Mueller to mull Inter interest but only after Euro
Bayern Munich striker Thomas Mueller said he would mull over reported interest in his services from Inter - but only after he has completed Euro 2012 with Germany.
German magazine Sport Bild said the Italian giants were keen to sign Mueller, who admitted he was “disappointed and bitter” at having been left on the sidelines during some key matches for Bayern last season.
Mueller, 22, is tied to Bayern until 2015 and admitted to Sport Bild: “Everyone knows how much I feel for this club (Bayern), so I’m not in a major hurry to change things.”
“But I’ve got a Euro to play, and I want to concentrate 100 percent on it.”
Polish churches go multilingual
Churches on Poland’s Baltic coast are to hold mass in extra languages to accommodate foreign football fans flooding in for the Euro 2012 championships, local media reported Wednesday.
“This great event also challenges our religious duty of spreading the word of God,” Father Andrzej Pradela, from the Baltic port Gdansk archdiocese, told the Polish Press Agency PAP.
Roman Catholic mass will be said in English, Croatian, Spanish, German and Italian at 10 different churches in and around Gdansk on June 10, 17 and 24, based on which national teams are playing at the time.
Spain, Ireland, Italy and Croatia will pay in Gdansk while Germany will be based in the city for the 16-nation, quadrennial European championships co-hosted by Ukraine.
Euro 2012 kicks off June 8 in the Polish capital Warsaw and ends July 1 in the Ukrainian capital Kiev.
France an outside bet – Platini
UEFA president Michel Platini tipped France as a potential dark horse at Euro 2012 but joked that their progression depended entirely on whether they were on strike or not.
The former France captain told a news conference in Warsaw that Laurent Blanc’s side, who landed in Ukraine Wednesday evening, were on a good unbeaten run, of 21, and their forward line was taking shape.
“I think they’re a team that people will have to watch - if they get off the bus,” he said with a smile.
France are hoping to erase memories of a disastrous World Cup campaign two years ago in South Africa, when players went on strike against then-coach Raymond Domenech - refusing to leave the bus for a training session - and a humiliating first round exit.
Overall, Platini tipped holders Spain and perennial favourites Germany to be among the challengers for the title when the competition ends with the final in Kiev on July 1.
“The two teams for me are Spain and Germany - if they play at 100 percent. But if they don’t, there are a lot of teams that can beat them,” he added.