Hopefuls eye U19 success

By Andrew Haslam

There was a convivial atmosphere in Nottwil as representatives of the four sides who will contest Group A at the UEFA European Under-19 Championship finals took part in a pre-tournament press conference.

Hosts face holders
The third edition of the U19 finals starts in Switzerland on Tuesday as the hosts play holders Italy at the Brügglifeld stadium in Aarau, while Kriens's Kleinfeld stadium is the venue for the meeting of Belgium and Ukraine. Both games kick off at 19.00CET.

Player evolution
Switzerland coach Pierre-André Schürmann believes the tournament marks a crucial point in the development of his players, saying: "We are the home country and this event is very important for the evolution of the players in terms of their futures in the game.

'Invaluable experience'
"These players are at the start of their careers and all experience is therefore valuable," continued Schürmann, who revealed that goalkeeper Daniel Lopar had been ruled out by injury and would be replaced by Diego Würmli. "It is not every day you organise a European finals, and this team must get as much experience as possible."

Top three target
Paolo Berettini, coach of Italy, was also clear in his aims. "Like everyone else here, we are looking to finish in the first three [in our group] and qualify for next year's [FIFA] World Youth Championship," he said. "We return to this tournament as champions, and defending our title is very important. We have the power and the desire to repeat what we did in 2003.

Entertain and succeed
"Our main aim is to entertain, play good football and reach the final stages," Berettini added. "We did not always have our best players available in qualification due to their club commitments, but that is not the case here and I am very happy with the group of players at my disposal."

'Tournament too soon'
Belgium coach Marc Van Geersom agreed with his Italian counterpart, stating that the initial objective of his side was to earn a place in the 2005 World Youth Championship, which will be staged in the Netherlands. However, he acknowledged that this would not be a straightforward task, saying: "It is a difficult pool and perhaps this tournament has come too early for us.

Vital opener
"The players may be in need of a holiday and a break from training after a long season," Van Geersom admitted. "Nevertheless, I am confident. We aim to keep this group of players together - we started our training preparations last Monday with a group of 30, which we cut down to 18. In my opinion, the first match in these tournaments is always crucial, and we must hope for a good result."

'Big achievement'
Ukraine assistant coach Yevgen Kotelnikov said that his team had surpassed themselves by progressing from a tough second qualifying round group, eliminating England in the process. "It is a big achievement for us to be here," he conceded. "The players gave everything in qualifying.

'Great opportunity'
"These players are just taking their first steps in terms of a career in football, but some are already among the best in Europe in this age group and that's why we qualified," he added. "Ukraine is a young nation in terms of European football, but this competition represents a great opportunity for our team."