Did you hear that goal?
Some blind and visually impaired fans will get to follow European Championship matches at Austrian stadiums through headphones, thanks to an initiative aimed at making the tournament accessible to all.
Project coordinator Britta Wagner of the platform "football 4 all" said the concept was a success in Germany and promises to be an equal hit south of the border.
The idea is simple: People will get live descriptions of the action _ in German _ through the headphones so they can follow along in their seats in the stadium without actually seeing the ball.
"This is really a super service," Wagner said.
But the perk is limited to those lucky enough to get hold of the special tickets. Wagner said a total of 160 passes were made available by UEFA at reduced costs. All were snapped up quickly.
"They're really great seats," Wagner said. "The final sold out in a minute."
Each visually impaired fan who secured a ticket can bring along an escort for free, Wagner said.
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SO LONG SVEN: Midfielder Gelson Fernandes blossomed during his first year at Manchester City under the tutelage of manager Sven-Goran Eriksson. Now Eriksson is gone and Fernandes is somewhat bothered.
"It's a disappointment," said the 22-year-old player, who only broke into Switzerland's lineup this season.
Eriksson, the former England coach, had his contract terminated at Manchester City after only one year in charge. He led the team to a top-10 finish in the Premier League but disappointed its owner, deposed Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
On Wednesday, Manchester City appointed Blackburn coach Mark Hughes as its manager.
Fernandes said he has been through "dozens of coaches" in the last years, having lived through the revolving door for managers at Swiss club Sion. But he felt confident of continuing his strong form, even under a new coach.
"I played 40 matches for Manchester City this season," he said. "I think it was an honorable year."
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PEACE BE WITH YOU: A Catholic church in Vienna is calling on fans from Euro 2008 competitors Austria, Croatia, Germany and Poland to attend a multi-lingual Mass this weekend.
The Franciscan Church says on its Web site that the 0915 GMT service Sunday will be held in German, Croatian and Polish. Later that day, Austria faces Croatia in Vienna's Ernst Happel Stadium while Germany takes on Poland in Klagenfurt.
"Just like soccer unites peoples, so does our faith," the Web site says.
The Mass will be accompanied by organ music from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
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ANYONE FOR TENNIS: Switzerland has relied on tennis and Roger Federer for its sporting glory recently, and it's now calling on an older court veteran to provide some entertainment before Euro 2008.
Yannick Noah will kick off three weeks of festivities in the Alpine nation with a free outdoor concert in the Geneva fan zone Friday, a day before the football tournament begins. The 48-year-old Frenchman is taking the stage 25 years after winning the French Open, his only major victory. He sings a fusion of reggae and world music.
In Zurich, organizers have brought in Mel C., a former Spice Girl. Basel is going patriotic with a performance by Swiss rapper Baschi.
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THURAM'S WARNING: France defender Lilian Thuram has warned his teammates to not underestimate Romania.
France begins its bid for a third European title against the Romanians in Group C on Monday, followed by a match against Netherlands four days later. The team then faces Italy on June 17.
"It would be stupid for the players to think that Romania is weaker than the others," Thuram said.
France's patched up defense has fitness doubts over William Gallas and Willy Sagnol, while the 36-year-old Thuram is at a stage of his career where he needs to conserve energy. Given France's problems at the back, Thuram fears Romania striker Adrian Mutu, who scored 17 goals for Fiorentina in the Serie A this season, could be a major threat in Zurich.
"Mutu is a player who can be decisive at any moment in the match," Thuram said.
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RANKING WORRIES: Portugal's players want a good showing at the European Championship to put the national team back in the top-10 of FIFA's monthly rankings.
Portugal dropped two spots in the list released Wednesday, from ninth to 11th.
"Hopefully we can go as far as possible in the Euro and return to the (top) spots," winger Armando Petit said. "It's where Portugal deserves to be."
Paulo Ferreira said players shouldn't be focused on the rankings, but acknowledged that a successful performance in Switzerland and Austria can only help.
"We will naturally move up if we do well here," he said.
England and the Netherlands moved ahead of Portugal in Wednesday's rankings. The Euro 2004 finalists open their campaign this year against Turkey on Saturday in Geneva.
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