With less than 20 minutes of England’s qualifying campaign remaining, Rooney’s petulant side re-emerged at the wrong time last October. The Manchester United striker kicked Montenegro defender Miodrag Dzudovic, a moment of frustration that earned him a three-match ban from UEFA.
Although that was reduced to two matches on appeal, Rooney will still have to watch from the sidelines when England starts the group stage against France and Sweden.
Despite reducing his striking options for the first two matches, England coach Roy Hodgson is insistent on including Rooney in his 23-man squad.
“Wayne Rooney is not just part of my plans, but part of England’s plans and the England setup for a long while to come I hope,” said Hodgson, who was hired on May 1 to lead the team at Euro 2012. “I’m hoping he’ll be with us in the tournament.”
Qualifying ended — and started — badly for Rooney.
The red card in Montenegro came days after Rooney’s father was arrested as part of an investigation into betting irregularities. He was cleared last month.
Days before the first qualifier in 2010, it was Rooney himself hitting the front pages, mired in a sex scandal. He was accused of cheating on his then-pregnant wife with a prostitute and admitted: “I’m only a human being.”
Almost two years later, though, Rooney is widely perceived as being a player and person transformed, with the once-hotheaded striker’s temper finally curbed.
He was sent off at the 2006 World Cup for stamping on Ricardo Carvalho and then endured a miserable 2010 tournament, which saw him swear into a television camera, hurling abuse at England fans after a game.
But Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson insists the 26-year-old Rooney has grown up.
“You always see a maturity about players when they reach their mid-20s,” Ferguson said. “Along with their ability comes the thought patterns and timing. They are more in control of themselves in terms of what they are capable of doing.
“Experience helps, of course. I don’t think Wayne’s had many bookings.”
Rooney has been booked only once this season in the Premier League and once in the Champions League for United.
“I feel I’ve matured on the pitch, maybe cut out some silly bookings that I did get in the past,” Rooney said. “I hope that continues.”
And Rooney has been key for United this season, averaging nearly a goal per match.
The stage is set for Rooney to finally make his mark again at a major tournament, having not scored at the 2006 or 2010 World Cups while England didn’t qualify for Euro 2008.
But he did score four goals at Euro 2004, when he was only 18.
“In tournaments, apart from the first tournament, the others have ended in disappointment for England and me personally,” Rooney said. “It’s something I want to put right and with the young players coming in the team I’m confident we can be successful.”
PARIS (AP) — Karim Benzema may be the man France needs to finally shake off the stigma of two dreadful major tournaments and make a positive impression again at the European Championship.
France, which failed to advance from the group stage in its last two tournaments, has traditionally struggled without an inspiration leader. It has not won a tournament match since playmaker Zinedine Zidane retired after the 2006 World Cup, and Zidane’s emergence followed another lean spell after the end of Michel Platini’s glorious era.
Without Zidane, France failed to win a game at Euro 2008 and the 2010 World Cup — exiting the group stage in embarrassing fashion.
Benzema, who was not selected for the World Cup, is the player coach Laurent Blanc turned to during a hard-fought Euro 2012 qualifying campaign that went down to the wire.
“(Blanc) was always behind me when others didn’t want to see me in the team. It was a strong sign,” Benzema said. “As soon as I spoke to Blanc, I sensed he believed in me, and when I feel that I give everything back.”
The Real Madrid striker did not disappoint, scoring decisive goals.
Zidane had a similarly close bond with Aime Jacquet when France won the 1998 World Cup. That came after years of mediocrity following Platini’s retirement in 1986, having guided France to European glory two years before.
Without Platini, France failed to qualify for Euro 1988 and two consecutive World Cups before Zidane inspired France to victory at the World Cup and Euro 2000. The aging Zidane led France to the 2006 World Cup final, which France lost to Italy on penalty kicks.
It was Zidane’s last match and a dry spell under Raymond Domenech ensued, culminating in farcical scenes at the last World Cup in South Africa when the team went on strike at a training session as a shocked nation watched live on television back home.
“We have to move on,” said Benzema, who played at Euro 2008. “There’s no point thinking about this World Cup anymore.”
From the wreckage of the Domenech era, Blanc rebuilt the team to such an extent that an impressive 2-1 win at Germany in February extended Blanc’s unbeaten run to 18 games.
“Our match in Bremen was encouraging. We want to get close to that level again,” Blanc said. “The team has a spine now.”
The team lacked one when Blanc took charge. He even described the team’s weak inner core as a “melon’s pip.”
Two years later, and with Benzema maturing quickly, France is a dangerous outsider for Euro 2012.
“It’s a new team and I’m more experienced,” Benzema told France Football magazine. “I have to talk more.”
Blanc knew Benzema had the potential, but doubted his commitment and chastised him for being overweight. Those stinging comments came when Benzema struggled to break into Madrid’s team. Jose Mourinho was critical of his fitness, and his casual attitude.
Rather than crush Benzema, those setbacks inspired Benzema.
“He’s taken on another dimension. Last year, everyone thought he would leave (Madrid),” former France midfielder Emmanuel Petit told The Associated Press. “What he’s done is exceptional, when you think how much pressure is at Madrid. It’s the mark of a great player.”
Petit, who scored in the 1998 World Cup final and played at Euro 2000, thinks that Benzema can flourish at Euro 2012.
“When you consider his mental strength, the way he took up a difficult challenge at Madrid, he’s gone up a level,” Petit said.
The 24-year-old Benzema reached 20 league goals for the first time with Madrid this season, and set up many for Cristiano Ronaldo. He is one of several attacking players peaking in time for Euro 2012 — where France opens against England before playing co-host Ukraine and Sweden.
Manchester City midfielder Samir Nasri, Newcastle winger Hatem Ben Arfa and Paris Saint-Germain winger Jeremy Menez are all in fine form.
Benzema, Ben Arfa, Nasri and Menez are part of the what is known within French football circles as “La Generation ’87″ (The 1987 Generation). They won the under-17 European Championship together in 2004, and great things have been expected of them since.
They now have the chance to shine.
“They have to seize it,” Blanc said. “There’s a new page to be written.”
With Benzema and Olivier Giroud both reaching 20 league goals this season, Blanc will be happy with his attacking options. But defense is a major headache — with half of his established back four missing.
Losing Barcelona left back Eric Abidal (recovering from a liver transplant) was already a major blow, but then right back Bacary Sagna broke his leg playing for Arsenal against Norwich. Sagna’s place will be contested by Anthony Reveillere and Mathieu Debuchy, and Adil Rami is jostling with Laurent Koscielny for a center-half slot.
Hugo Lloris is among Europe’s best goalkeepers, but the back four now looks uncertain.
The midfield also needs sorting out.
Blanc considered the injury-prone Abou Diaby as his preferred central midfielder, but Diaby has not even started a league game for Arsenal this season. Yoann Gourcuff, who cost Lyon €22 million ($27.8 million) and used to be compared to Zidane, had a poor season.
That makes Yohan Cabaye a contender for a starting place in midfield following his fine season with Newcastle, while Ben Arfa will also be pushing for inclusion after scoring some fantastic goals this season.
– Jerome Pugmire
Ribery’s poor form a concern for Blanc
PARIS (AP) — The contrast between Franck Ribery in the red of Bayern Munich and the blue of France is a puzzle national team coach Laurent Blanc admits he can’t figure out.
Ribery’s best ever club season saw him star in Bayern Munich’s run to the Champions League final and break his personal scoring record.
For France, he cuts a frustrating figure, somewhere between trying too hard to repeat his club brilliance and desperate to win back the fans who once adored him.
They turned on him after France’s miserable World Cup campaign two years ago and his involvement in a prostitution scandal.
“Little signs, little things that sometimes make me feel like everything I do is forced,” Ribery said. “It was amazing when I started out in the national team. People loved me and I gave it back to them. I really want things to start over again. I used to be the crowd favorite, but then I was rejected.”
The fact he has not scored for France since April 2009 does not help, either, and Blanc is running out of patience with the European Championship starting in less than a month.
“It’s incomprehensible. He’s very good with his club and he can’t do it for France. He has a mental block, that’s for sure,” Blanc said recently in an interview with Le Parisien newspaper. “Given how good he is, he deserves our patience. Up to a certain point. We’re sticking with him, we believe in him, we’re helping him a lot. But others also need (our help). It’s not all about Franck.”
Blanc had made it clear that he doesn’t see Ribery as a leader in the way Zinedine Zidane was. Back in November, when Ribery expressed a desire to run things on the field, Blanc responded firmly by saying he would “not be given the keys” to the team.
Ribery’s insistence on playing on the left wing — his position at Bayern — has rarely worked, and is problematic because Florent Malouda also plays there.
This was highlighted at the 2010 World Cup when former coach Raymond Domenech alternated between them to little effect.
Ribery entered that campaign embroiled in a sex scandal for allegedly soliciting an underage prostitute. He left it completely shell-shocked after France’s training-ground strike shocked a nation.
Worse still for Ribery, with his family life in tatters, he was slapped with a three-match France ban for his perceived role as one of the strike’s ringleaders.
Politicians screamed in outrage, urging Blanc not to pick him ever again. Blanc ignored them, but the fans jeered Ribery when he made his home return against Croatia at Stade de France last year.
“I asked myself, ‘What am I doing here?’ I sometimes felt it was a bit nasty,” Ribery said in a television interview with Canal Plus. “‘Have I done something really bad?’ I was asking myself a lot of questions.”
The difference between the warmth Ribery receives from Bayern’s fans and the open scorn of some French fans is emphatic.
“I’m not going to start a fight with everyone,” he said. “Some people like me, some people don’t. What’s most important is that I enjoy life again, and enjoy playing again.”
Ribery, who has made 57 international appearances and scored seven goals, admits the prostitution scandal, of which he was cleared of wrongdoing, took its toll.
“It’s a big relief that it’s all over. It was hard to face up to it all … but it was harder for my loved ones and my wife,” Ribery said. “I messed up like never before. I was rubbish at the World Cup and people can resent me for that. But not for other stuff.”
Even in Marseille, where Ribery was the darling of the fans from 2005-07, there is no respite.
Ribery was mocked by Marseille’s fans during a Champions League match at Stade Velodrome in March. One banner even read: “Ribery, don’t run too fast, or your brain won’t be able to keep up.”
Ribery publicly thanked Blanc for sticking by him during his difficult times, and now he has to repay him at Euro 2012 by rediscovering the spark that made him an overnight star at the 2006 World Cup.
At 29, and with Blanc even questioning his France form, Ribery doesn’t have much time left.
– Jerome Pugmire
Sweden’s hopes rest on Ibrahimovic
In between two of Sweden’s European Championship qualifiers last year, Zlatan Ibrahimovic invited the entire team to his house for a barbecue, serving up a wild boar he had shot himself.
The team better hope his shots deliver some more big-game trophies in Ukraine.
Sweden will enter Euro 2012 counting heavily on “Ibra” to provide the spectacular, and the team’s fate is largely tied to the play of the AC Milan striker. As its only true star, leading scorer and captain, Ibrahimovic is Sweden’s clear focal point and biggest threat — an asset that makes them dangerous for any opponent, but also threatens to make them one-dimensional.
For group opponents England, France and Ukraine, the plan is simple: Stop Ibrahimovic, and they’ll probably stop Sweden as well.
“You can always view something as a problem or an opportunity,” Sweden coach Erik Hamren told The Associated Press. “For me, it’s about seeing the opportunities. Zlatan is a world-class player who gives us opportunities. He’s the kind of player who can decide a game, the kind of player every team wishes they had.”
And the type of player Hamren wishes he had more of.
With Henrik Larsson and Fredrik Ljungberg out of the picture, Ibrahimovic is the only member of the Sweden squad playing for a top-level European club these days. The backbone of the Sweden lineup is made up of players like Lyon midfielder Kim Kallstrom, Sunderland winger Sebastian Larsson and Galatasaray forward Johan Elmander — who are all capable of producing goals but are unlikely to strike much fear in opposing teams. A handful of other players, like playmaker Rasmus Elm and forward Ola Toivonen, can be found in the Dutch league.
“We may have had more big individual players in previous years, playing in bigger clubs than we have now,” Hamren said. “But that doesn’t mean that our team is worse. … This is a team that is ready to work extremely hard for each other. That is our true strength.”
Still, one of the first things Hamren did when he took over Sweden following its failure to reach the 2010 World Cup was to make it clear that this is Ibrahimovic’s team.
The temperamental striker had quit international play following that failed qualifying campaign, but Hamren lured him back with the promise of the captain’s armband and a more free role at the center of the attack. While Ibrahimovic has been Sweden’s top player for the last decade, previous coach Lars Lagerback preferred to have players like Ljungberg or defender Olof Mellberg wear the armband and centered the attack as much on Larsson as on “Ibra.”
The 30-year-old Ibrahimovic responded to Hamren’s challenge by leading Sweden with five goals in eight games in qualifying and has become more of a leader off the field as well, taking on a bigger role in dealing with media and welcoming new players to the squad — or welcoming the entire team to his house.
“He’s done a fantastic job as captain,” Hamren said. “Not least for the younger players, he takes a great responsibility for them. … You have to remember, a lot of these younger players grew up with him as their idol.”
In Sweden’s last game in February — a 3-1 friendly win over fellow Euro 2012 qualifier Croatia — Hamren experimented by putting Ibrahimovic in more of a playmaking role rather than at center forward. He dominated that game, scoring one goal and setting up the other two, and said he would like to continue playing as a No. 10 at Euro 2012.
“I get the ball a lot more. When I’m up there (as a lone striker), the balls are harder to receive,” Ibrahimovic said. “Here, I get the chance to get the ball on my feet, turn around and attack with speed. That’s what I want to do.”
While Ibrahimovic has said he wants to continue playing through the 2014 World Cup, this could be his last chance at leading Sweden to international success. And he does have a few exciting up-and-coming players to help him out.
Elm has impressed for AZ Alkmaar in the Dutch league and has been linked with a move to a top Premier League club for next season. While he has only scored one goal in 22 appearances for Sweden, he could be set for an international breakthrough in Kiev, where Sweden will play all three of its group matches.
Then there’s John Guidetti, the 20-year-old Manchester City striker who scored 20 goals in 23 games while on loan at Feyenoord this season — including hat tricks in three straight home games.
Guidetti has been lauded as perhaps Sweden’s biggest talent since Ibrahimovic, and made his international debut in the friendly against Croatia.
While Guidetti is struggling to get fit from a right leg injury, he is one player that Ibrahimovic wants to see in the squad.
“He’s an exciting player,” Ibrahimovic said. “Every team has to have a young joker, and he’s our joker.”
But “Ibra” is still the ace.
– Mattias Karen
Sweden coach puts wins ahead of style
Sweden coach Erik Hamren wants his team to play an attack-minded, possession-based and eye-pleasing style of football. At the European Championship, though, he’s more than willing to sacrifice style for results.
Hamren has brought a different philosophy to Sweden since taking over the national team two years ago, replacing an often stodgy, defensive-minded 4-4-2 system with a more free-flowing, passing-based approach. That worked just fine in his first qualifying campaign, where Sweden averaged more than three goals per game — a feat matched only by Spain, the Netherlands and Germany.
But going up against countries like England and France in Group D at Euro 2012, Hamren acknowledges that Sweden may have to switch its mindset.
“I wish I could say that things will look the same at the Euros (as in qualifying),” Hamren told The Associated Press. “But we have to be realistic and see that we’re now playing the very best teams in Europe, which makes it tougher on a small country like Sweden.
“We’ll try to win, and we’ll try to do it with as positive and attack-minded play as possible. But it will depend on how strong our opponents are.”
The 54-year-old Hamren, who had a very modest playing career but won league titles in both Norway and Denmark as a coach, was a little-known name outside Scandinavia when he took over Sweden from longtime incumbent Lars Lagerback following its failure to reach the 2010 World Cup. Lagerback had molded Sweden into a team that was very hard to defeat — guiding it to the second round at the 2002 and 2006 World Cups and Euro 2004 — but also into a squad that was very inflexible in its formation and often very predictable.
Hamren changed all that, experimenting with 4-5-1 and 4-3-3 setups centered around Zlatan Ibrahimovic up front. That has given more freedom to creative midfielders like Kim Kallstrom and Rasmus Elm, but also puts more emphasis on individual skill and slick passing than the hardworking, physical approach championed by Lagerback.
“Every coach has a choice: How do I want to win?” Hamren said. “And I would like to see attack-minded football, where we create a lot of chances and a lot of goals.”
Sweden proved quite adept at the new approach when playing teams like Hungary, Moldova and Finland in qualifying but was given a hard lesson by the Netherlands that it might be better to play defensively sometimes.
In Sweden’s third qualifier, Hamren tried to take on the Dutch at their own game in their own stadium — and endured a 4-1 drubbing. The Swedes rebounded to beat the then already qualified Dutch 3-2 at home in their last qualifier to clinch the best runner-up spot, but Hamren is likely to take a more cautious approach in Ukraine.
“England and France are much bigger football nations than us, and they have more individually skilled players,” Hamren said. “That’s just the way it is. For us to beat them, we have to be better at other things. We have to play really, really well as a team.”
With Sweden having missed the 2010 World Cup — its first qualifying failure since the 1998 World Cup — this will be the first major tournament for both Hamren and a lot of his players. But Swedish football federation President Karl-Erik Nilsson — who is also new in the job — is still optimistic about the team’s chances.
With the final set to be played on July 1, Nilsson said on the federation website that “I’ve booked our trip home for July 2.”
He added that Sweden will likely get an edge from playing all three group games in the same stadium in Kiev, rather than traveling around the country like their opponents.
“It’s a great advantage to play all your games in the same place, and to live close to the stadium,” Nilsson said. “This is a group of possibilities, even though our opponents are very tough.”
Hamren was not quite as brash, saying England and France are favorites to advance from the group.
“But I’m a dreamer,” he said. “If we do advance from the group, we won’t be satisfied with that. Then we’ll start dreaming about medals.”
– Mattias Karen
Co-host Ukraine faces tough opposition
KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — Oleh Blokhin has done it with Ukraine in the past, and he’ll be the man hoping to lead the team into the quarterfinals of a major tournament once again.
The former Soviet Union great was the coach of Ukraine when the team reached the World Cup quarterfinals in 2006. At Euro 2012, however, things will be difficult in Group D with England, France and Sweden.
Since his return following the team’s failure to qualify for the 2010 World Cup, Blokhin has tried to blend the remnants of his earlier squad, including Dynamo Kiev striker Andriy Shevchenko and Bayern Munich midfielder Anatoliy Tymoshchuk, with younger talent.
“The times have passed when the backbone of the national team was made of three stars — (goalkeeper Oleksandr) Shovkovskiy, Tymoshchuk and Shevchenko,” Blokhin said recently.
Tymoshchuk rarely starts for Champions League finalist Bayern, Shovkovskiy has been ruled out of Euro 2012 with a shoulder problem, and Shevchenko has spent much of the season on the sidelines with injuries.
“Everything depends on him,” Blokhin said of Shevchenko. “He is important for the team and I know what the tournament means for him. But names don’t play on the pitch, just players who are in good shape. If he is fit, we will take him.”
In the search for the right combination, Blokhin has picked more than 40 players in friendly games. The results have been mixed.
After two losses last year — 4-1 to an experimental France team and 4-0 to the Czech Republic — Ukraine has turned its form around in its last four matches with three wins and a draw.
In those games, Ukraine showed glimpses of the play it will need to overcome its Group D opponents.
The Ukrainians took a 3-1 lead over tournament-favorite Germany in November at the reopening of the Olympic Stadium, which will host the Euro 2012 final. But the team then wilted, conceding two second-half goals and barely hanging on for a draw.
That game showed Ukraine’s best and worst sides — it’s weak, error-prone defense and its occasionally scintillating counterattacks.
Dynamo Kiev forward Andriy Yarmolenko and Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk winger Yevhen Konoplyanka, both 22 years old, have emerged as key players in the team with their pace and quick feet on the wings.
“(Blokhin) has been at the team’s helm for only a year, but he’s already managed to do a lot of work,” veteran Ukraine striker Andriy Voronin said. “A lot of bright young players have appeared who can shine at the European Championship.”
Ukraine has plenty of forwards to choose from. As well as Shevchenko and Voronin, Artem Milevskiy and Marko Devich have started in recent games. Defense, however, is the main problem area.
Shakhtar Donetsk center back Dmytro Chygrynskiy returned to Ukraine in 2010 after an unsuccessful year at Barcelona but has been hampered by injuries and rarely played this season. Teammate Yaroslav Rakytskiy has also developed well in recent years, but other center backs lack composure and presence.
Further adding to the defensive troubles is a goalkeeping crisis. Shovkovskiy is definitely out of the tournament, and Spartak Moscow goalkeeper Andriy Dykan is doubtful. A third keeper, Oleksandr Rybka, has been suspended for doping.
Blokhin, however, remains upbeat.
“Everything is going to plan at the moment,” the coach said. “Our latest results have been rather better, but not yet how we want them.”
– James Marson
Co-host Ukraine in goalkeeping crisis
KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — With two goalkeepers ruled out and a third in a race to recover from injury, Ukraine is heading into the European Championship in crisis.
Dynamo Kiev veteran Oleksandr Shovkovskiy is out because of shoulder surgery and Shakhtar Donetsk keeper Oleksandr Rybka has been banned for doping.
That leaves Spartak Moscow goalkeeper Andriy Dykan as the first choice, but he is recovering from facial injuries and may not be healthy in time.
“I can’t say my condition is satisfactory, although it is better,” Dykan said. “As for Euro 2012, I really, really want to play. But time is passing, and I realize that my dream is drifting away.”
The 34-year-old Dykan was hit in the face during a game in the Russian league on March 31, less than 10 weeks before co-host Ukraine opens Euro 2012 against Sweden.
“I hope that Dykan will return to the national team,” Ukraine goalkeeper coach Yuriy Romenskiy said. “Although the chance of that isn’t very high.”
If Dykan joins Shovkovskiy and Rybka on the sidelines, Ukraine coach Oleh Blokhin will likely turn to 27-year-old Andriy Pyatov. The Shakhtar Donetsk keeper has made 24 international appearances but has played rarely for his club this season after losing his place to Rybka.
The loss of Shovkovskiy is the biggest blow to the team’s chances of getting through Group D, which also includes England, France and Sweden.
The 37-year-old Shovkovskiy, who has made 92 appearances for Ukraine, injured his shoulder ligaments in a domestic-league game in late April — only five weeks before the tournament. Doctors initially hoped to put off an operation until after the tournament, but had to leave that idea behind two weeks later.
“It’s a cruel world. Circumstances often ruin all our dreams,” Shovkovskiy wrote on his Facebook page. “If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans for tomorrow.”
The 25-year-old Rybka would have been the obvious replacement for the two injured goalkeepers, but he was banned for two years by UEFA in January after failing a doping test. The club said he accidentally took a banned diuretic as a slimming method without informing the team doctor.
The lack of an experienced keeper further weakens Ukraine’s already-shaky defense. The team conceded two goals in a victory over Israel in February and three in a draw with Germany at home in November.
– James Marson
Elsewhere
Rangers administrators accept bid for club
GLASGOW, Scotland (AP) — A consortium headed by former Sheffield United chief executive Charles Green agreed to buy financially stricken Scottish club Rangers on Sunday.
Administrators running the record 54-time Scottish champions confirmed the deal after an American takeover of the club collapsed on Tuesday.
The administrators announced that an “irrevocable” contract had been struck with the group, and — unlike the former preferred bidder Bill Miller — cannot now back out.
Under the plans for the 8.5 million-pound ($13.7-million) takeover, Rangers should exit bankruptcy protection before the start of the new season.
“There are 20 individuals and families who have pledged support — the cash is in a bank account,” said Green. “No investor will own more than 15 percent. There are some investors from the U.K., the Middle East, Asia and the Far East.”
Green said the names of the investors would be released if the club is granted a Company Voluntary Arrangement — a legal procedure to help rescue a struggling firm by agreeing to deals with creditors over the repayment of debt.
Rangers entered bankruptcy protection in February following a long-running dispute with British tax authorities.
Its future has been at stake after falling into tax debts of $14 million since a takeover by Craig Whyte a year ago. The Glasgow club is also awaiting the verdict of a tax tribunal involving as much as $119 million.
Its already narrow hopes of retaining the Scottish Premier League title were ended by a 10-point deduction that was automatically triggered by going into administration.
The full takeover is expected to go through at the start of June.
“We are not out of the woods yet,” Rangers manager Ally McCoist told the BBC. “Once the complete sale goes through prior to 6 June, I will be the most relieved man in the country.”
Prandelli names five uncapped players in squad
MILAN (AP) — Italy coach Cesare Prandelli has included five uncapped players in his provisional 32-man squad for the European Championship.
Mattia Destro, Emanuele Giaccherini, Ezequiel Schelotto and Marco Verratti have never played for the Azzurri before. Pescara midfielder Verratti was one of two second-division players included on Sunday, the other being Torino defender Angelo Ogbonna.
Controversial strikers Mario Balotelli and Antonio Cassano have been included in the squad, which will be cut to 23 players by May 29.
Prandelli, who introduced a code of ethics when he became coach after the 2010 World Cup, left Balotelli off the squad for a friendly against the United States in February after he received a four-match suspension in January for his stamp on Tottenham midfielder Scott Parker.
Cassano fell ill with stroke-like symptoms on AC Milan’s team plane while returning from a match at Roma in October and then required minor heart surgery that kept him out for five months.
Previous coach Marcello Lippi left Cassano off his squad at both the 2006 and 2010 World Cups, but he was a fixture in attack in Euro 2012 qualifying under Cesare Prandelli.
It is the first call-ups under Prandelli for Udinese striker Antonio Di Natale and Rubin Kazan midfielder Salvatore Bocchetti.
The squad — apart from Juventus and Napoli players, who face each other in the Italian Cup final next weekend — will meet up on Monday at its training base in Coverciano on the outskirts of Florence for two days of fitness tests.
400,000 fans celebrate at Juventus parade
TURIN, Italy (AP) — More than 400,000 fans packed the streets of Turin on Sunday night as Juventus celebrated its Serie A title victory with an open-top bus parade.
The parade was meant to finish at 10 p.m. local time (2000 GMT) but lasted two and a half hours longer as the bus struggled to get through the sea of ecstatic fans. It took five hours for the bus to negotiate the crowded streets from the stadium to Parco del Valentino where the team will continue its celebrations with family and close friends in the Cacao club.
Fans sat on top of bus shelters, monuments and shops to cheer the Italian champions along the route as fireworks lit up the sky.
It is Juventus’ 28th title and first in nine years after it was stripped of the 2005 and 2006 trophies because of the matchfixing scandal which saw it relegated to Serie B.
Goalkeeper Foster rejects Hodgson’s England plea
WEST BROMWICH, England (AP) — England coach Roy Hodgson has failed to persuade goalkeeper Ben Foster to come out of international exile for the European Championship.
Foster has impressed on Hodgson while on loan at West Bromwich Albion from Birmingham this season. Hodgson’s final match as West Brom manager was on Sunday, a 3-2 loss to Arsenal.
The 29-year-old Foster announced a year ago that he was taking an indefinite break from international football. Foster says Hodgson “tried hard to persuade me to change my mind … but he totally understood my reasons why and was very respectful of that.”
Foster wants spend time with his family instead of going to Euro 2012. And he says his “best form has been since I retired from England and I feel my body gets a good rest.”
Raul signs with Qatar’s Al Sadd
DOHA, Qatar (AP) — Spanish veteran striker Raul Gonzalez has signed with Qatar’s Al Sadd, several weeks after announcing he would leave Bundesliga club Schalke at the end of the season.
The Qatar Football Association said Sunday that the Doha club had signed the 34-year-old former Real Madrid and Spain captain to a one-year deal. No further details were released.
Raul was in the stands Saturday to watch Al Gharrafa beat Al Sadd 5-4 on penalties in the Emir Cup. Raul was a fan favorite at Schalke, where he scored 27 goals in 63 Bundesliga appearances. He won the German Cup and reached the semifinals of the Champions League in his first season with the club. Raul’s signing continues a trend of aging stars ending their careers in the cash-rich Gulf.
Leekens resigns as Belgium coach
BRUSSELS (AP) — Belgium coach Georges Leekens announced his resignation on Sunday, saying he would take over with immediate effect at FC Brugge, the league runner-up whose manager Christoph Daum departed last week.
The Belgian federation said it was surprised to learn of the departure, since it had been counting on Leekens to lead a talented Belgian squad to the World Cup finals in Brazil in two years’ time. Belgium, which failed to reach the finals of Euro 2012, will play England in a friendly on June 2.
Leekens was a longtime player of FC Brugge and coached it from 1989 to 1991. He has signed a three-year contract.
Guidolin could quit as Udinese coach
MILAN (AP) — Udinese coach Francesco Guidolin says he may leave the club in the offseason.
Udinese qualified for the Champions League for the second successive year as a 2-0 win at Catania saw the team finish third in Serie A on Sunday. After the game Guidolin says he is “very tired” and needs “a long rest.” The Udinese coach says he has not yet made a decision and will talk to the club directors.
The 56-year-old Guidolin has been at Udinese since 2010 and the club has taken great strides under him, with its third-place finish this year being the highest in the club’s history.
