FC Bayern players at Euro 2008

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It is not a bad idea to follow the progress of Bayern players in international duty at Euro 2008.

Miroslav Klose (Germany)
Lukas Podolski (Germany)
Bastian Schweinsteiger (Germany)
Marcell Jansen (Germany)
Philipp Lahm (Germany)
Willy Sagnol (France)
Franck Ribéry (France)
Hamit Altintop (Turkey)
Luca Toni (Italy)
Tim Borowski (Germany)

[BlackNess]

^^ all of them are regular starters for their NT's ...

Ribery is best French player today ..

Toni the best Italian striker ..

Hamit Altintop the best Turkish Winger .

[Dragoen]

I would not say that they all are regular starters.

Miroslav Klose (Germany)(70% probaility that he will be in the starting lineup)
Lukas Podolski (Germany)(50% because he will be striker if Klose is not starter or he will be on the left wing)
Bastian Schweinsteiger (Germany)( 80% either left or right side in the midfield
Marcell Jansen (Germany)(50% Löw has plenty of options to choose on the fullback positions)
Philipp Lahm (Germany)(90% Löw prefers him over anyother FB)
Willy Sagnol (France)(80% judging from his form this season he should not be a starter but he will be most likely)
Franck Ribéry (France)(100% best french player at the moment)
Hamit Altintop (Turkey)(70% depends on whether he finds his form fast enough after his injury)
Luca Toni (Italy)(100% one of the best strikers in the world at the moment)
Tim Borowski (Germany)(30% no chance in the central position but a few on the right side)

[Eric]

ok lets see....

i think klose and poldi will fight for the one spot beside gomez where klose has the slight advantage over poldi there with his experience and the fact that he is more used to playing with the kind of player gomez is ( very similar to Toni

schweini i think has his spot, cause he is 10-20 % better in the NT and he has no real competition... so 100 %

jansen: well.... i think fritz will rather play in the miedfield for the injured schneider. he showed a lot of times he can play that really well in the NT. i don't like friedrich at all. WAY to slow. and westermann might start in the center beside merte as metzelder is just back from injuri

lahm : 100 % when he's fit
sagnol: 60 %. he's just out of form. but i hope the euro will revivie him
ribery. no discussion. 100 % in ANY team on the planet
toni: the same as ribery
hamit: agreed. if he's fit he has his spot unlike his brother, but it's going to be a close call
borowski: only if ballack and frings pick up both injuries. otherwise just as a sub if we are 1-0 in front and ballack needs a break

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I expect all to be starters, except Podolski/Klose and Borowski. I expect Poldi and Klose to fight for a place alongside Mario Gomez. Borowski has too much competition, so he will be a sub.

Jansen has always shined for Germany, so I have no doubt he'll start.

Hamit is Turkey's key player. He will surely start, if he's fit.

[Oliver_Kahn]

I'm concerned over Hamit's fitness. I'd rather if he didn't play instead of being rushed in and eventually aggravating his injury.

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Hamit Altintop feiert Comeback
Bayern-Profi Hamit Altintop hat nach zweimonatiger Verletzungspause sein Comeback gefeiert. Der türkische Nationalspieler stand am Sonntag bei der 2:3 (1:1)-Niederlage der Türkei gegen Uruguay in Bochum erstmals nach seinem Mittelfußbruch Ende März wieder in der Startelf und darf sich somit 13 Tage vor dem ersten EM-Spiel gegen Portugal Hoffnung auf seine Teilnahme machen.

FC Bayern midfielder Hamit Altintop made his first comeback after a two-month pause from injury. The Turkish National Team player played his first match since his broken metatarsal in late march. On Sunday, he was a starter for Turkey in the 2:3 defeat to Uruguay in Bochum, in a friendly preparation for Euro 2008.

[RunX]

He Is The Best Turkish Winger Now ..
One of key players of turkey in EURO 2008
Wish him all the best

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Technically Tim Borowski is not a Bayern player at Euro 2008, but anyway, we'll count him.

Anyway, I have some bad news. Hamit Altintop got an injury in training for Turkey.
(Source: Altintop bangt um EM-Teilnahme)

He injured the adductor longus muscle on Friday night. He visted Bayern's doctor today.

Hamit is rated doutful for Turkey's first Euro match against Portugal on 7 June. If he won't get fit until the start of the Euro, coach Terim can replace him. Possible candidates are Bastürk (Stuttgart) and his brother Halil (Schalke).

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With a week to go until Euro 2008 in Austria and Switzerland, World Cup holders Italy and joint favourites Germany recorded morale-boosting warm-up wins, but FCB midfielder Hamit Altintop is a real doubt for the continental showdown after sustaining an injury in training.

The Bayern dynamo, who has only just returned from a fractured metatarsal and played for the first time in two months as Turkey fell 3-2 to Uruguay last Sunday, sprained an adductor muscle in a national squad workout on Friday. He had earlier failed to complete the Turks’ final pre-tournament friendly, a 2-0 win against Finland in Duisburg on Thursday, due to a pulled muscle.

Halil for Hamit?

The 25-year-old wide player, who reported to Bayern chief medic Dr Hans-Wilhelm Müller-Wohlfahrt on Saturday for treatment, is now rated very doubtful for Turkey’s Euro opener against Portugal on 7 June. If Altintop fails to recover fitness before his country’s first match at the tournament, coach Fatih Terim would be permitted to call up a replacement. The candidates include fellow Bundesliga pros Yildiray Bastürk (VfB Stuttgart) and Hamit’s twin brother Halil Altintop (Schalke 04), both surprisingly omitted from the final squad announced last week.

The Turkey party is set to depart their training camp near the Westphalia town of Marienfeld on Sunday and fly from Münster to their Geneva tournament base. The Turks meet the Portuguese, co-hosts Switzerland and the Czech Republic in Group A.

Tonic for Toni

Elsewhere in the build-up programme, World Cup holders Italy oozed class as a side spearheaded by Bayern striker Luca Toni comfortably won their final warm-up match, defeating Belgium 3-1 on Friday evening in Florence courtesy of a first-half Antonio Di Natale brace and a 48th minute Mauro Camoranesi strike. Sub Wesley Sonck netted a late consolation for the Red Devils, who lined up in Tuscany without Daniel van Buyten. The Italians comprise one quarter of a Group of Death at Euro 2008 along with the Netherlands, France and Romania.

Germany also go into the continental contest on the back of a win after defeating Serbia 2-1 in Gelsenkirchen on Saturday evening. Coach Joachim Löw’s men turned in a much-improved display compared to a drab 2-2 draw with Belarus in midweek, although a string of defensive errors will have given cause for concern among the coaching staff.

Four Reds for Germans

A 53,951 crowd at the Schalke Arena saw the home side deservedly come from behind and win with two late goals, Oliver Neuville (74) and Michael Ballack (82) both profiting from good work by Bayern full-back Marcell Jansen. The visitors had taken an 18th-minute lead through Bosko Jankovic.

“Losing the last game before the Euro wouldn’t have been great,“ Germany skipper and former Munich midfielder Ballack commented, “it was definitely better today [than against Belarus], but it’s not 100 percent yet.“ Bayern trio Philipp Lahm, Jansen and Bastian Schweinsteiger started the match, with Lukas Podolski coming on at half-time for Lahm and making a strong case for inclusion in the first-choice line-up with an energetic performance. Miroslav Klose and soon-to-be Bayern midfielder Tim Borowski were both rested.

Shock for Hamit as FCB stars run into form

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Injured Altintop may be fit for Euro 2008

Hamit Altintop has travelled with the Turkey squad to their training base near Geneva, boosting the midfielder's chances of playing in Euro 2008 after he picked up an injury last week, his club Bayern Munich said on Monday.

Altintop suffered a muscle injury in training on Friday and it remained unclear whether the 25-year-old would be fit for Turkey's opening Group A match against Portugal on Saturday, the Bundesliga club said on their Web site (www.fcbayern.de).

Altintop only returned to action in a friendly against Uruguay last month after a two-month layoff due to a broken bone in his foot.

Turkey's other group opponents are Switzerland and the Czech Republic.

Football Feed Article | Football |

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Germany boss Joachim Löw awarded his men two days off following their 2-1 victory over Serbia in a final pre-Euro 2008 warm-up. The Germans take up residence at their pre-tournament base in Ascona on Lake Maggiore this Tuesday, during which time the coach will be weighing up his selection options. He will certainly be considering how best to deploy Lukas Podolski.

A recognised striker, the Bayern man has emerged recently as an alternative on the left side of midfield. “One variation has Lukas playing on the left,“ Löw mused after the Serbia clash, where Podolski played the second half as a midfielder. The man who partnered Miroslav Klose in Germany’s 2006 World Cup attack has now appeared in midfield in four of his last six international outings.

Praised by coach

Podolski’s energy, dynamism and willingness to shoot from all angles earned plaudits on Saturday. “I was pleased with him,“ Löw commented afterwards. “He applied a lot of pressure, and our best moves originated down the left. Lukas Podolski is making a very good impression.“

The 22-year-old declared himself satisfied with his 45-minute run-out. “Whenever I come on, I always give it my best shot. It worked out pretty well to a certain extent,“ he commented. Podolski mined an increasingly rich vein of form over the last few weeks of the Bundesliga campaign, with five goals and two assists in the last nine games of Bayern’s double-winning season.

Late decision

Podolski’s timing appears to be perfect. “I’m not wasting any thought as to who gets picked for the Euro,“ the left-footed ace continued, although he appears certain to feature somewhere in Löw’s plans. “We haven’t heard the last word on the subject,“ the coach declared, indicating he would wait until much closer to the Germans’ Euro opener against Poland on 8 June before deciding how best to deploy Podolski’s talents: “What happens in training will play a major role.“

Podolski shines in left midfield berth

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Altintop fit for Euro
‘He’s one of our most important weapons’

The run-up to the European championships has proved a trying time for Hamit Altintop. The Bayern midfielder celebrated a comeback after two months on the sidelines only to pick up a new injury. His twin brother Halil was then dropped from the Turkey squad, a development which left the 25-year-old FCB schemer “in a state of shock,” he reported on Tuesday. However, things have taken a turn for the better after the player banished any remaining concerns over his physical state. “Naturally, I’ll be fit to play on Saturday.”

The hamstring he tweaked in training last Friday was no longer a problem, he continued, and he had received the green light from the Turkey medical unit on Monday. Altintop has high hopes of appearing in his country’s Euro 2008 opener against Portugal: “I’m looking forward to it more and more every day.”

Just-in-time comeback

Altintop has been a doubt for the continental showdown since late March when he fractured a metatarsal in an international friendly against Belarus. He was in plaster for several weeks and missed the last phase of the German domestic season, before starting out on an intensive recuperation programme.

His comeback for Turkey came just 13 days before Euro 2008 in a 3-2 warm-up defeat to Uruguay. He started a final pre-tournament friendly against Finland last Thursday, but was substituted after pulling a muscle. The next day’s news reported him as doubtful for the contest in Austria and Switzerland with a hamstring injury.

Aiming to do well

“I really don’t know who started those stories,” the 25-year-old mused, never doubting he would be fit in time. A precautionary examination and treatment from Bayern chief medical officer Dr. Hans-Wilhelm Müller-Wohlfahrt confirmed the right-sided player’s personal opinion.

Altintop is aiming high in his first appearance at a major tournament. “I’m convinced of our ability to do well at the Euro,” he commented after the Turks moved into their Geneva tournament base. Apart from Portugal, Hamit and his team-mates face Switzerland and the Czech Republic in Group A.

High expectations

Turkey head coach Fatih Terim believes Altintop has a vital role to play in his team’s efforts to seal a quarter-final berth. “Hamit is one of our most important weapons. He can beat an opposing team all on his own, and could become one of the star players at the European championships,” the national supremo declared.

Altintop declared fit for Euro 2008

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France have passed their general test ahead of their first Euro 2008 match.

They beat Columbia 1-0. Goalscorer: The Franck Ribéry, from penalty.
(Match report: Goal.com - Internationals - France End Warm-Up On A High With Colombia Win)

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Germany won a test against some Under 18 team, 8-0. Poldi and Klose scored a goal each.

Germany win test against Tessin team 8-0

On Wednesday, the "Mannschaft" won a test over 80 minutes against an Under 18 team of the canton Tessin 8-0 in Ascona. Miroslav Klose, Mario Gomez (both 2), Kevin Kuranyi, Lukas Podolski, Oliver Neuville and Thomas Hitzlsperger scored for the German team.

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