Citta the elephant to sniff out Euro 2012 wins

An elephant in Poland is set to sniff out winners in the Euro 2012 football championships, using her trunk where Germany's Paul the Octopus used his wily arms to prophesy for the 2010 World Cup.

Citta, a 33-year-old female elephant from a zoo in the southern Polish city of Krakow, will make her first tournament prophecy on June 6, two days before the kick-off of the 16-nation contest co-hosted this year by Poland and Ukraine.

Father's death recalls trauma for Poland captain

Poland captain Kuba Blaszczykowski was Thursday training with the rest of his team-mates, after the death of his father, whose memory is indelibly associated with the 1996 killing of the player's mother.

With less than three weeks left until Euro 2012 kicks off on home turf, the Germany-based midfielder delayed his arrival at the Poles'training camp in Lienz, Austria.

Spanish newcomers vie for Euro 2012 spot

A fresh crop of Spanish players are vying for a spot on the reigning champions' squad for Euro 2012 during two pre-tournament friendlies over the coming week.

Malaga midfielder Francisco Roman Alarcon, better know as Isco, is bidding to impress coach Vicente del Bosque after being called up to the team's training camp in western Austria this week.

Gerrard rules out retiring after Euro 2012

England midfielder Steven Gerrard on Thursday ruled out retiring from international football after Euro 2012.

The injury-plagued 31-year-old, who will captain England in Poland and Ukraine, said he wants to prove to new England boss Roy Hodgson that he can continue on until the next World Cup in Brazil.

England united insists Lescott

England defender Joleon Lescott said Thursday there were no divisions in the Euro 2012 squad following the decision to includeJohn Terry ahead of Rio Ferdinand.

Terry, who faces a July court case on allegations of racially abusing Ferdinand's younger brother Anton, was named in England's 23-man squad last week ahead of the veteran

Lambert shrugs off Villa speculation

Norwich manager Paul Lambert on Thursday squashed speculation linking him to the vacancy at Aston Villa, insisting he was happy at Carrow Road.

Lambert, 42, is regarded as one of the brightest managerial prospects in British football after leading Norwich to back-to-back promotions before steering the

Ukraine plays down Euro 2012 snubs over Tymoshenko

KIEV, Ukraine (AP) Ukraine's president has played down plans by some European leaders to boycott Euro 2012 matches in Ukraine over the imprisonment of ex-premier Yulia Tymoshenko, saying the event will be a success, according to an interview published Thursday.

Russia defender Shishkin to miss Euro

Lokomotiv Moscow defender Roman Shishkin will miss the Euro-2012 championships after suffering a bout of acute poisoning,Russia manager Dick Advocaat told the press Thursday.

"Shishkin has left the team," Advocaat said.

Russia rejects Warsaw hotel switch

Russia on Thursday rejected Poland's request to move its Euro 2012 team base from an upmarket Warsaw hotel and dismissed worries about a politically-sensitive rally planned nearby as media hyperbole.

The Polish sports minister had earlier confirmed asking Russia to consider moving out of the five-star Le Meridien Bristol because of a rally planned outside the neighboring

Olsen adds Lindegaard to Denmark squad

Impressed with Anders Lindegaard's form at their training camp, Denmark coach Morten Olsen has added the Manchester United FC goalkeeper to his UEFA EURO 2012 squad.
Manchester United FC goalkeeper Anders Lindegaard has been added to Denmark's UEFA EURO 2012 squad after impressing coach Morten Olsen at their training camp.

Trophy Tour proves a hit in Donetsk

"Now I hope the Henri Delaunay Cup stays in Ukraine after UEFA EURO 2012," said Donetsk mayor Oleksandr Lukyanchenko as the Follow the Trophy Tour ended its stay in the city.

The UEFA EURO 2012 Follow the Trophy tour made a successful three-day visit to the Ukrainian city of Donetsk, venue for five matches at next month's final tournament.


Viktor Grachov, FC Shakhtar Donetsk legend and Friend of EURO, presented the trophy to children from 12 Donetsk schools. "I wish you could see their emotions; I was

Poland's Lewandowski looks forward to home help

"For every player this is a once-in-a-lifetime thing," striker Robert Lewandowski told UEFA.com as he looked ahead to playing for Poland on home soil at UEFA EURO 2012.

Key EURO regulation changes approved

Provisions on final group rankings and abandoned matches have been amended in the regulations for UEFA EURO 2012, after being approved by the UEFA Executive Committee.
Two key amendments to the UEFA EURO 2012 regulations have come into

From Ireland to Greece: EURO's biggest shocks

The underdog is not just there to make up the numbers. UEFA.com looks at a selection of the biggest shocks in UEFA European Championship final tournament history.
When David beats Goliath. It is the moment when the plucky underdog prevails and, as has often been the case, when a major tournament ignites. UEFA.com looks at

Gullit on Netherlands' greatest day

Ruud Gullit relives the Netherlands' superb 1988 victory with UEFA.com, saying: "It was like you are in a film," as he talks about their preparations under Rinus Michels and their memorable homecoming.

Ruud Gullit might have buckled under the weight of expectation at the 1988 UEFA European

Euro 2012 - Villa rules himself out of Euros

Barcelona striker David Villa has ruled himself out of the running for a place in Spain's squad for Euro 2012 after failing to fully recover from a broken leg.
Villa, Spain's all-time leading scorer, broke his left leg while competing in the Club World Cup with Barca in December, and has not played a competitive match since then.

High-speed trains fast-track transport in Ukraine

Journey times in Ukraine have been slashed after extensive rail improvements, with high-speed services now running between the four UEFA EURO 2012 host cities.

Journey times in Ukraine have been slashed by a quarter after the completion of extensive rail improvements.

High-speed trains capable of reaching 160km/h are now in operation between all four of the country's UEFA EURO 2012 venues – Kyiv, Kharkiv, Donetsk and Lviv – as well as Dnipropetrovsk and Odesa. The journey between Kyiv and Lviv, for example,

Poland in 1-0 win over Latvia in friendly

A late goal by Artur Sobiech gave Euro 2012 co-hosts Poland a 1-0 win against Latvia on Tuesday in a friendly in Klagenfurt, Austria.
Poland now take on Slovakia on Saturday before coach Franciszek Smuda names his 23-man squad for the tournament which Poland launch in Warsaw on June 8 with a game against Greece.

Liga - Villa rules himself out of Euros

Barcelona striker David Villa has ruled himself out of Spain's title defence at Euro 2012 after not managing to recover from a broken leg.

Euro 2012 - Poland beat Latvia in friendly

A late header from Artur Sobiech gave Euro 2012 co-hosts Poland a 1-0 friendly win over Latvia in Klagenfurt, Austria.
With eight minutes left the 21-year-old Hannover striker came off the bench to nod home a fine cross by Sivasspor winger Kamil Grosicki in an otherwise tepid match played in a near-empty Woertherseestadion stadium.