, Anorthosis Famagusta FC (twice),
AEK Athens FC, Newcastle United FC, Wolverhampton Wanderers FC, Dundee FC
Coaching career: Anorthosis Famagusta FC, Olympiacos FC, Georgia
A lively, energetic attacking midfielder, Ketsbaia was groomed at top Georgian club Dinamo
Tbilisi, where he was a member of the team that won the first three Georgian league titles post
independence.
Left for Cyprus in 1992, joining Anorthosis, and from there, three years later, to Greece,
where he helped AEK to back-to-back Greek Cup wins.
Joined Newcastle in 1997 and played in two successive FA Cup finals as well as helping the
team into the UEFA Champions League for the first time; later played for Wolves and Dundee
before returning to Anorthosis in 2002 as player-coach.
Hugely successful stint at Anorthosis peaked in 2008 when the team won the Cypriot title
without losing a game and then became the first club from the island to compete in the group
stage of the UEFA Champions League after eliminating Greek giants Olympiacos FC.
Left Anorthosis to become Olympiacos coach in summer 2009 but lasted only a few weeks at
the Piraeus club and, two months later, was appointed to replace Hctor Cper as coach of
Georgia, for whom he scored 16 goals in 49 internationals.

GERMANY
Winners: 1972*, 1980*, 1996
Runners-up: 1976*, 1992, 2008
Semi-finals: 1988*
Final tournament: 1972*, 1976*, 1980*, 1984*, 1988*, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008
(* as Federal Republic of Germany)
P116 W71 D29 L16 F234 A84

Germany ousted main rivals Russia to qualify, with Finland, Wales, Azerbaijan and
Liechtenstein never really posing a threat. Joachim Lw's side took control of the section
thanks to a 2-1 success against Russia in Dortmund, Lukas Podolski and Michael Ballack
supplying a convincing first-half lead. They sealed qualification thanks to a 1-0 win in Moscow,
Germany going ahead through Miroslav Klose and holding on following Jerome Boateng's 69
th
-
minute red card. Finland were the only team to defy the group winners along the way, drawing
3-3 and 1-1.

UEFA EURO 2008
Runners-up Germany finished ten points ahead of closest challengers the Republic of Ireland in
qualifying, with the Czech Republic topping the pool thanks to a 3-0 victory in Munich. At the
finals, a 2-0 win over Poland was followed by a 2-1 loss to Croatia, which left Lw's men
needing to beat co-hosts Austria in their final Group B outing. Ballack's free-kick goal delivered
the triumph they required and an improved and tactically rejigged Germany downed Portugal
3-2 in the quarter-finals, before repeating that result thanks to Philipp Lahm's 90
th
-minute
winner in a thrilling semi-final against Turkey. Spain proved too strong in the final, though,
winning 1-0.

Germany have won the competition once since reunification, in 1996, but three times overall
following earlier triumphs as the Federal Republic of Germany in 1972 and 1980. Substitute
Oliver Bierhoff delivered glory in the EURO '96 final at Wembley, ending the Czech Republic's
dreams with a golden-goal winner five minutes into extra time, having also cancelled out Patrik
Berger's 59
th
-minute penalty 17 minutes from the end of normal time.

Key facts
Despite their excellent record in the competition, Germany have also been through one notable
lean spell, failing to win a single match in a final tournament between the Wembley triumph in
1996 and their victory over Poland in Klagenfurt in 2008. Between those years, they recorded
three draws and three defeats, scoring three goals and conceding eight.

Head coach: Joachim Lw
Nationality: German
Playing career: SC Freiburg (three times), VfB Stuttgart, Eintracht Frankfurt, Karlsruher SC,
FC Schaffhausen, FC Winterthur, FC Frauenfeld
Coaching career: FC Winterthur (youth), FC Frauenfeld, VfB Stuttgart, Fenerbahe SK,
Karlsruher SC, Adanaspor A, FC Tirol Innsbruck, FK Austria Wien, Germany (assistant),
Germany
A native of the Black Forest in south-west Germany, he spent most of his playing days with
local club Freiburg, where he had three spells, before winding down his career in Switzerland.
Operated as a player-coach in Switzerland before becoming an assistant, and later head
coach, back in Germany with Stuttgart, succeeding Rolf Fringer; led the Swabian side to a
German Cup win in his first season and to the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup final against Chelsea FC
in his second.
Left Stuttgart for Fenerbahe but struggled to match his early success until he joined Tirol
Innsbruck, guiding the team to the 2001/02 Austrian Bundesliga title.
After nine months with Austria Wien he was summoned by old friend Jrgen Klinsmann to
become his assistant with Germany; the pair led the Nationalmannschaft to a third-place finish
on home soil at the 2006 FIFA World Cup.
Replaced Klinsmann as head coach, taking the team to a runners-up spot at UEFA EURO
2008 and, subsequently, to the 2010 World Cup finals courtesy of a qualifying-clinching 1-0
win against Russia in Moscow.

GREECE
Winners: 2004
P102 W48 D19 L35 F147 A117

Play-offs: Beat Ukraine 1-0 on aggregate
Greece reached their second FIFA World Cup finals after finishing second in Group 2 and then
defeating Ukraine 1-0 on aggregate in the play-offs. They started qualifying in impressive
fashion with three victories without conceding a goal, but picked up just five points from their
next five matches. Otto Rehhagel's men lost both encounters against eventual group winners
Switzerland, going down 2-1 at home and 2-0 in Basel, and drew 1-1 away to both Israel and
Moldova. However, they beat Latvia and Luxembourg in their last two matches to reach the
play-offs, where they prevailed thanks to Dimitris Salpingidis's winner in Donetsk.

UEFA EURO 2008
Greece finished the qualifying campaign with 31 points, more than any other team. A flying
start they beat Moldova, Norway and Bosnia-Herzegovina without conceding a goal ended
abruptly with a 4-1 home defeat by Turkey. They bounced back impressively, though, winning
seven out of their next eight qualifiers and drawing 2-2 in Oslo against Norway. However,
Rehhagel's charges, defending their European crown, failed to match that form in the
tournament itself, losing all three games in Salzburg 2-0 to Sweden, 1-0 to Russia and 2-1
to eventual champions Spain, with Angelos Charisteas scoring their only goal of the finals.

Greece were the surprise winners of UEFA EURO 2004, having qualified for only the second
time. They finished the group stage in Portugal as runners-up behind the host nation, despite
having beaten them 2-1 in the opening game. Putting their faith in solid defending, they won
all three knockout matches by the same 1-0 scoreline and the same way with headed goals.
Rehhagel's side overcame France in the quarter-finals with a Charisteas strike before beating
the Czech Republic courtesy of Traianos Dellas's silver goal after 106 minutes and then
upsetting Portugal again in the final through another Charisteas effort.

Key facts
Since taking over in August 2001, Rehhagel has led Greece to an impressive record of 16
victories, one draw and only three defeats in 20 UEFA European Championship qualifying
matches. Greece's biggest victory was an 8-1 rout of Finland in October 1978 during qualifying
for the 1980 finals in October 1978. Their biggest defeat came 20 years earlier, in October
1958, when they lost 7-1 to France in Paris. Greece striker Fanis Gekas finished 2010 World
Cup qualifying as the European zone's top scorer with ten goals.

Head coach: Otto Rehhagel
Nationality: German
Playing career: SC Rot-Weiss Essen, Hertha BSC Berlin, 1. FC Kaiserslautern
Coaching career: 1. FC Saarbrcken, Kickers Offenbach, Werder Bremen (twice), BV Borussia
Dortmund, DSC Armenia (Arminia) Bielefeld, Fortuna Dsseldorf, FC Bayern Mnchen, 1. FC
Kaiserslautern, Greece
An iron-hard defender, he played in the early years of the Bundesliga for Hertha and
Kaiserslautern, racking up over 200 appearances in Germany's new national league.
Made little impact initially as a coach until he returned for a second spell in charge of Werder
Bremen, where he would remain for 14 years, earning himself the nickname of 'King Otto' as
he led the team to two Bundesliga titles, two German Cup wins and countless European
campaigns, including a UEFA Cup Winners' Cup success in 1992.
Recruited by Bayern in 1995, he steered the team to the UEFA Cup final but was sacked
before they won the two-legged showpiece against FC Girondins de Bordeaux; made an
impressive comeback with ex-club Kaiserslautern, steering them to promotion and an
unprecedented Bundesliga triumph a year later.
Took charge of Greece in August 2001 and led them to a historic, against-all-odds victory at
UEFA EURO 2004 with a shock 1-0 win against hosts Portugal in the final.
Unable to steer the European champions to the 2006 FIFA World Cup in his homeland, he
nevertheless led the team impressively to UEFA EURO 2008 where they lost all three
games and to the 2010 World Cup finals, a 1-0 play-off win in Ukraine securing qualification
in his 100th match in charge.

HUNGARY
Final tournaments: 1964, 1972
P103 W41 D21 L41 F166 A143

Despite finishing fourth, Hungary had one of their more encouraging campaigns in recent
years, finishing just five points from top spot and three shy of a play-off place. One point from
their first two games was followed by four straight wins over Albania and Malta, raising
Hungarian hopes before the final four fixtures. Wins in three of their last four games would
have sealed it, but they went down to a strike by Sweden's Zlatan Ibrahimovi in the third
minute of added time before losing twice to Portugal. A 1-0 victory in Denmark was just for
consolation.

UEFA EURO 2008
A disappointing bid included defeats in Moldova and Malta, although the tables were turned at
home in both cases. Hungary's final position of sixth in a seven-team section partly reflected a
change of coach midway through the campaign, with Pter Vrhidi replacing Pter Bozsik. The
high points were two wins against Bosnia-Herzegovina and two battling performances against
group winners and defending European champions Greece.

Third place represents Hungary's finest showing, achieved back in 1964 when they also
became Olympic champions for the second time. A preliminary round victory against Wales
preceded a 5-4 aggregate win against the German Democratic Republic, while two goals from
Lajos Tichy in their quarter-final with France secured a 3-1 away triumph. A 2-1 home success
then set up a last-four meeting with tournament hosts Spain, and although a late equaliser in
the one-off tie from striker Ferenc Bene prompted extra time, Spain eventually prevailed. That
sent Lajos Barti's side into a third place play-off against Denmark, which they won 3-1 after
another extra-time epic.

Key facts
Hungary's last appearance in the final stages of a UEFA European Championship came back in
1972, when they reached the semi-finals before bowing out to the USSR. For 2012, coach
Erwin Koeman will be looking to lead Hungary to the latter stages of a tournament he won as a
player with his native Netherlands in 1988. In Hungary's UEFA EURO 2008 campaign, eight
different players scored their total of eleven goals.

Head coach: Erwin Koeman
Nationality: Dutch
Playing career: FC Groningen (three times), PSV Eindhoven (twice), KV Mechelen
Coaching career: PSV Eindhoven (youth/assistant), RKC Waalwijk, Feyenoord, Hungary
Son of Dutch international Martin Koeman, the left-footed midfielder or full-back started out
with local club Groningen and was also twice on the books of PSV Eindhoven, but enjoyed best
years of his playing career across the border at Mechelen, where he won the Belgian Cup,
UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, UEFA Super Cup and Belgian League.
Also collected two Eredivisie titles during his second spell at PSV (1990-94) and was a
member, alongside younger brother Ronald, of the Netherlands' 1988 UEFA European
Championship-winning team; collected 31 international caps between 1983 and 1994.
Ended his playing career back at Groningen before taking up coaching with PSV, first with
responsibility for the youth team, then as assistant to Eric Gerets and finally Guus Hiddink
(2002-04).
Appointed head coach of Waalwijk in 2004 but left a year later for Feyenoord, replacing Ruud
Gullit; remained with Rotterdam club for two seasons before resigning.
Took over as Hungary's national team coach in May 2008; made bright start to 2010 FIFA
World Cup qualifying campaign but three successive defeats in autumn 2009 ended team's
qualifying hopes before they closed campaign with 1-0 win away to group winners Denmark.

ICELAND
P78 W17 D14 L47 F57 A131

Hopes rose for the new team being put together by coach lafur Jhannesson when Iceland
opened with a 2-2 draw in Norway. However, they were brought down to earth by subsequent
defeats against Scotland and the Netherlands. Though a 1-0 win over FYR Macedonia earned
by Veigar Gunnarsson's goal raised team morale again, further losses to the Scots and the
Dutch left Iceland rooted to the bottom of the section in a campaign which finished as it had
begun, with a draw against Norway.

UEFA EURO 2008
Qualifying Group F: P12 W2 D2 L8 G10 A27 Pts8
Iceland struggled for consistency from the off in the first month of the campaign they won 3-
0 in Northern Ireland yet lost 4-0 in Latvia and eventually finished second from
bottom. Eyjlfur Sverrisson's team produced arguably their best displays against eventual
European champions Spain losing 1-0 in Mallorca to an 80th-minute Andrs Iniesta strike,
then conceding an 86
th
-minute equaliser to Iniesta in a 1-1 home draw. The latter result was
followed by a last-gasp victory over third-placed Northern Ireland but the feel-good factor
disappeared as they signed off with three straight defeats including a 3-0 capitulation against a
Liechtenstein side who also earned a point in Reykjavik.

Icelands finest hour came during UEFA EURO 2000 qualifying, when they remained in the hunt
until the final stages. Excellent home form was the key, with defeats of Russia, Armenia and
Andorra following an opening 1-1 draw with then world champions and eventual tournament
winners France. However, Iceland's qualifying bid faded in their last two matches, a 1-0 home
defeat by Ukraine and a heartbreaking 3-2 loss to France in Paris where goals from Eyjlfur
Sverrisson (later to become national coach) and Brynjar Bjrn Gunnarsson brought them back
to 2-2 only for David Trezeguet to net a 71st-minute winner for the hosts.

Key facts
Iceland lost their first match in the UEFA European Championship, going down 4-2 away to the
Republic of Ireland on 12 August 1962. Having not taken part in the 1960, 1968 and 1972
editions, their first victory arrived on 5 June 1975 in a 2-1 defeat of East Germany through
goals from Johannes Edvaldsson and Asgeir Sigurvinsson. They suffered their record defeat in
the competition against the same opponents 12 years later during qualifying for the 1988
finals when the German Democratic Republic ran out 6-0 winners in Reykjavik with Andreas
Thom scoring a hat-trick.

Head coach: lafur Jhannesson
Date of birth: 30 June 1957
Nationality: Icelandic
Playing career: Haukar
Coaching career: Skallagrmur (three times), FH Hafnarjrdur (three times), Thrttur
Reykjavk, Haukar, Selfoss, R Reykjavk, Iceland
Turned from playing to coaching at age of 24; led a fairly obscure part-time existence while
simultaneously working as a carpenter for 20 years until taking charge of FH for third time in
2003.
Led FH to their highest-ever placing in Icelandic League second in his debut campaign
before steering club to a debut title on their 75th anniversary in 2004.
Maintained success by leading FH to further championships in runaway fashion in 2005
and 2006, and although the sequence ended when the team finished second in 2007, one point
behind Valur Reykjavk they found consolation in a maiden Icelandic Cup triumph.
Left FH to take charge of the Icelandic national team in October 2007, replacing Eyjlfur
Sverrisson after he had overseen a disappointing end to UEFA EURO 2008 qualifying
campaign with successive defeats against Latvia and Liechtenstein.
Guided Iceland to promising 2-2 draw away to Norway in opening 2010 FIFA World Cup
qualifier but unable to consolidate as team won only once in eight games at home to FYR
Macedonia and finished bottom of five-team group.

ISRAEL
P40 W16 D9 L15 F67 A53

Israel must continue their long wait for a first World Cup finals appearance since 1970 after
finishing fourth in their section behind Switzerland, Greece and Latvia. Under Dror Kashtan,
they started brightly by retrieving a two-goal deficit in an exciting home draw with Switzerland
and were unbeaten in their first five matches. However, they then suffered back-to-back
defeats by Greece (1-2) and Latvia (0-1) the latter on home soil at the Ramat Gan Stadium
and ended the campaign having only recorded wins against the bottom two, Luxembourg
and Moldova.

UEFA EURO 2008
Israel missed out on the finals for the fourth time after finishing fourth in Group E on 23
points, six behind winners Croatia, one behind Russia and level with England. They lost only
once 4-3 at home to Croatia in their opening eight games, a sequence that included five
victories and a 0-0 draw with England. Yet hopes vanished with successive away losses against
England and Croatia in autumn 2007. They ended on a high with victories over Russia, Omer
Golan hitting a 92nd-minute winner, and FYR Macedonia that ensured their highest ever points
haul in qualifying.

Israel have never qualified for the UEFA European Championship finals, but came close when
they reached the play-offs for a place at UEFA EURO 2000. After finishing second behind Spain
in their group beating third-placed Austria 5-0 en route they faced Denmark in a two-
legged play-off but lost heavily. Denmark had the tie won at the halfway stage after
condemning Israel to their record defeat in the competition, 5-0 in Tel-Aviv. The return leg in
Copenhagen finished 3-0, completing an 8-0 aggregate reverse.

Key facts
When Israel lost 4-3 to Croatia at the Ramat Gan on 15 November 2006, it was their first
competitive qualifying defeat in 14 matches since a 3-0 reverse in France on 11 October 2003.
In the intervening period Israel had played 13 qualifiers, recording six victories and seven
draws. It was also their first loss on home soil since that 5-0 play-off humbling by Denmark as
they had gone through 2006 World Cup qualifying unbeaten and played their UEFA EURO 2004
home qualifiers at neutral venues.

Head coach
The new head coach is yet to be confirmed by the Israeli Football Association.

ITALY
Winners: 1968
Runners-up: 2000
P115 W60 D37 L18 F178 A81

Defending champions Italy advanced to their 13th successive World Cup finals as Group 8
winners after seeing off the determined challenge of Giovanni Trapattoni's Republic of Ireland.
Marcello Lippi, who guided the Azzurri to glory in Germany in 2006, returned as coach in place
of Roberto Donadoni after UEFA EURO 2008 and his side advanced unbeaten, winning seven
games and booking their place in South Africa with a match to spare thanks to Alberto
Gilardino's 90
th
-minute strike that secured a 2-2 draw in Dublin their second draw against
Trapattoni's side.

UEFA EURO 2008
After beating France to win the 2006 World Cup, Donadoni's side met Les Bleus again in
qualifying for UEFA EURO 2008 and again came out on top, winning Group B despite failing to
beat France losing 3-1 away, drawing 0-0 at home with their only other dropped points a
1-1 draw against Lithuania. Italy and France met again at the finals and the Azzurri once more
held the upper hand, winning 2-0 to qualify for the quarter-finals having earlier lost 3-0 to the
Netherlands and drawn 1-1 with Romania. Their run ended with defeat on penalties by
eventual champions Spain after a goalless quarter-final.

Italy won the 1968 edition, defeating Yugoslavia 2-0 in a final replay after the two sides had
shared a 1-1 draw at Rome's Stadio Olimpico. The Italians forced a replay when Angelo
Domenghini's 80th-minute goal cancelled out Dragan Dzaji's opener after 39 minutes. The
tournament hosts made no mistake in the replay two days later, first-half efforts from Luigi
Riva (12) and Pietro Anastasi (31) sealing a 2-0 success.

Key facts
Italy have appeared in the last four UEFA European Championship final tournaments. They
hosted the first eight-team final round in 1980 but had to settle for fourth place after losing a
third-place play-off on penalties to Czechoslovakia.

Head coach: Marcello Lippi
Playing career: Savona 1907 FBC, UC Sampdoria, AC Pistoiese
Coaching career: US Pontedera 1912, AC Siena, AC Pistoiese, Carrarese Calcio, AC Cesena,
AS Lucchese, Atalanta BC, SSC Napoli, Juventus (twice), FC Internazionale Milano, Italy
(twice)
Born in Tuscany, his playing career was spent chiefly in north-west Italy with Sampdoria, for
whom he played as a 'libero' from 1970 to 1980, both in Serie A and Serie B.
Served a lengthy apprenticeship with a number of minor teams before coaching a Serie A
side for the first time in 1989 with Cesena; led Lucchese, Atalanta and Napoli for one season
each before joining Juventus in 1994.
Won Serie A in first season with Juve and UEFA Champions League in his second; Scudetto
winner and UEFA Champions League runner-up in 1996/97 beaten again in final of Europe's
top club competition the following year.
Left for Inter in 1999 but unsuccessful there and returned two years later to Juve, where his
magic touch was maintained as the Turin club won two further Serie A titles and reached
another UEFA Champions League final, which they lost on penalties to AC Milan.
Became Italy coach in July 2004 and stood down two years later after steering Azzurri to
FIFA World Cup glory in Germany; reappointed, in place of Roberto Donadoni, after Italy's
elimination at UEFA EURO 2008 and led team undefeated through qualification for chance to
defend world title in South Africa.

KAZAKHSTAN
P14 W2 D4 L8 F11 A21

Group 6: P10 W2 D0 L8 F11 A29 Pts 6
Arno Pijpers' team defeated Andorra 3-0 in the opening match of their campaign but the
Dutchman was soon out of a job following losses to Croatia (0-3) and Ukraine (1-3). He was
replaced by German Bernd Storck, promoted from the Under-21 post, yet that did little to lift
fortunes as Kazakhstan lost all but one of their remaining seven matches, the exception being
a 3-1 win in Andorra. England and Belarus both struck nine goals in their two matches against
Kazakhstan, while Croatia and Ukraine managed five apiece, condemning Storck's squad to a
fifth position in the six-team section, six points ahead of Andorra.

UEFA EURO 2008
Kazakhstan kicked off their first foray into UEFA European Championship qualifying with
unexpected draws against Belgium and Azerbaijan. Although they lost their next three
matches, they had real cause for celebration in March 2007 when they defeated Serbia 2-1 in
Almaty. A run of six matches without victory then followed although there was a creditable
2-2 draw against Belgium before Kazakhstan registered a second victory in eight-team Group
A, winning 1-0 in Armenia in their penultimate fixture.

The 2008 qualifying campaign was Kazakhstans first participation in the competition since
moving from the Asian Football Confederation in 2002.

Key fact
Having joined UEFA in 2002, Kazakhstan had to wait until 24 March 2007 for their first
competitive win when they defeated Serbia 2-1 in Almaty thanks to goals from Kairat
Ashirbekov and Nurbol Zhumaskaliyev.

Head coach: Bernd Storck
Nationality: German
Playing career: VfL Bochum 1848, BV Borussia Dortmund
Coaching career: VfB Stuttgart (assistant), Hertha BSC Berlin (assistant), VfL Wolfsburg
(assistant), FK Partizan (assistant), BV Borussia Dortmund (assistant), FC Almaty, Kazakhstan
Under-21s, Kazakhstan
Made his Bundesliga debut for Bochum at the age of 19 and spent two seasons at the club
before joining local rivals Dortmund in 1983.
A regular in the Dortmund defence for the next six terms, he helped the club to victory in the
German Cup in his final campaign, 1988/89; ended his playing career with eight goals in 171
Bundesliga appearances.
Joined forces with leading German coach Jrgen Rber and acted as his assistant at
Stuttgart, Hertha, Wolfsburg, Partizan and Dortmund.
Moved abroad midway through 2008 to take charge of Kazakh top-flight club Almaty; was
also appointed simultaneously as the Kazakhstan U21 coach.
Named the Kazakhstan senior team's interim coach following dismissal of Dutchman Arno
Pijpers in autumn 2008; his first game in charge was a 5-1 defeat by England at Wembley in a
2010 FIFA World Cup qualifier but he was subsequently installed as team's permanent head
coach.

LATVIA
P45 W 17 D7 L21 F53 A62

Latvia missed out on the play-offs by just three points, so the campaign was seen by many as
something of a success, particularly as it involved a squad in transition. Six points from their
games with Luxembourg and Moldova, along with another four from Israel, provided the
momentum but home-and-away defeats by eventual runners-up Greece proved to be their
undoing. Last October's 5-2 defeat in Athens, which followed an earlier 2-0 home reverse,
ensured a third-placed finish for Aleksandrs Starkovs' men.

UEFA EURO 2008
This was a disappointing campaign for a team who had made it through to the final
tournament of UEFA EURO 2004. Coach Jurijs Andrejevs paid the price for a 1-0 defeat in
Liechtenstein in March 2007 by losing his job to Starkovs, who returned after a spell with
Russian club FC Spartak Moskva. Latvia found the net in only two of their opening eight
matches and yet somehow managed to put four goals past Iceland twice. Though
performances improved gradually, results remained mixed and the team finished fifth.

Latvia's best showing came when they qualified for UEFA EURO 2004 via the play-offs under
Starkovs. Having finished runners-up in Group 4, just a point behind Sweden after five wins
and a draw from their eight games, Latvia went on to defeat Turkey 3-2 on aggregate. They
did it the hard way too coming back from 2-0 down in Istanbul with 25 minutes left to draw
2-2. Having landed in an extremely tough group in Portugal with Germany, the Netherlands
and the Czech Republic, they finished bottom with just one point obtained in a 0-0 draw with
Rudi Vller's Germany.

Key facts
Latvia captain Vitlijs Astafjevs became the most capped player in Europe on 14 November
2009 after he represented his country for the 158th and final time in Honduras.

Head coach: Aleksandrs Starkovs
Date of birth: 26 July 1955
Nationality: Latvian
Playing career: RPI Madona, FK Daugava Rga (twice), FC Dinamo Moskva
Coaching career: FK Daugava Rga (assistant), Latvia Under-21s, Skonto FC (twice), Latvia
(twice), FC Spartak Moskva, Skonto FC (sporting director)
A prolific goalscorer, he found the net over 100 times in the former Soviet league for
Daugava Rga and was voted Latvia's Golden Player of the past 50 years to celebrate UEFA's
jubilee in 2003.
Began his coaching career as an assistant at Daugava before taking charge at Skonto, where
he remained for over a decade, claiming the Latvian Virslga title in every one of his 12
seasons (1993-2004), prolonging the club's record-winning sequence to 14.
Held role of Latvia assistant from 1995-2001 while still at Skonto helm before replacing Gary
Johnson as head coach.
Guided Latvia to unexpected qualification for UEFA EURO 2004, confirming his stature as a
national icon; joined Spartak Moskva after the finals and led them to runners-up spot in 2005
Russian Premier-Liga.
Returned to Skonto in an administrative role before the call came to return for a second spell
in charge of Latvia in April 2007; led the team to third place in their 2010 FIFA World Cup
qualifying group. Rejoined Skonto as head coach at the end of 2009 campaign.

LIECHTENSTEIN
P40 W3 D4 L33 F14 A133

Liechtenstein finished bottom of a section dominated by Germany and Russia. While their
biggest defeats came against Germany (4-0 and 6-0), they fared much better with Russia in
April 2009, when they restricted their opponents to a hard-fought 1-0 win. Their two points
were posted thanks to draws at home against Finland, Michele Polverino earning a 1-1
stalemate, and away to Azerbaijan, while their only other goal came in a 2-1 defeat in Finland,
Mario Frick putting Liechtenstein ahead.

UEFA EURO 2008
Liechtenstein's bid to reach UEFA EURO 2008 proved positive overall, despite the team
finishing bottom of their section. Amassing seven points in total, they came close to emulating
their historic best of eight points in a qualifying campaign, recorded on the road to the 2006
World Cup. Liechtenstein saw off Latvia 1-0 at home after Frick hit the winner and then swept
aside Iceland 3-0 courtesy of another Frick strike and two goals from Thomas Beck. They also
drew 1-1 away against Iceland, who finished a solitary point ahead in the section.

Their last campaign was also their best in UEFA European Championship qualifying, marking a
considerable step up from their previous record tally of four points on the road to UEFA EURO
2000, a campaign which featured Liechtenstein's first ever qualifying victory. The side broke
their duck by downing Azerbaijan 2-1 but had to wait until the subsequent triumphs over
Latvia and Iceland to increase their win total.

Key facts
Liechtenstein's first ever participation in a major international tournament came with their
qualifying bid for EURO '96, and their first competitive goal came in their maiden competitive
outing Daniel Hasler scoring the 82
nd
-minute consolation in a 4-1 defeat by Northern Ireland
in Belfast. They earned their first ever point in that same campaign, drawing 0-0 at home
against the Republic of Ireland.

Head coach: Hans-Peter Zaugg
Nationality: Swiss
Playing career: FC Rot-Weiss Bmpliz, Neuchtel Xamax FC, FC Bern
Coaching career: FC Zollikofen, FC Aarberg, FC Rapid Ostermundigen, SC Bmpliz 78,
Switzerland (youth), Switzerland (assistant), Switzerland (caretaker), Grasshopper-Club, Jomo
Cosmos, FC Luzern, BSC Young Boys, Neuchtel Xamax FC (sports director), Liechtenstein
A modest playing career, highlighted by a five-year spell with Neuchtel Xamax, was spent
mostly as a holding midfielder although he later moved back into defence.
Coached initially at amateur, regional and youth levels before finding a niche for himself as
the assistant to a succession of Swiss national team coaches Roy Hodgson, Artur Jorge, Rolf
Fringer and Gilbert Gress between 1990 and 2000.
Took sole command of the national team for four matches in a caretaker role between
October 1999 and June 2000; benefited from the experience by taking charge of Grasshoppers
and leading them to a record-extending 26th Swiss league title in his debut season as a senior
club coach.
Moved on to coach Luzern and Young Boys before taking sports director job at former club
Xamax.
Replaced Martin Andermatt as Liechtenstein coach in December 2006 and, after taking two
points in attempting to make 2010 FIFA World Cup, extended his contract until the end of
UEFA EURO 2012 qualifying.

LITHUANIA
P40 W16 D5 L19 F39 A52

Under the guidance of Portuguese coach Jos Couceiro, Lithuania made an impressive start in
Group 7 with a 3-0 win in Romania and a 2-0 home victory against Austria. Although they then
lost to eventual section winners Serbia, Lithuania ended 2008 as group leaders after defeating
the Faroe Islands. That was as good as it got, though, as five successive losses followed
including a 2-1 reverse in the Faroe Islands and Lithuania ended their campaign in fourth
place, although they did have the consolation of a 2-1 home victory against Serbia in their final
fixture.

UEFA EURO 2008
Lithuania opened Group B with in eye-catching fashion after a Tomas Danileviius goal secured
a 1-1 draw in Naples against newly-crowned world champions Italy, but they were brought
back down to earth by Scotland, losing 2-1 in Kaunas, and subsequent spirited displays against
World Cup finalists France and Italy were admirable but ultimately yielded no points or goals. A
notable 2-0 home win against Ukraine was another high point for Algimantas Lubinskas's
squad, who eventually finished in fifth place following victory in Georgia in their final fixture.

Lithuania's third-place finish in their six-team EURO '96 qualifying group ranks as their best
performance in the competition in terms of placing, although they matched the five wins they
achieved in that campaign in their bid to reach Austria-Switzerland.

Key fact
Danileviius is Lithuania's all-time leading scorer with 19 goals.

Head coach
The new head coach is yet to be confirmed by the Lithuanian Football Association.

LUXEMBOURG
P89 W5 D8 L76 F35 A255

Luxembourg could look back on a campaign in which they not only recorded a rare victory, but
also avoided finishing last. Bottom side Moldova provided two of Luxembourg's points in as
many goalless draws, the other three coming in a remarkable 2-1 success at section winners
Switzerland; Alphonse Leweck scoring the 87
th
-minute winner after Jeff Strasser's opener had
been cancelled out by the hosts. The other two goals came courtesy of Ren Peters in a 3-1
home defeat to Israel and an Avraam Papadopoulos own goal in a 2-1 defeat in Greece.

UEFA EURO 2008
Luxembourg claimed their first competitive victory in over a decade when Leweck rose to head
home in the fifth minute of added time to earn a 1-0 victory in Belarus on 13 October 2007.
Their previous win had been a 1-0 success in Malta on 22 February 1995 during EURO '96
qualifying. Chris Sagramola scored Luxembourg's only other goal of the campaign in a 2-1
home defeat by Belarus, and though they failed to pick up another point, Guy Hellers' side
twice limited the Netherlands to 1-0 wins.

Luxembourg's first involvement in the competition has proved their most successful, coming in
the latter part of 1963 when they first recorded a 1-1 draw with the Netherlands in
Amsterdam, then beating the Dutch 2-1 at Rotterdam's De Kuip. Camille Dimmer proved the
hero with goals after 20 and 67 minutes, either side of Piet Kruiver's 31
st
-minute equaliser.
Luxembourg's reward was a two-legged quarter-final against Denmark which they lost 1-0 in a
replay after drawing 5-5 on aggregate.

Key facts
Luxembourg have been involved in all eleven qualification group stages since the 1968 UEFA
European Championship. Of these, EURO '96 proved most memorable as they recorded three
wins a shock 1-0 victory over future finalists Czech Republic at the Josy Barthel Stadium and
successes in both games against Malta. The final points haul of ten also included a draw with
Belarus.

Head coach: Guy Hellers
Nationality: Luxembourgeois
Playing career: US Bascharage, CS Hollerich, FC Metz, R. Standard de Lige
Coaching career: Luxembourg
Arguably Luxembourg's most distinguished footballer, he made his name at Standard Lige,
where he played in midfield for 16 years, from 1983-1999, amassing 477 appearances in all
competitions a club record - and scoring 37 goals.
Joined the club as reigning Belgian champions but never won a league title with them; only
major honour was 1993 Belgian Cup, which Standard won after 2-0 win in all-francophone final
against R. Charleroi SC.
A long-time captain of Standard, he was also voted Luxembourg's Sportsman of the Year in
1990 and 1995.
First capped by his country in October 1982, he went on to represent Luxembourg 55 times
over a 15-year period, scoring two goals, his second bringing a famous 1-0 win over eventual
runners-up the Czech Republic in a EURO '96 qualifying match.
Began coaching at youth level for the Luxembourg Football Federation before replacing Allan
Simonsen as the senior team's head coach in December 2004; led side to shock competitive
away wins against Belarus (1-0) the team's first competitive victory for 12 years - and
Switzerland (2-1).

MALTA
UEFA European Championship Qualifying record
P82 W3 D11 L68 F42 A251

Malta finished bottom of their section after picking up a solitary point in a 0-0 home draw
against Albania. Eight matches into the campaign, in July 2009, Czech coach Duan Fitzel was
replaced by former Malta international John Buttigieg, becoming the first Maltese to take
charge of the senior team since Pippo Psaila held the post between 1991 and 1993. However,
Malta remained rooted to the foot of Group 1, and were the only team to go through European
qualifying without registering a goal.

UEFA EURO 2008
Despite finishing bottom of the section, Fitzel's team put in a series of fine performances,
collecting a record tally of points and goals scored in a UEFA European Championship
qualifying campaign. There were draws at home to Turkey (2-2) and in Moldova (1-1), building
on a 2-1 win against Hungary on 11 October 2006.

Malta's last European Championship qualifying campaign was also their best, with goals in
each half from Andre Schembri earning that 2-1 victory over Hungary, their first in the
competition since 1982. Another triumph nearly followed in September 2007 when Schembri
gave his side a 2-1 lead against Turkey in the 76
th
minute only for Servet etin to quickly
head in the equaliser.

Key facts
Malta have won three matches in UEFA European Championship qualifying, all in home
fixtures. They beat Greece 2-0 in 1975, Iceland 2-1 in 1982 (the game was played at the
neutral venue of Messina, Italy) before that Hungary triumph in 2006 Malta's first
competitive success since 1993.

Head coach: John Buttigieg
Nationality: Maltese
Playing career: Sliema Wanderers FC, Brentford FC, Swindon Town FC (loan), Floriana FC,
Valletta FC
Coaching career: Buzu Football School, Birkirkara FC, Malta
A prominent international defender for 16 years, winning 95 caps for Malta, he started out
with his hometown club Sliema Wanderers and remained there from 1981-89.
Departed for English club Brentford midway through Sliema's title-winning 1988/89 season
his only trophy-winning campaign for the club.
Returned to Malta in 1991 after two and a half years in England, joining Floriana, where he
remained until 1999, winning the domestic double in 1992/93 and retaining the FA Trophy the
following season.
Ended playing career with Valletta, winning a historic clean sweep of every domestic trophy
in 2000/01; chose to close international career in the Malta FA centenary friendly against
England at Ta' Qali in June 2000 a narrow 2-1 defeat - rather than continue to 100 caps.
Coached Birkirkara to three third-place finishes in the Maltese Premier League and victory
in 2008 FA Trophy - before replacing Czech Duan Fitzel as national team coach, assisted by
the country's record goalscorer Carmel Busuttil, in July 2009; began reign with 2-0 friendly win
at home to Georgia.

MOLDOVA
P38 W8 D7 L23 F35 A82

Moldova endured a difficult qualifying campaign, failing to win any of their ten matches and
finishing bottom of their six-team section with just three points. Two of those came against
Luxembourg both goalless draws with the other obtained in more notable fashion thanks to
a 1-1 home draw against Greece. Coach Igor Dobrovolski resigned after Moldova concluded
their campaign with a 3-2 loss in Latvia.

UEFA EURO 2008
Moldova finished fifth in a strong section, recovering from a poor start which brought three
defeats and a draw from their opening four matches. A 5-0 loss in Turkey in the last of those
fixtures led to coach Anatol Teslev's dismissal and the appointment of Dobrovolski, a move
which resulted in an upturn in the teams fortunes in 2007. Narrow defeats by Hungary,
Greece and Norway preceded three victories in the final four matches while there was also a
creditable draw against Turkey. The defeat of Bosnia-Herzegovina in Sarajevo was Moldova's
first competitive win on the road since 1994.

In the EURO '96 qualifying round, Moldova finished fourth in a six-team group having taken
nine points from ten fixtures, one better than Wales and Albania. The group also comprised
Germany, Bulgaria and Georgia.

Key facts
Moldova traditionally perform better in qualifying for the UEFA European Championship than
the World Cup. They have won only two games in four World Cup campaigns, compared with
eight victories in 38 EURO matches.

Head coach: Gavril Balint
Nationality: Romanian
Playing career: CF Gloria 1922 Bistria, FC Steaua Bucureti, Real Burgos CF
Coaching career: Romanian national team (assistant), FC Bihor Oradea, FC Sportul
Studenesc Bucureti, Galatasaray A (assistant), FC Sheriff, FC Politehnica Timioara
(assistant), FC Timioara

A striker, Balint arrived at Steaua aged 17 and spent over ten years at the club. He won five
national titles, three Romanian Cups and the 1986 European Champion Clubs' Cup, where he
was one of only two players to convert his penalty in the final shoot-out against FC Barcelona.
Struck 14 goals in 34 games for Romania, then had first taste of coaching as an assistant for
four years to Anghel Iordnescu in the national setup, a role he would perform on two more
occasions.
After a short spell as assistant at Galatasaray, Balint returned for another stint with the
national team, working alongside Gheorghe Hagi. Both stepped down, though, after failure to
qualify for the 2002 FIFA World Cup ended a run of four successive major tournaments as
player or coach.
Worked as head coach at Bihor and Sportul Studenesc in between stints with Romania.
Joined Sheriff for 2002/03 campaign, winning title and Commonwealth Cup before returning to
Sportul Studenesc and gaining promotion. Rejoined Hagi at Politehnica Timioara before
taking a break from the game, returning at Timioara in 2009.
Appointed by Moldova in January 2010, the 27th Romanian to become a head coach of a
foreign national team.

MONTENEGRO
Montenegro will make their competition debut following independence in 2006.

Group 8: Pl0 W1 D6 L3 F9 A14 Pts9
Having gained independence in 2006, this was the country's first participation in an official
tournament and the performance was a creditable one, with only three defeats in ten games
two of them against holders Italy and the other away to Bulgaria. Montenegro's wait for a first
competitive victory ended on 10 October 2009 with a 2-1 success against Georgia before the
now departed Zoran Filipovi's side signed off with a goalless draw away to the Republic of
Ireland, the group runners-up. Along with the Irish, Montenegro had the highest number of
draws in European zone qualifying six and finished fifth in the group, trailing fourth-placed
Cyprus only on goal difference.

Key facts
Montenegro's attacking flair definitely has an Italian feel to it, with the charge led by Serie A
strikers Mirko Vuini of AS Roma and ACF Fiorentina's Stevan Joveti. The pair follow in the
footsteps of playmaker Dejan Savievi, probably Montenegro's best-known footballer, whose
sparkling performance in the 1994 UEFA Champions League final helped secure the trophy for
AC Milan against FC Barcelona. Predrag Mijatovi, also Montenegrin, scored the only goal of
the 1998 UEFA Champions League final for Real Madrid CF against Juventus.

Head coach: Zlatko Kranjar
Playing career: NK Dinamo Zagreb, FK Austria Wien, SKN St Plten
Coaching career: SV Wienerfeld, SK Austria Klagenfurt, NHK Segesta (twice), NK Croatia
Zagreb (now NK Dinamo Zagreb, twice), FC Linz, NK Slaven Koprivnica, NK Samobor, El-
Masry, NK Mura, NK Marsonia, NK Zagreb (twice), HNK Rijeka, Croatia, NK Croatia Sesvete
(twice), Al-Shaab, DAC 1904 Dunajsk Streda, Persepolis FC

A famously animated coach, Zlatko Kranjar made his name as a forward during a ten-year
spell in the first team at Dinamo Zagreb, during which he made over 500 competitive
appearances as well as representing Yugoslavia at international level.
Having left Zagreb in 1983 to join his one-time Dinamo coach Otto Bari at Austrian Wien,
Kranjar hung up his boots in 1990, but not before he had been capped twice by the newly
independent Croatia.
Started his coaching career in Austria, but was drawn back to his homeland, where he was to
win titles in two separate spells with his old club, while they were playing as Croatia Zagreb;
following spells in Egypt and Slovenia, he pulled off a notable coup by leading NK Zagreb to
the 2001/02 Croatian title.
Replaced his old boss Bari as Croatia coach in 2004, leading a team including son Niko
Kranjar to the 2006 FIFA World Cup finals, but criticism following a relatively disappointing
showing ensured that his contract was not renewed after the tournament in Germany.
Coached in the United Arab Emirates, Slovakia and most recently Iran, with Persepolis;
replaced another former Yugoslavia striker, Zoran Filipovi, as Montenegro national team
coach in February 2010.

THE NETHERLANDS
Winners: 1988
Semi-finals: 1976, 1992, 2000, 2004
Final tournaments: 1976, 1980, 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008
P121 W75 D22 L24 F251 A95

The Netherlands stormed their way to South Africa, not dropping a single point in their eight
qualifying fixtures. They set the tone with an opening 2-1 victory in FYR Macedonia, where
Goran Pandev's consolation goal for the hosts was one of only two they would concede in the
whole campaign. Bert van Marwijk's men finished 14 points clear of nearest rivals Norway and
Scotland, both of whom they beat home and away. Along with Spain, they became just the
third and fourth teams to win all their FIFA World Cup qualifiers only 1970 winners Brazil and
the West Germany side who reached the 1982 final had managed the feat previously.

UEFA EURO 2008
Qualifying group G: P12 W8 D2 L2 F15 A5 Pts26
Runners-up in qualifying Group G behind Romania, the Dutch made a spectacular start to the
tournament, inflicting heavy defeats on both of the 2006 World Cup finalists. World champions
Italy were beaten 3-0 and France 4-1 before coach Marco van Basten fielded mainly a reserve
team for a 2-0 win over Romania in their final group match. Though now heavily tipped to win
the tournament, the Netherlands were outfoxed by one of their own countrymen in the
quarter-finals as Guus Hiddink's Russia broke the hearts of an estimated 100,000 Oranje fans
in Basel, his team winning 3-1 in extra time.

The Netherlands won the 1988 competition in their only appearance in the final to date as
goals from Ruud Gullit and Van Basten the latter a famous acrobatic volley from an acute
angle secured a 2-0 victory over the Soviet Union at Munich's Olympiastadion. Van Basten
had earlier hit a hat-trick against England in the first round and then struck a late semi-final
winner to defeat hosts West Germany 2-1 in a re-run of the 1974 World Cup final.

Key facts
The Netherlands have never lost on home soil in UEFA European Championship qualifying. To
date, they have recorded 35 victories and nine draws, a record that includes a quarter-final
victory against Belgium in the 1976 competition and a play-off defeat of Scotland to advance
to UEFA EURO 2004. As co-hosts of UEFA EURO 2000, they lost on penalties to Italy at the
semi-final stage.

Head coach: Bert van Marwijk
Date of birth: 19 May 1952
Nationality: Dutch
Playing career: Go Ahead Eagles, AZ Alkmaar, MVV Maastricht, Fortuna Sittard, FC Assent
Coaching career: FC Herderen, RKVCL Limmel, SV Meerssen, Fortuna Sittard, Feyenoord
(twice), BV Borussia Dortmund, Netherlands
Capped once by the Netherlands in 1975, Van Marwijk was a dynamic left-winger who racked
up 393 appearances in the Dutch Eredivisie with four different clubs; his only trophy success
was the 1978 Dutch Cup with AZ.
Served a long coaching apprenticeship with several minor clubs before replacing Pim Verbeek
at top-flight Fortuna Sittard in 1998; steered Limburg club to Dutch Cup final in first full
season before joining Feyenoord in 2000.
Masterminded Feyenoord's UEFA Cup triumph in 2001/02, sealed with a 3-2 victory against
Borussia Dortmund on home turf at De Kuip in the one-off final.
Joined Dortmund in 2004 but unable to take team into Europe in first two seasons (after two
seventh-placed finishes in the Bundesliga) and dismissed midway through his third; returned
to Feyenoord and led Rotterdam club to 2008 Dutch Cup win in their centenary year.
Appointed coach of Dutch national team in succession to Marco van Basten in July 2008; led
Oranje through perfect 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign, winning all eight matches to
become the first European team to seal place in South Africa.

NORTHERN IRELAND
P90 W32 D19 L39 F95 A117

A lacklustre start and finish meant that World Cup qualifying ended in disappointment
despite a record-breaking run of four consecutive competitive victories. Two of those were
against San Marino, followed by home wins over Poland and Slovenia in the spring of 2009,
and those results undid some of the damage done by losing two of their first three games, in
Slovakia and Slovenia. However, Nigel Worthington's men failed to prevail again after that
promising run and creditable draws in Poland and the Czech Republic proved insufficient as a
home loss to group winners Slovakia in between effectively ended their hopes.

UEFA EURO 2008
A change of manager coincided with a dip in fortunes for Northern Ireland halfway through
qualifying. Lawrie Sanchez's departure to join Fulham FC in May 2007 led to Worthington
taking over and he could not keep his country on course. Sanchez's side had recovered from a
3-0 opening home defeat by Iceland to win four of the next five games, including a famous 3-2
victory over Spain achieved courtesy of a David Healy hat-trick, a draw in Denmark, and a win
over Sweden. Under Worthington, the team picked up only seven points from their final six
games, although four of those were away.

Northern Ireland's best showing to date was their bid to reach the 1984 UEFA European
Championship, having already featured at the 1982 World Cup in Spain. The team finished
second to the Federal Republic of Germany, level on points but with an inferior goal difference
and despite having beaten their main rivals home and away. A 2-0 defeat away to Austria in
their opening fixture, a draw in Albania and a 1-0 defeat in Turkey in their penultimate match
consigned them to the runners-up spot.

Key facts
Northern Ireland have recorded two 5-0 victories in the UEFA European Championship, at
home against Cyprus (21 April 1971) and in the Faroe Islands (11 September 1991). They
have also suffered a quartet of four-goal reverses in the competition, the most recent coming
on 8 September 1999 away against Germany, with all of the goals coming in the first 45
minutes through Oliver Bierhoff and a Christian Ziege hat-trick.

Head coach: Nigel Worthington
Nationality: Northern Irish
Playing career: Ballymena United FC, Notts County FC, Sheffield Wednesday FC, Leeds
United AFC, Stoke City FC, Blackpool FC
Coaching career: Blackpool FC, Norwich City FC, Leicester City FC (interim), Northern Ireland
A tough-tackling left-back, he played for five English league clubs, spending the bulk of his
career with Sheffield Wednesday, from 1984-94, where he won the League Cup in 1991 and
reached both domestic cup finals two years later.
Played in 66 internationals for Northern Ireland, two of them at the 1986 FIFA World Cup in
Mexico; won his final cap over a decade later, in February 1997.
Became player-manager of Blackpool in 1997/98 before hanging up his boots at the end of
that season; moved on to Norwich, initially as assistant manager to countryman Bryan
Hamilton, before taking charge in December 2000.
Led the Canaries into the Premier League as Division One champions in 2003/04 but unable
to keep them there the following season and eventually lost his job in September 2006.
Briefly in charge of Leicester before replacing Fulham FC-bound Lawrie Sanchez as Northern
Ireland's new manager midway through impressive UEFA EURO 2008 qualifying campaign in
June 2007; won record four successive games in 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifiers to temporarily
top group.

NORWAY
P97 W33 D19 L45 F124 A139

2010 FIFA World Cup Qualifying
Group 9: P8 W2 D4 L2 F9 A7 Pts 10
Norway finished runners-up in their five-team group but did not make the play-offs as their
record was the weakest among the nine second-placed sides they were fully 14 points behind
the Netherlands, the section winners. They collected only two points from their first three
matches, leading to the resignation of ge Hareide and his replacement as coach by Egil Olsen.
The returning Olsen started with a draw at FYR Macedonia and defeat by the Dutch and though
he subsequently helped to engineer victories against first the Scots Norway's main rivals for
second spot and then the Macedonians, it was too little, too late.

UEFA EURO 2008
What Norway fans will remember most from this campaign are the mistakes made by
goalkeeper Thomas Myhre in a 2-2 draw against Turkey in Frankfurt. Norway were coasting at
2-0, but Myhre fumbled two Hamit Altntop free-kicks into his own net the latter in the final
minute to gift Turkey the point that eventually took them to the finals. Norway had started
well with a 4-1 win in Hungary and were always in contention for a finals berth but they lost
control of their destiny in their penultimate fixture surrendering the lead once more in a 2-1
home loss to Turkey and had to settle for third place.

Norway have played at one UEFA European Championship tournament, appearing in the group
stage in 2000. They took 25 points from ten matches to head a qualifying section also
containing Slovenia, Greece, Latvia, Albania and Georgia and advance to the finals in Belgium
and the Netherlands. Nils Johan Semb's side created an immediate impression at UEFA EURO
2000, inflicting a 1-0 defeat on Spain in their first match in Rotterdam. However, they lost 1-0
in their second fixture against Yugoslavia 1-0 and a scoreless draw with Slovenia ended their
involvement in the competition.

Key facts
Norway's national squad features a significant contingent from the English Premier League, led
by captain Brede Hangeland of Fulham FC, experienced striker John Carew from Aston Villa FC
and Blackburn Rovers FC winger Morten Gamst Pedersen. Defender John Arne Riise moved to
AS Roma in 2008 after winning the UEFA Champions League in 2005 during a seven-year spell
at Liverpool FC.

Head coach: Egil Olsen
Nationality: Norwegian
Playing career: stsiden IL, Vlerenga IF, Sarpsborg FK, SK Frigg, Hasle-Lren IL
Coaching career: SK Frigg (three times), Hasle-Lren IL, stsiden IL, Fossum IF, Lyn Oslo
FC, Aalesunds FK, Norway (twice), Vlerenga IF, Wimbledon FC, Fredrikstad FK, Iraq
Born in Fredrikstad, Olsen began playing with local side stsiden before breaking into higher-
level football with Oslo club Vlerenga; a useful winger, nicknamed 'Drillo' for his talent as a
dribbler, he was capped 16 times by Norway from 1964-71.
Began coaching while still active as a player at Frigg and Hasle-Lren; spent six years in
charge of the Norwegian Under-21 team before establishing his reputation at club level with
Lyn and Aalesund.
Appointed caretaker of Norway senior team in October 1990; made stunning start including
6-1 win v Cameroon in first match and 2-1 victory against Italy in a 1992 UEFA European
Championship qualifier to cement position on permanent basis.
Transformed Norway's fortunes with direct style of play, taking country to successive FIFA
World Cups in 1994 and 1998 and to second place in FIFA world rankings; stood down after
France '98, where Norway beat Brazil, with record of 44 wins, 27 draws and just 16 defeats.
After unsuccessful spell in England with Wimbledon, returned to international management
with Iraq and was reappointed as Norway coach in January 2009; failed to lead Norway to the
FIFA World Cup in South Africa, but will remain in charge until summer 2012, when Stle
Solbakken will take over.

PORTUGAL
Runners-up: 2004
Final tournament: 1984, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008
P112 W60 D26 L26 F190 A104

Group 1: P10 W5 D4 L1 F17 A5 P19
Play-offs: Beat Bosnia-Herzegovina 2-0 on aggregate
After just one victory from their first five outings, a run which included a 3-2 home defeat by
eventual section winners Denmark, Carlos Queiroz's side hit their stride when it mattered
most. They won four of the next five, clinching second spot and a place in the play-offs ahead
of third-placed Sweden with home successes against Hungary and Malta last October. In the
play-offs against Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bruno Alves gave Portugal a slender advantage in the
home leg before Raul Meireles's 56th-minute strike in Zenica sealed a 2-0 aggregate victory
and, with it, a place in South Africa.

UEFA EURO 2008
Portugal lost only once in qualifying but that 2-1 defeat by Poland meant they had to settle for
second place behind Leo Beenhakker's side in Group A. It was still enough to earn a UEFA
EURO 2008 berth for a team propelled by the eight-goal Cristiano Ronaldo the preliminary
competitions second-highest scorer. Luiz Felipe Scolari's side made a confident start to the
finals with comfortable wins over Turkey (2-0) and the Czech Republic (3-1) before losing 2-0
to co-hosts Switzerland with first place in their group already assured. Yet that was as good as
it got for Portugal who bowed out in the quarter-finals, losing 3-2 to Germany in Basel.

The closest Portugal have come to holding the Henri Delaunay trophy came on home soil in
2004 when they went down 1-0 to Greece in the Lisbon final. Curiously Portugal's UEFA EURO
2004 campaign began and ended with defeats by the Greeks, whose 2-1 opening win against
the hosts in Group A threatened to cut short their involvement in competition. Yet Scolari's
men responded with victories over Russia (2-0) and Spain (1-0) to reach the last eight as
group winners, before then overcoming England (on penalties after a 2-2 draw) and the
Netherlands (2-1) to reach the final. Unfortunately for the host nation, Greece then crashed
the party once more.

Key facts
Pauleta is Portugal's all-time highest scorer, finishing his international career with 47 goals
from 88 matches, six more than Eusbio. Portugal first qualified for the UEFA European
Championship finals in 1984 and have participated in the last four tournaments.

Head coach: Carlos Queiroz
Nationality: Portuguese
Playing career: none
Coaching career: Portugal (twice), Sporting Clube de Portugal, NY/NJ MetroStars, Nagoya
Grampus Eight, United Arab Emirates, South Africa, Real Madrid CF
Born in Mozambique, Queiroz moved to Portugal to study sport, earning a reputation for
developing young footballers at SL Olivais and CF Os Belenenses, serving as assistant coach at
GD Estoril-Praia in 1983/84 before being appointed as the national Under-20 coach.
Steered Portugal to back-to-back FIFA World Youth Cup wins in 1989 and 1991, bringing
through the so-called 'golden generation' players such as Rui Costa, Lus Figo and Fernando
Couto.
Took over as senior national team coach in 1991 but unable to lead Portugal to the 1992
UEFA European Championship or 1994 FIFA World Cup; found alternative employment at
Sporting, where he won the Portuguese Cup in 1995 the club's first major trophy for 13
years.
Left for a succession of high-profile foreign assignments, including a two-year spell in charge
of the South African national team, after which he was appointed as Sir Alex Ferguson's
assistant at Manchester United FC in 2002.
Two spells at Old Trafford were interrupted by a season in charge of Real Madrid (2003/04);
offered a return to international management with Portugal as the successor to Luiz Felipe
Scolari in July 2008, and survived a difficult start to lead the team to the 2010 World Cup
finals via the play-offs.

REPUBLIC OF IRELAND
P100 W38 D29 L33 F143 A122

Play-off: Lost 2-1 on aggregate to France
Giovanni Trapattonis side missed out on a place at the World Cup finals in agonising fashion
with a play-off defeat against France. Ireland went through their qualifying group unbeaten,
finishing in second place behind world champions Italy and four clear of third-placed Bulgaria.
In the play-offs, they suffered their first competitive home loss under Trapattoni as Nicolas
Anelka's goal at Croke Park gave Les Bleus a 1-0 first-leg win. Robbie Keanes goal in Paris
sent the tie into extra time only for William Gallas to win it for France.

UEFA EURO 2008
After taking just one point from their first three games, Ireland stood little chance of qualifying
for UEFA EURO 2008 and it turned out to be a largely forgettable campaign. The 5-2 defeat in
Cyprus in October 2006 was the low point and Steve Staunton's side were also fortunate to
scrape a 2-1 win at minnows San Marino through a last-gasp Stephen Ireland goal. Ireland
eventually finished third, 12 points behind group winners Czech Republic and ten adrift of
runners-up Germany with Under-21 manager Don Givens in charge for the final game, a 2-2
draw in Wales, following Staunton's departure.

Ireland's appearance at EURO '88 was their first at any major tournament. A surprise Scotland
win in Bulgaria in the last round of qualifying sent Jack Charlton's side to West Germany at the
Bulgarians' expense and their opening game against England proved one of the greatest days
in the countrys sporting history, Ray Houghtons header securing a 1-0 victory. A 1-1 draw
with the USSR left Ireland in with a chance of making the semi-finals if they could beat the
Netherlands, but Wim Kieft's goal eight minutes from time gave the Dutch a 1-0 win and they
went on to lift the trophy.

Key facts
Having finished in the top two places in their qualifying group in four successive campaigns up
to 2000, Ireland have slipped recently, finishing third in qualifying for UEFA EURO 2004 and
UEFA EURO 2008. They have a formidable home record, losing just once in their last 15 home
group UEFA European Championship qualifiers (against Switzerland in October 2002), but have
just three away wins from 14 games. If Kevin Kilbane is picked for their opening UEFA EURO
2012 qualifier, he will maintain his remarkable record having started every competitive
international since November 1999.

Head coach: Giovanni Trapattoni
Playing career: AC Milan, AS Varese
Coaching career: AC Milan, Juventus (twice), FC Internazionale Milano, FC Bayern Mnchen
(twice), Cagliari Calcio, ACF Fiorentina, Italy, SL Benfica, VfB Stuttgart, FC Salzburg, Republic
of Ireland
Capped 17 times by Italy, Trapattoni spent the majority of his club career as a defender and
ball-winning midfielder with Milan, winning seven major trophies including two European
Champion Clubs' Cups.
Started coaching with Milan but established himself as one of Italy's greatest ever 'allenatori'
during ten-year spell with arch-rivals Juventus, which yielded victories in all three major
European club competitions an unprecedented achievement and six Serie A titles.
Decamped to Inter in 1986 and led Nerazzurri to long-awaited Scudetto triumph in 1988/89
as well as the UEFA Cup, a trophy he won again during a second spell at Juve from 1991-94.
Moved abroad and won national titles with Bayern, Benfica and Salzburg, becoming the first
coach since Ernst Happel to win league championships in four different countries; no success,
however, with the Italian national team after unexpected early exits at 2002 FIFA World Cup
and UEFA EURO 2004.
Returned to international management with Republic of Ireland in 2008; led the team
undefeated through 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying group including two draws against Italy
before suffering play-off defeat by France.

ROMANIA
P105 W52 D27 L26 F191 A104

Romania endured their worst FIFA World Cup campaign for 25 years, recording only one home
victory, 3-1 against the Faroe Islands in their last match, and finishing in fifth place. The
problems were apparent from the start with a 3-0 home defeat by Lithuania and narrow 1-0
win in the Faroes. After surrendering a two-goal advantage in a 2-2 home draw with France,
Romania's ensuing reverses against Serbia and Austria led to coach Victor Piurc's departure
in April 2009. Things improved under Rzvan Lucescu with two wins and two draws though a
5-0 loss in Serbia in their penultimate fixture highlighted that the teams problems had not
gone away.

UEFA EURO 2008
Qualifying Group G: P12 W9 D2 L1 F26 A7 29
Romania enjoyed a highly impressive run in qualifying under Piurc, topping their group after
taking four points off the Netherlands, the runners-up, and suffering their only defeat against
Bulgaria with qualification already secured. Their dubious reward was a place in the 'group of
death' alongside France and Italy the two finalists at the 2006 World Cup and also the
Netherlands, yet they made a promising start by holding France 0-0 and world champions Italy
1-1 in a match where Adrian Mutu missed a penalty. Despite high hopes, Romania's
performance dipped in their deciding fixture against the Dutch and a 2-0 defeat left them in
third.

Romania qualified in style for UEFA EURO 2000, topping their group with 24 points from ten
matches, having won seven and drawn three. At the tournament itself, a low-key start with
draws against Germany and Portugal meant their hopes hinged on their last group game
against England yet they held their nerve and recorded a famous 3-2 victory courtesy of Ioan
Ganea's winner from the penalty spot in the 89th minute. They were less fortunate in the
quarter-finals, going down 2-0 to future finalists Italy after goals from Francesco Totti and
Filippo Inzaghi.

Key Facts
Home form was Romania's undoing during their qualifying campaign for this year's World Cup
they recorded only only one of their three victories on home turf and lost twice. Romania
have qualified for three of the last four UEFA European Championship finals, missing out on a
play-off place for UEFA EURO 2004 due to an inferior head-to-record with group runners-up
Norway.

Head coach: Rzvan Lucescu
Nationality: Romanian
Playing career: FC Sportul Studenesc Bucureti (three times), AC Crema, FC Naional
Bucureti (twice), FC Braov, FC Rapid Bucureti (twice), FCM Bacu
Coaching career: FC Braov (twice), FC Rapid Bucureti, Romania
The son of top Romanian coach Mircea Lucescu, he enjoyed a reasonably successful playing
career as a goalkeeper in Romania's top division, playing 249 matches for five different clubs
but never representing his country.
Made only one appearance in his final season as a player in 2002/03 (when he was also
Rapid's vice-president) as Rapid won Romanian title; his previous best placing was runners-up
spot with Naional in 1996/97
Followed father into coaching as soon as he had hung up his gloves, starting out with former
club Braov before returning to Rapid and leading club to league runners-up spot and quarter-
finals of UEFA Cup in outstanding 2005/06 campaign.
Won a second successive Romanian Cup with Rapid in 2006/07 before quitting to return to
Braov and immediately guiding the team from Transylvania to promotion to Liga I.
Another impressive season with Braov earned him the job of succeeding Victor Piurc as
Romania coach in the spring of 2009 after his father had turned it down and he began with
a restorative 1-0 win away to Lithuania in a 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifier.

RUSSIA
P53 W30 D10 L13 F107 A56
Semi-finals: 2008

Play-offs: Lost 2-2 to Slovenia on away goals
Russia had a consistent campaign and could have no complaints about their second-place
finish behind Germany, having lost 2-1 to the section winners in Dortmund and 1-0 in Moscow.
The only other game in which they dropped points came in a 1-1 draw in Baku with Azerbaijan,
when Guus Hiddink fielded a shuffled side as he prepared for the play-off against Slovenia. The
first leg started promisingly enough, with Diniyar Bilyaletdinov scoring twice in a 2-1 victory in
Moscow. However, the campaign ended in disappointment as Slovenia won 1-0 in Maribor and
qualified on the away-goals rule.

UEFA EURO 2008
Russia qualified as runners-up, though only after a helping hand from section winners Croatia.
Before the last round of matches, Hiddink's side were third and needed already-qualified
Croatia to beat England at Wembley while Russia beat Andorra. Both permutations happened,
enabling Russia to go on to UEFA EURO 2008. Despite an opening 4-1 loss to Spain, they
recovered to beat Greece 1-0 and, with the previously suspended Andrei Arshavin sublime,
Sweden 2-0. They defeated the much-fancied Netherlands 3-1 after extra-time in the last eight
before the run ended with another loss to Spain, going down 3-0 to the eventual champions.

Russia's best performance since competing as an independent state came at UEFA EURO 2008,
although their best qualification record came in the run-up to EURO '96. From ten matches,
Russia collected 26 points to win a group featuring Finland, Greece, Scotland, the Faroe
Islands and San Marino. Their involvement at EURO '96 was less memorable, losing to Italy (2-
1) and Germany (3-0) before earning a solitary point with a 3-3 draw against the Czech
Republic.

Key facts
Prior to EURO '96, Russia participated as part of the Commonwealth of Independent States
during the 1992 UEFA European Championship in Sweden, having previously played as a
member of the Soviet Union from the competition's inception in 1958. The Soviet Union
appeared in the first four final rounds of the UEFA European Championship, winning the
inaugural competition in 1960. They were runners-up in 1964, 1972 and 1988.

Head coach: Guus Hiddink
Nationality: Dutch
Playing career: SC Varsseveld, De Graafschap (three times), PSV Eindhoven, Washington
Diplomats, San Jose Earthquakes, NEC Nijmegen
Coaching career: De Graafschap, PSV Eindhoven (assistant), PSV Eindhoven (twice),
Fenerbahe SK, Valencia CF, Netherlands, Real Madrid CF, Real Betis Balompi, Korea
Republic, Australia, Russia, Chelsea FC
Hiddink ended his playing days and began his coaching career at De Graafschap in 1982, but
rose to prominence in 1987/88 when, in his first full season in charge, he guided PSV
Eindhoven to the treble of Eredivisie, Dutch Cup and European Champion Clubs' Cup.
Remained in Eindhoven for two more years before moving abroad to coach Fenerbahe and
then Valencia, where he remained until taking the Dutch national team job in 1995. Hiddink
kept his job despite a disappointing EURO '96 and oversaw the Oranje's run to semi-finals of
the 1998 FIFA World Cup.
Joined new European champions Real Madrid after that tournament but departed soon
afterwards; resurfaced at Real Betis a year later, yet it was his next appointment, as Korea
Republic coach, which reaffirmed his reputation as he unexpectedly led the 2002 World Cup
co-hosts to the semi-finals.
Returned for a second spell at PSV, where he would win three more Eredivisie titles over the
next four years, taking his total over two spells at the club to a record six, as well as pushing
AC Milan all the way in a 2005 UEFA Champions League semi-final.
Returned to World Cup duty in 2006, steering Australia through to the last 16, and
subsequently became the first foreign coach of Russia, whom he led in spectacular style to the
UEFA EURO 2008 semi-finals but not to the 2010 World Cup finals after a shock play-off
defeat by Slovenia. Enjoyed a successful interim spell as caretaker coach of Chelsea in spring
2009, climaxing with victory in the FA Cup.

San Marino
P46 W0 D0 L46 F6 A200

In qualifying for South Africa 2010, San Marino scored just one goal and conceded 47, finishing
without a single point once more. Giampaolo Mazza's side began promisingly against Poland,
Andy Selva missing a third-minute penalty, but ultimately slipped to a 2-0 defeat. Selva, San
Marino's captain, did score in the 3-1 loss to Slovakia in their next match but that proved to be
their only goal in the section, with heavy defeats against Poland (10-0), Slovakia and the
Czech Republic (both 7-0) following.

UEFA EURO 2008
San Marino failed to pick up a single point and conceded 57 goals, a rate of 4.75 per game.
Their lowest point came in their opening fixture on 6 September 2006 when they lost 13-0 at
home against Germany, a competition record. On the positive side, they came close to picking
up their first ever qualifying point in their home meeting with the Republic of Ireland, Stephen
Ireland scoring an added-time winner for the visitors. There were also narrow losses to Cyprus
(1-0) and Wales (2-1) for a team for whom Manuel Marani and captain Selva scored their only
two goals of the campaign.

Key facts
San Marino have yet to take the lead in a UEFA European Championship match. Qualifying for
the World Cup has proved comparatively more fruitful with San Marino securing two points in
46 matches thanks to a goalless draw at home to Turkey on 10 March 1993 and a 1-1 draw in
Latvia on 25 April 2001. San Marino took the lead for the first and, to date, only time in a
competitive international against England on 16 November 1993 in a World Cup qualifier.
Davide Gualtieri scored in the opening minute but England went on to win 7-1.

Head coach: Giampaolo Mazza
Nationality: Sammarinese
Playing career: San Marino Calcio, Riccione FC, AC Cattolica, ASD Forlimpopoli, Calcinelli,
Serenissima, S.S. Murata, SP Tre Fiori, S.S. Cosmos
Coaching career: San Marino Calcio, Riccione FC, Asar Riccione, Argentana, AC Cattolica,
Misano, Verucchio, AS Real Cesenatico, San Marino, Riccione Calcio

A San Marino national, he was born in the Italian port city of Genoa.

Started out with San Marino Calcio a team in the regional Italian league and moved
frequently from club to club in Italy before seeing out his playing career in San Marino with
local league clubs Murata, Tre Fiori and Cosmos.

A midfielder, he won four caps for San Marino prior to the country's admittance to FIFA and
UEFA, playing in the 1987 Mediterranean Games in Syria.

Launched his coaching career in 1989 with San Marino Calcio and worked with several little-
known Italian clubs before taking over national team duties for San Marino in 1998, replacing
former Juventus midfielder Massimo Bonini.

In addition to being the longest-serving coach of a European national team, he also
concurrently coaches Riccione Calcio in Italy's fifth tier and works as a school physical
education teacher.

SCOTLAND
Final tournament: 1990, 1992
P98 W47 D22 L29 F139 A102

Scotland failed to end their 12-year exile from the World Cup finals after finishing third.
Manager George Burley got off to a bad start with a 1-0 defeat at FYR Macedonia and although
his side bounced back with a 2-1 away victory over Iceland, failure to beat Norway at
Hampden Park (0-0) coupled with a 4-0 loss in the corresponding fixture in Oslo fatally
undermined the campaign. Despite creditable performances in their final two games against
FYR Macedonia (2-0) and the Netherlands (0-1), Scotland failed to clinch a play-off spot,
signalling the end of Burley's reign.

UEFA EURO 2008
Scotland narrowly missed out on their first finals appearance since 1996 after a thrilling
campaign in which they twice beat 2006 World Cup runners-up France. Walter Smith was in
charge when the Scots recorded an improbable 1-0 victory over Les Bleus at Hampden in
October 2006. Alex McLeish picked up the baton when Smith returned to Rangers FC and
momentum was maintained with James McFadden's 30-metre strike sealing a second victory at
the Parc des Princes on 12 September 2007, only for Scotland to falter in a dramatic final-day
2-1 defeat by world champions Italy.

Scotland appeared in back-to-back final tournaments in the 1990s, performing particularly
creditably at EURO '96 in England. Having qualified as one of the best second-placed teams,
they came close to reaching the last eight, losing out the Netherlands only on their inferior
goals tally in the group stage. The two countries shared a scoreless draw in their opening
game before Scotland lost 2-0 to England and then defeated Switzerland thanks to Ally
McCoist's 36th-minute goal. Yet the Dutch took second place given their three goals scored to
Scotland's one after the pair had finished level on both points and goal difference.

Key facts
Scotland failed to qualify for the UEFA European Championship final tournament in their first
six attempts before qualifying in style at EURO '92 winning their group for the only time to
date. They took eleven points from eight matches to finish a point clear of both Switzerland
and Romania, with Bulgaria a further point behind in fourth. Andy Roxburgh's Scotland team
would finish third in their section in Sweden, losing to the Netherlands (1-0) and Germany (2-
0) before defeating the CIS 3-0 with goals from Paul McStay, Brian McClair and Gary
McAllister.

Head coach: Craig Levein
Nationality: Scottish
Playing career: Cowdenbeath FC, Heart of Midlothian FC
Coaching career: Cowdenbeath FC, Heart of Midlothian FC, Leicester City FC, Raith Rovers
FC, Dundee United FC, Scotland
A classy central defender, Levein started out with Cowdenbeath before moving in 1983 to
Hearts, where he gained legendary status. He remained at the Edinburgh club for the rest of
his playing career and accumulated over 500 appearances in all competitions, including 384 in
the Scottish top flight.
Capped by Scotland for the first time in March 1990, one of his 16 caps came in that year's
FIFA World Cup, a 2-1 win against Sweden in Genoa.
After two serious knee injuries forced him to retire in 1995 Levein returned to third division
Cowdenbeath to launch a managerial career, setting the club on course for promotion before
leaving for top-flight Hearts in December 2000.
Proved a popular and successful coach at Hearts but was lured south to manage Leicester in
the English second tier in October 2004; sacked in January 2006, Levein returned to Scotland
and had a brief stint at Raith Rovers, moving on to Dundee United in October 2006.
Impressive results at Tannadice were rewarded when he was prised away to become new
manager of Scotland in December 2009, succeeding George Burley on a two-and-a-half-year
contract.

SERBIA
Runners-up: 1960, 1968
Semi-finals: 1976
Final tournament: 1960, 1968, 1976, 1984, 2000
P100 W52 D23 L25 F187 A123

Serbia will compete as an independent nation at the World Cup for the first time after winning
Group 7. Despite being drawn in a difficult-looking section alongside France and UEFA EURO
2008 participants Austria and Romania, Radomir Anti's men were the dominant force
throughout, dropping points only against France (1-2, 1-1) and then, with progress assured, a
2-1 defeat in Lithuania. They had sealed their place in South Africa four days earlier with a
comprehensive 5-0 victory over Romania.

UEFA EURO 2008
Serbia's qualifying campaign started well, with three wins and a draw from their first four
matches, but after a 2-1 loss in Kazakhstan things began to unravel. They dropped points in
eight of their 14 games, drawing twice with both Poland and Portugal, group winners and
runners-up respectively. Javier Clemente's side eventually trailed in three points behind the
Portuguese in third spot. Serbia's campaign finished three days after the rest of Europe as
their final match with Kazakhstan, a 1-0 win, had been postponed due to bad weather.

As part of the former Yugoslavia, Serbian footballers featured in two of the first three UEFA
European Championship finals (1960, 1968) but lost both. They came close to victory in 1968
against Italy, taking the lead through Dragan Dzaji after 39 minutes before Angelo
Domenghini equalised ten minutes from time at Rome's Stadio Olimpico. Italy prevailed in the
replay 48 hours later at the same venue through first-half goals from Luigi Riva and Pietro
Anastasi.

Key facts
Serbia are 16 games unbeaten at home in UEFA European Championship qualifying since a 2-1
defeat by Denmark on 1 May 1991 in the intervening period they have competed as
Yugoslavia, Serbia and Montenegro and, since 2006, as Serbia alone. Their main strength in
recent successful qualifying campaigns has been at the back, with Serbia and Montenegro
conceding just one goal in qualifying for the 2006 World Cup and Serbia 0.8 per game en route
to South Africa.

Head coach: Radomir Anti
Nationality: Serbian
Playing career: FK Sloboda Uice, FK Partizan, Fenerbahe SK, Real Zaragoza, Luton Town FC
Coaching career: FK Partizan (assistant), Real Zaragoza, Real Madrid CF, Real Oviedo
(twice), Club Atltico de Madrid (three times), FC Barcelona, RC Celta de Vigo, Serbia
A popular defender with Partizan from 1968-76, he won one cap for Yugoslavia; moved
abroad to spend two seasons each with Fenerbahe and Real Zaragoza before ending his
career in England with Luton, for whom he scored a famous late winning goal at Manchester
City FC in May 1983 that kept Luton in the English top flight and sent their opponents down.
Served coaching apprenticeship at Partizan before taking his first senior post back at
Zaragoza; joined Real Madrid in March 1991 but sacked in January 1992 despite taking team
to Spanish summit.
Revived fortunes of Oviedo before beginning an even more successful stint with Atltico
Madrid that peaked early with the club's Spanish league and cup double in 1995/96, his first
season at the helm.
Had further spells at Atltico and Oviedo before staging a rescue mission at Barcelona in
second half of 2002/03 season and also launching careers of Andrs Iniesta and Vctor Valds;
ceded place to Frank Rijkaard after just six months at Camp Nou.
Misadventure at Celta Vigo led to a period of inactivity that ended with his appointment as
Serbia boss his first coaching job outside Spain in August 2008; accomplished mission of
taking country to 2010 FIFA World Cup with flying colours after topping qualifying group ahead
of 2006 runners-up France.
SLOVAKIA
P40 W17 D6 L17 F70 A59

Slovakia made history by qualifying for their first major tournament since independence, and
did so in style by topping Group 3 after beating Poland 1-0 away in their final match courtesy
of a Seweryn Gancarczyk goal. There plenty of drama also in their earlier meeting with the
Poles in October 2008, when Vladimr Weiss's side trailed 1-0 with six minutes left before two
goals from Stanislav estk turned the game around. They followed that up with an impressive
2-1 victory against neighbouring Czech Republic in Prague. Two defeats by Slovenia were
offset by two victories against Northern Ireland, setting up a memorable finale in snow-
covered Chorzow.

UEFA EURO 2008
Despite some excellent performances, Slovakia ultimately paid for a lack of consistency in a
campaign of highs and lows. In the opening two months alone they followed up a 6-1 rout of
Cyprus with a 3-0 home defeat by the Czech Republic, then saw the optimism engendered by
winning 5-1 in Wales dented by a 4-1 loss at home to Germany. Coach Duan Galis made way
for Jn Kocian during the campaign, but Slovak fortunes did not improve. Wales secured a 5-2
revenge victory in Trnava and the team ultimately finished fourth behind Republic of Ireland,
runners-up Germany and section winners Czech Republic.

Slovakia have played in the qualifying competition four times as an independent state, but
have yet to reach the final tournament they finished third in their group on their first three
attempts and then fourth last time out. Their best points' tally was achieved in UEFA EURO
2000 qualifying, when they collected 17 after winning half of their ten outings.

Key facts
As part of the former Czechoslovakia, a significant number of Slovakian players tasted victory
at the 1976 UEFA European Championship against West Germany. The final ended 2-2 in
Belgrade before Czechoslovakia won 5-3 on penalties, with Antonn Panenka famously chipping
in the deciding spot-kick.

Head coach: Vladimr Weiss
Nationality: Slovakian
Playing career: VTJ Agro Hurbanovo, AK Inter Bratislava, AC Sparta Praha, FK Drnovice,
DAC Dunajsk Streda, 1. FC Koice, FC Artmedia Petralka
Coaching career: FC Artmedia Petralka (twice), FC Saturn Moskovskaya Oblast, Slovakia

Bratislava-born, he spent six and a half years developing his talent as a defensive midfielder
with local club Inter; became a Czechoslovakian international in 1988 and won three of his 19
caps at the 1990 FIFA World Cup.

Had brief spell at Sparta Praha, winning final Czechoslovakian federal championship in 1993;
returned home and won a further dozen international caps for Slovakia, scoring the
independent country's first-ever goal, against United Arab Emirates in February 1994.

Ended playing days with Artmedia, after which he served as an assistant coach until 2000
when he took the top job.

Led Artmedia to victory in the 2003/04 Slovakian Cup and 2004/05 Slovakian League before
enhancing his profile internationally by knocking out Celtic FC and FK Partizan to reach group
stage of UEFA Champions League, where team registered famous 3-2 win at FC Porto. Left for
Russian club Saturn in early 2006 but returned to Artmedia 18 months later and masterminded
domestic double.

Appointed national team coach in June 2008 in place of Jn Kocian and steered Slovakia to
first appearance at a FIFA World Cup finals as qualifying group winners, highlighted by historic
2-1 win away to the Czech Republic; extended contract until after South Africa, with the initial
deal having expired on 30 November 2009.

SLOVENIA
P50 W16 D14 L20 F61 A69

Play-offs: Beat Russia on away goals after 2-2 aggregate draw
Coach Matja Kek produced a stable, motivated squad and was rewarded with Slovenia's
second World Cup finals appearance. Samir Handanovi, Milivoje Novakovi, Zlatko Dedi and
Robert Koren were the key players in a campaign which ended with a run of four consecutive
victories with 13 goals scored and none conceded that ensured Slovenia finished second
behind Slovakia. Though UEFA EURO 2008 semi-finalists Russia were tipped to win their play-
off, Nejc Penik's late goal in a 2-1 defeat in Moscow gave Slovenia hope and Dedi's only goal
of the second leg (and a seventh clean sheet) saw them through.

UEFA EURO 2008 qualifiers
The campaign never really built any momentum, despite changes on and off the pitch. Branko
Oblak, the former FC Bayern Mnchen, HNK Hajduk Split and Yugoslav international midfielder,
was replaced as coach by Kek after the opening three matches defeats by Bulgaria and
Belarus, along with a win against Luxembourg. Slovenia's form remained patchy, though, with
the highlight arguably a 1-0 home victory against Belarus. Their sixth-placed finish, level on
points with fifth-placed Albania in a group dominated by the Netherlands and Romania, offered
little indication of what would follow in South Africa 2010 qualifying.

Slovenia earned a place at UEFA EURO 2000 thanks to a 3-2 aggregate play-off success
against Ukraine after they had finished runners-up in their group behind Norway. After a 2-1
comeback victory over Ukraine in the first leg, Miran Pavlin's 78
th
-minute equaliser earned
them a 1-1 draw in Kyiv on 17 November 1999 to secure their passage. At the tournament,
Slovenia bowed out early after Group C draws with Yugoslavia and Norway, sandwiching a 2-1
defeat by Spain. Sreko Katanec's men were left to rue their opening draw with Yugoslavia
when they led 3-0 with 23 minutes left only for Yugoslavia to score three goals in seven
minutes.

Key facts
Slovenia's first international match after the break-up of the former Yugoslavia was a 1-1
friendly draw in 1992 with Estonia, also playing their first game since independence after the
collapse of the Soviet Union. Slovenia's first competitive match came at the start of qualifying
for EURO '96, a 1-1 home draw with recent FIFA World Cup finalists Italy on 7 September
1994.

Head coach: Matja Kek
Nationality: Slovenian
Playing career: NK Maribor (twice), SV Spittal/Drau, Grazer AK
Coaching career: NK Maribor, Slovenia (youth), Slovenia
Born in Maribor, he began a long affiliation with the local club as a player, playing from
1979-84 in the Yugoslavian Federal League before leaving for Austria.
Spent a decade in Austria's lower leagues, with Spittal/Drau and GAK and earning one cap
for Slovenia in 1992 while with the latter before returning home and winning a hat-trick of
Slovenian titles with Maribor (1997-99) as well as two national cups.
Turned to coaching immediately after hanging up his boots and was on the staff for four
further championship wins for Maribor before taking charge permanently for the 2003/04
season.
Appointed coach of Slovenia's national Under-15 and U16 teams in 2006 before the call came
to replace senior head coach Branko Oblak midway through UEFA EURO 2008 qualifying
campaign in January 2007.
Endured difficult start to reign with youthful team but came good eventually to steer Slovenia
to the 2010 FIFA World Cup finals after a runners-up placing in their qualifying group was
followed by a famous away-goals victory over Russia in the play-offs.

SPAIN
Winners: 1964, 2008
Runners-up: 1984
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Spain reached the World Cup finals in style with ten straight victories. Vicente del Bosque took
charge after his predecessor Luis Aragons had delivered victory at UEFA EURO 2008 and the
former Real Madrid CF coach eased into the role, recording successive triumphs over Bosnia-
Herzegovina and Armenia at the start of the campaign. Belgium went close to holding the
European champions in Brussels but David Villa, Spain's top scorer in qualifying with seven
goals, struck late on to secure victory. Albert Riera produced an even later winner in Turkey,
registering in added time to maintain their 100% record.

UEFA EURO 2008
Spain recovered from back-to-back defeats against Northern Ireland and Sweden in their
opening three qualifying games for UEFA EURO 2008 to top the group by two points. Once at
the finals, Aragons's side never looked like anything but trophy winners, delivering victories
over Russia, Sweden and Greece in the opening phase before producing a penalty shoot-out
triumph over Italy in the quarter-finals. A second comprehensive win against Russia in the
semi-finals paved the way for a meeting with Germany in the showpiece in Vienna, where
Fernando Torres's 33
rd
-minute strike won the day for La Roja.

Spain first achieved glory at the European Nations' Cup in 1964 when as final hosts they
defeated the USSR at the Santiago Bernabu with the likes of Luis Surez, Jess Mara Pereda
and Marcelino Martnez key figures in the triumph. There was a long wait before Spain could
savour another international success after that, yet the manner of their victory at UEFA EURO
2008 left supporters of the Iberian nation ecstatic. With talented performers such as Xavi
Hernndez, Andrs Iniesta, Torres and Villa playing at their peak, Spain produced attractive,
flowing football that lit up the tournament.

Key facts
Despite suffering two defeats in qualifying for UEFA EURO 2008, Spain won all of their home
games en route to Austria and Switzerland. Their last defeat in a UEFA European
Championship qualifying round on home turf came on 7 June 2003 against Greece, who went
on to lift the trophy in Portugal. Jean-Pierre Papin and Luis Fernandez were on target when
Spain suffered a 2-1 home reverse to France on 12 October 1991, the country's previous
qualifying setback.

Head coach: Vicente del Bosque
Nationality: Spanish
Playing career: Real Madrid Castilla, Crdoba CF, CD Castelln, Real Madrid CF
Coaching career: Real Madrid Castilla, Real Madrid CF, Beikta JK, Spain
Came up through the youth ranks at Real Madrid and became an important member of the
team, as a defensive midfielder, during the 1970s, winning five league titles in six seasons
(from 1974-80) and four Spanish Cups.
Capped 18 times, Del Bosque ended Spain career at the 1980 UEFA European Championship
in Italy his only major tournament as a player; also appeared for Madrid in the 1981
European Champion Clubs' Cup final against Liverpool FC.
Joined Real Madrid's coaching staff shortly after he stopped playing in 1984 and spent many
years in youth development, stepping up in 1994 and 1996 as the first team's interim coach.
Given the job full time in November 1999, he proceeded to oversee the most sustained
period of success at the club since the 1960s, winning seven trophies including two UEFA
Champions League triumphs and two Spanish titles.
Left in 2003 and resurfaced briefly in Turkey with Beikta, but did not return to the big time
until he succeeded Luis Aragons as Spain coach in July 2008; set a new world record by
winning his first 13 matches in charge and steered the European champions to the 2010 FIFA
World Cup finals with a perfect qualifying record.

SWEDEN
Semi-finals: 1992
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Sweden missed out on their first World Cup since 1998 after finishing third behind Denmark
and Portugal in Group 1. Lars Lagerbck's side were dealt a decisive blow by their neighbours
Denmark, whose 1-0 away win on 6 June 2009 (Sweden's National Day) left hopes hanging in
the balance. Zlatan Ibrahimovi's winner with the last play of the game against Hungary three
months later kept them in contention but another 1-0 loss to Denmark allowed Portugal to
claim second spot. Having previously guided Sweden to every major tournament since UEFA
EURO 2000, Lagerbck resigned at the end of the campaign.

UEFA EURO 2008
Sweden secured their place in Austria and Switzerland by finishing second behind Spain, and
were drawn to face Luis Aragons's side again in the finals. Each team had beaten the other at
home in qualifying, but eventual champions Spain held the upper hand in Innsbruck, winning
2-1 through an injury-time David Villa goal. Sweden had made a winning start by beating
Greece 2-0 and knew a draw in their final match would earn a quarter-final spot. Instead they
went down 2-0 to Russia, falling at the first hurdle of a major championship for the first time
since 2000.

As tournament hosts, Sweden advanced to the semi-finals of the 1992 UEFA European
Championship, the last tournament to feature eight teams in the final round. Having opened
with a 1-1 draw with France, Sweden topped their group following victories over Denmark (1-
0) and England (2-1). But the Swedes found Germany too strong in the last four, making their
exit following a 3-2 defeat.

Key facts
By qualifying for UEFA EURO 2008, Sweden achieved a run of five consecutive international
tournaments for the first time. Lagerbck was involved in all five, first alongside Tommy
Sderberg and after UEFA EURO 2004 as head coach outright. After missing out on the 2010
World Cup, he made way for Erik Hamrn.

Head coach: Erik Hamrn
Date of birth: June 27 1957
Nationality: Swedish
Playing career: Ljusdals IF, Stockviks FF
Coaching career: Njurunda IK, IFK Sundsvall, Bro IK, Enkpings SK, Vsby IK, IF
Brommapojkarna, Vasalunds IF, Degerfors IF, AIK Solna, rgryte IS, Aalborg BK, Rosenborg
BK, Sweden
Played the game only until his late teens; began coaching at junior level before taking on his
first senior posts with Swedish second-tier clubs Vsby, Brommapojkarna and Vasalund.
Joined Allsvenskan club Degerfors in 1994 and moved on a year later to AIK; guided
Stockholm club to three successive Swedish Cup finals, losing the first one, in 1995, and
winning the next two.
Won Svenska Cupen for a third time in 2000 with his next club rgryte (after two-legged
victory v AIK in final), where he remained for six seasons before moving abroad in January
2004 to coach Danish club AaB.
Led AaB to 2007/08 Danish Superliga title only the third championship in club's history
but announced mid-season that he would be leaving at the end of the campaign for
Rosenborg.
Masterminded runaway Tippeligaen title success for Rosenborg in his first full season and
replaced long-serving Sweden coach Lars Lagerbck in November 2009, while remaining with
Rosenborg until the start of UEFA EURO 2012 qualification in September 2010.

SWITZERLAND
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Switzerland finished top of a tight section, with only five points separating them from fourth-
placed Israel. The campaign seemed headed for trouble after opening with a 2-2 draw in Israel
and then a 2-1 home defeat by Luxembourg, but they bounced back with five successive wins,
including two against main rivals and UEFA EURO 2004 champions Greece. A solid defence
which conceded only four goals after the opening two games helped their passage to South
Africa, sealed with a 3-0 victory over Luxembourg.

UEFA EURO 2008
Having qualified as co-hosts, Switzerland's hopes of advancing from Group A received a
massive early blow when they lost captain and main striker Alexander Frei to injury shortly
before half-time of an opening 1-0 defeat by the Czech Republic. A massive storm dominated
the second match against Turkey, which ended in a 2-1 defeat after Arda Turan struck in
added time. Already out of the tournament, Switzerland ended on a high, winning 2-0 against
already-qualified Portugal thanks to goals from Hakan Yakin in Basel.

Switzerland registered their first and only victory at a final tournament with that 2-0 victory
over Portugal. However, perhaps their best performance came in EURO '96 qualifying as a side
spearheaded by Stphane Chapuisat and Kubilay Turkyilmaz finished top of Group 3 ahead of
Turkey and Sweden, collecting five wins and two draws from their eight games.

Key facts
Hakan Yakin scored all three of Switzerland's goals at UEFA EURO 2008, where they became
only the second host nation after Belgium in UEFA EURO 2000 to exit after the group stage.
They were soon joined by a third, as co-hosts Austria also bowed out.

Head coach: Ottmar Hitzfeld
Nationality: German
Playing career: TuS Stetten, FV Lrrach, FC Basel 1893, VfB Stuttgart, FC Lugano, FC Luzern
Coaching career: SC Zug, FC Aarau, Grasshopper-Club, BV Borussia Dortmund, FC Bayern
Mnchen (twice), Switzerland

Won two championship titles and a Swiss Cup with Basel during a playing career that was
relatively low profile but abundant with goals; finished the Swiss top flight's 18-goal top scorer
in 1973, a year after representing West Germany at the 1972 Olympics in Munich.
Settled in Switzerland and spent his first years as a coach with Zug and Aarau before moving
to Grasshoppers, where from 1988-91 he won two league titles and two national cups.
Returned to Germany and revived the fortunes of sleeping giant Borussia Dortmund, winning
back-to-back Bundesliga crowns in 1995 and 1996 and defeating Juventus 3-1 in Munich in
May 1997 to win the UEFA Champions League.
Recruited by Bayern in 1998, his success continued, with four further Bundesliga titles
coming his way as well as another UEFA Champions League success in 2001 that enabled
him to become only the second coach to win Europe's premier club competition with two clubs
(after Austrian Ernst Happel).
Left Bayern in 2004 but returned in January 2007 and led club to domestic double the
following season; succeed Kbi Kuhn as Switzerland coach after UEFA EURO 2008 and
steered team to top spot in 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying group despite early shock home
defeat by Luxembourg.

TURKEY
Semi-finals: 2008
Final tournaments: 1996, 2000, 2008
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A disappointing campaign marred by injuries to key players ended with Turkey missing out on
their second successive World Cup finals and Fatih Terim standing down as coach. Draws
against Belgium and Estonia, and back-to-back defeats by eventual section winners Spain
meant Terim's side slipped behind Bosnia-Herzegovina in the race for second place. After
drawing 1-1 in Zenica in September 2009, a 2-0 loss in Belgium the following month sealed
their fate as they ended third, four points and, tellingly, 12 goals shy of Bosnia-
Herzegovina.

UEFA EURO 2008
Turkey qualified for the finals after finishing runners-up to Greece, a 2-1 win in Norway in their
penultimate fixture ensuring they finished above their opponents. Terim's side then exceeded
expectations by reaching the last four. After an opening loss to Portugal, they stunned co-
hosts Switzerland by winning 2-1 through Arda Turan's injury-time goal. More drama followed
as they overturned a two-goal deficit against the Czech Republic to book a last-eight slot,
Nihat Kahveci scoring twice late on. A 120th-minute Semih entrk equaliser took them to
penalties against Croatia, with Turkey prevailing 3-1, before their luck ran out with a 3-2
defeat by Germany.

After three defeats on their tournament debut at EURO '96, Turkey caused a stir at UEFA EURO
2000, getting through a group containing Italy, Sweden and co-hosts Belgium before losing 2-
0 to Portugal in the quarter-finals. Terim's team went a step further at UEFA EURO 2008
thanks to a rash of late goals, and though suspensions undermined them in their last-four
meeting with Germany, it still took a last-minute Philipp Lahm strike to deny them extra time.

Key fact
Having failed to qualify in their first nine UEFA European Championship campaigns, Turkey
have reached three of the last four final tournaments.

Head coach
The new head coach is yet to be confirmed by the Turkish Football Association.

WALES
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Hopes that this would be the campaign when Wales's rich group of young talent announced
themselves on the international stage were dashed as they finished fourth, 14 points behind
winners Germany. Unconvincing early home victories over Azerbaijan and Liechtenstein did not
augur well for the tougher tests that followed though John Toshack's side took heart from trips
to Russia and Germany which yielded narrow defeats only through late goals. A 2-0 home loss
to Finland established a grim backcloth to the remainder of the campaign, even if trips to
Azerbaijan (1-0) and Liechtenstein (2-0) provided maximum points.

UEFA EURO 2008
When Wales's second fixture produced their heaviest-ever home qualifying defeat, it was clear
another difficult campaign beckoned. They finally limped home in fifth, with only Cyprus and
San Marino beneath them. After some encouraging signs in a 2-1 opening loss at eventual
group winners Czech Republic, promise turned to dust as they were thrashed 5-1 by Slovakia
in Cardiff. One of Wales's greatest players, Ryan Giggs announced his international retirement
near the end of a campaign which had long fizzled out, though there was the satisfaction of a
revenge-securing 5-2 win in Slovakia and a goalless draw at runners-up Germany.

Wales came closest to reaching a UEFA European Championship final tournament in 1976
when it was still a four-team event. Competing in a preliminary round group featuring Austria,
Hungary and Luxembourg, Wales recovered from an opening-day loss to Austria to top the
standings with ten points from six games. It earned a quarter-final against Yugoslavia, but
they got off to the worst possible start by conceding a first-minute goal in Zagreb, and went on
to lose 3-1 on aggregate.

Key facts
Wales's record victory in the competition is a 7-0 rout of Malta on 25 October 1978 in the 1980
UEFA European Championship preliminary round. Their record defeat was a 5-0 loss in Georgia
on 16 November 1994 in EURO '96 qualifying.

Head coach: John Toshack
Nationality: Welsh
Playing career: Cardiff City FC, Liverpool FC, Swansea City FC
Coaching career: Swansea City FC, Sporting Clube de Portugal, Real Sociedad de Ftbol
(three times), Real Madrid CF (twice), Wales (twice), RC Deportivo La Corua, Beikta JK, AS
Saint-Etienne, Catania Calcio, Real Murcia CF
An archetypal British centre-forward big, bustling and strong in the air Toshack formed a
potent strike partnership with Kevin Keegan at Liverpool during the 1970s, winning the league
title three times, the FA Cup in 1974 and the UEFA Cup in 1973 and 1976 while also featuring
en route to European Champion Clubs' Cup glory in 1977 and 1978; scored 12 goals in 40
international appearances for Wales.
Left Anfield to become player-manager at Swansea, where he led the Welsh club up through
all four divisions of the Football League.
Moved to Portugal in 1984 to coach Sporting but it was across the border in Spain that he
enjoyed his greatest successes abroad, notably at Real Sociedad, where he won the Copa del
Rey in 1987 during the first of three impressive sojourns at the Basque club.
Also had two brief spells at Real Madrid, winning the Liga in record-breaking fashion in 1990,
but lasting less than a year in the hot seat in 1999 prior to being replaced by Vicente del
Bosque.
In charge of Wales for just 41 days in 1994, he returned to manage his country a decade
later, replacing Mark Hughes, but was unable to prevent Wales going beyond 50 years without
qualification for a major tournament after missing out on UEFA EURO 2008 and the 2010
FIFA World Cup.

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