Fan Mile awaits Germany

Germany will return to the Berlin Fan Mile on Monday to celebrate with supporters, whatever the result of Sunday’s Euro 2008 final against Spain. The players and coaches were overwhelmed by the support they received during their home World Cup in 2006 and after defeat by Italy in the semi-finals they were greeted by hundreds of thousands of fans in the capital. The 1.2 km Fan Mile, which runs through the centre of Berlin, has become a focal point again at Euro 2008 and around half a million people watched the 3-2 semi-final win over Turkey there on Wednesday. “Whatever happens in the final we’ll fly to Berlin and present the team there once again,” manager Oliver Bierhoff said at a news conference on Friday. “Berlin has become a sort of living room for the Germany team, albeit one with 500,000 people there. It’ll be a working day in Germany but I hope employers and schools will give people a few hours off to see the team arriving.”

Russia rock to fans’ tunes

Moscow: A rock concert welcomed Russia’s Euro 2008 squad on their return to Moscow on Friday after their impressive run to the semi-finals. Defeated 3-0 by Spain in Vienna on Thursday, Guus Hiddink’s men still registered their country’s best performance at a major tournament in 20 years. A few hundred fans danced to music and waved flags as the team stood on the stage outside Moscow’s Luzhniki stadium, where Russia had beaten England last year during qualifying.

“At the start of the tournament we said if we got to the quarter-final it would be a success, but we got to the semi-finals,” said coach Hiddink. Russia went on to beat Netherlands in the quarter-finals, which triggered wild celebrations across the country.