Pele tips England to win Euro 2000

“During the World Cup in France, there emerged a great pool of talented English players,” said Pele who singled out Real Madrid’s Steve McManaman.

“He’s one of the players that has most impressed me. He’s got great energy, great qualities and is a constant threat to defences,” he said.

Pele dismissed the chances of Germany who are defending the title they won at Euro ’96. “They are just too old,” Pele said. “In four years they have lost guys like (Matthias) Sammer and (Juergen) Klinsmann. They have both retired. Maybe Oliver Bierhoff can keep things going but this team is a little weak.”

He said Spain could shrug off their reputation for performing well below their potential at major championships. “At the 1998 World Cup, they let themselves down. But now they have a new coach in Jose Antonio Camacho and I think they are capable of beating the best with their attacking players,” he said.

“Spanish soccer is the best in Europe at the moment, we should not forget they had three teams in the Champions League semi-finals… The national team will gain a lot of confidence from the success of these clubs.”

Pele did not discount the Dutch hosts regaining the title they won in 1988. “Since the days of Johan Cruyff I’ve always enjoyed Dutch football and their coach Frank Rijkaard comes straight out of the same school.”

“My worry is that he has included Edgar Davids and Clarence Seedorf in the midfield and Marc Overmars and Dennis Bergkamp in attack. This does not seem like the way to win games,” he said.

Pele said the surprise team of the tournament could be Portugal but he was concerned that, despite their skill on the ball, the hosts of the next European Championships did not have a recognised goalscorer. (Reuters)

English, German fans teaming up to attack Turks

LONDON: English and German football hooligans are burying their traditional enmity and colluding to attack Turkish visitors to the Euro 2000 football championships which begins in the Netherlands and Belgium on Saturday, Britain’s Daily Express reported today, quoting police sources.

“Some sections of German and England fans have been the bitterest enemies, but we are receiving information that there has been some collusion going on,” a police officer told the Express.

“It amounts to all the police forces involved having their work cut out to see who is going to have a go at who. But I believe once England and Germany meet at Charleroi this new found friendship between these goons will be forgotten,” he added.

British police had been advised that Turkish hooligans themselves are gearing up for a battle, the Express said.

The enmity is traced to clashes in April between the supporters of the English club Leeds and the Turkish club Galatasaray, in which two Leeds supporters were killed in Istanbul, and to hostility among German rightwingers to Turks, who form the largest immigrant community in Germany.

A group of hard-core Leeds United followers were setting out for the championships to avenge the knife murders of the Leeds supporters on April 5 in Istanbul, the Express said.

Fears have been expressed regarding the state of readiness of the Belgian and Dutch forces, and there is great concern in Britain about the stadium at Charleroi, the venue for the Germany-England clash on June 17.

Police officers have traced match tickets for England games to convicted soccer thugs who Dutch and Belgian authorities have been warned may incite trouble. There are also fears that hooligans might deliberately have bought tickets in sections reserved for opposition supporters from touts in order to create mayhem.

German officials have criticised the British government for failing to remove passports from known troublemakers, and estimates from the British police put the number of hooligans bent on causing disturbances at the championships at around 1,000.

Serving soldiers are said to be among these hooligans, who number 10 per cent of the total of English supporters attending Euro 2000. (DPA)