Italy's Alessandro Diamanti controls the ball during a training session on Saturday. — AFP

A match-fixing scandal back home and a 3-0 hammering by Russia in a friendly, their third defeat on the bounce, has seen the Azzurri arrive at these championships in disarray.

Even so, Italy midfielder Daniele De Rossi, set to play as a libero against the Spaniards in a revamped formation, believes that although the fans may feel disengaged now, they will soon get behind the team and help them put their troubles to bed.

"That could be the case (that the fans feel distant) given what's happened over the last few months but all will be forgotten, not least because those playing (for Italy) have nothing to do with what has happened," he said.

"Just one month before we won the World Cup (in 2006) there was a similar atmosphere.

Live on NEO: The matches shown to begin after midnight are scheduled the previous evening local time at the host city. IST is mentioned for the readers’ convenience.

"It is a little annoying because now next to the page about the national team you read about a sporting trial and we can't wait for it to be over.

"But it's not a case of the whole footballing world being dirty as things seem, the national team is above that." Spain and Barcelona centre-back Gerard Pique believes that will only make the Italians stronger, as it has in the past.

Already in 2006 they won the World Cup directly following a match-fixing scandal and they did so too in 1982 just two years after yet another sordid affair.

"It seems Italy have been destabilised and have their heads elsewhere. But those are the circumstances in which they are at their strongest," insisted Pique.

"I am convinced that Italy will be a very complicated opponent to play against and that they will qualify for the quarters." Spain are not without their own concerns as hot-shot David Villa misses the tournament as he recovers from a broken leg. — AFP

Kharkiv, June 9
Denmark survived a sustained assault by Netherlands to emerge with a 1-0 victory in their opening Euro 2012 Group B game on Saturday thanks to a first-half goal by Michael Krohn-Dehli and some poor Dutch finishing.

Krohn-Dehli cut in from the left to surprise keeper Maarten Stekelenburg with a low shot through his legs after 24 minutes in a rare Danish attack, while Dutch winger Arjen Robben hit a post after 37 in one of many chances for his side.

The defeat leaves highly-fancied Netherlands needing positive results against Germany and Portugal, who play later on Saturday, in what is a very tough section.

While the Dutch have the quality to achieve that, their lack of sharpness in front of goal will need to be addressed. The 2010 World Cup runners-up dominated from the outset, smartly working the ball through midfield and creating openings around a static Danish defence but they struggled to turn opportunities into shots on goal.

Robin Van Persie, who endured a difficult evening, set the tone in the seventh minute when Robben found him with an incisive pass but the striker screwed his shot wide. Robben was more accurate with his effort nine minutes later with a low left foot shot but Danish goalkeeper Stephan Andersen got down well to save.

Van Persie produced a trademark turn to create space for a shot in the 23rd minute but his off-target effort was far from his usual high standards.

The Danes had looked disjointed and ineffective in midfield but they grabbed the lead against the run of play. Left back Simon Poulsen raced down the wing and pulled the ball back into the path of Krohn-Dehli, who skipped past John Heitinga and fired into the net.

That prompted a wave of Dutch attacks but apart from when Robben hit the post, after collecting a poor clearance from Andersen, they ended in wasteful off-target efforts. Krohn-Dehli threatened again just before the break with another low shot.

Nonetheless they had four good chances in the opening 10 minutes after the break but their frustration was encapsulated by Van Persie losing his balance and falling over after being put through by the enterprising Wesley Schneider.

It was no surprise when in the 71st minute Netherlands coach Bert van Marwijk introduced striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, the top scorer in both Euro qualifying and last season's Bundesliga. But the change had little impact on what was a disappointing start for the Dutch and a night to remember for Denmark. — Reuters 

Poznan, June 9
Anyone who found the manner of Chelsea's Champions League triumph hard to digest is advised to look elsewhere when rank outsiders Ireland face Croatia in their Euro 2012 opener on Sunday.

Chelsea proved it is possible to overcome vastly more gifted opponents with well-organised blanket defence, the odd counter-attack and a generous portion of luck in their wins over Barcelona and Bayern Munich.

It remains to be seen how many of the 16 teams at Euro 2012 are tempted to emulate them, but Ireland are one side who will certainly try and do so. Unbeaten in their last 14 matches, and having kept clean sheets in 11 of those, Ireland are likely to prove stubborn opponents for a Croatia team which features a number of ageing key players and can look slow and predictable against tough defences.

Ireland coach Giovanni Trapattoni has openly been calculating their chances of making the last 16 with only four points from their three games in a group which also includes Spain and Italy.

"The first results will be important. If it's two draws, then it might be possible to qualify with four points," he told UEFA's official website, making no apologies for their style.

"We want to win, to play and to score goals. But our opponents are strong. I think of the final of the Champions League. Bayern had a lot more possession, they deserved to win, but lost of course and Chelsea created the best opportunity. Seventeen corners for Bayern, one corner for Chelsea - that is football."

Ireland at least have a valid excuse for their tactics as they can legitimately claim to be making the most of limited resources, whereas Chelsea had the backing of Russian billionaire Abramovich. A fairer comparison would be with Paraguay, whose team make life very uncomfortable for bigger neighbours such as Argentina and Brazil. — Reuters

Wroclaw, June 9
Two goals from Alan Dzagoev and a late stunner from Roman Pavlyuchenko helped Russia throw down a marker at Euro 2012 Friday with a 4-1 dismantling of the Czech Republic.

With co-hosts Poland drawing 1-1 with Greece in the tournament curtain-raiser earlier Friday, the Russians shoot to the top of Group A and become the team to beat.

CSKA Moscow midfielder Dzagoev, 21, put the Russians ahead on 15 minutes, smashing home a rebound off the post from an Alexander Kerzhakov header.

The second came less than 10 minutes later as midfielder Roman Shirokov chipped deftly over Petr Cech after a through ball from Andrei Arshavin. The Czechs pulled one back early in the second half through Wolfsburg striker Vaclav Pilar, who calmly rounded Vyacheslav Malafeev and slot home from a tight angle.

Roman Pavlyuchenko came on for Alexander Kerzhakov on 75 minutes, and the former Tottenham man immediately set up Dzagoev for his second before firing in a stunning fourth for his team a minute later.

Paris, June 9
Russia's Maria Sharapova became the 10th woman in tennis history to win all four Grand Slam titles when she defeated Italy's Sara Errani 6-3 6-2 in the French Open final here today.

In what turned out to be largely one-sided contest, the second seed and new world No.1 led from the start, fixing the 21st seeded Errani with her biggest shots and giving her little chance to employ her own, more considered game.

The French Open title for Sharapova follows her Grand Slam triumphs at Wimbledon in 2004, the US Open in 2006 and the Australian Open in 2008 and it crowns her return from a serious shoulder injury that nearly wrecked her career.

The 90-minute final though did little to restore the reputation of women's tennis at Roland Garros, continuing a run of straight sets finals that date back to 2001 when Jennifer Capriati defeated Kim Clijsters in a three-set thriller.

It was the first meeting between the two and the contrasts were stark - notably in height with the 1.88m tall Sharapova towering 24cm above the little Italian. The 25-year-old Sharapova had the experience of winning three Grand Slam titles and has just been assured of regaining the world number one spot. Her global superstar status has made her the biggest-earning sportswoman on earth.

Errani, 10 days younger than her opponent, was little-known outside of her own country until she won three claycourt titles in the buildup to Roland Garros in recent weeks. — AFP

New Delhi, June 9
Though the 16-member hockey team for the London Olympics were selected after a two-day trials at the Balewadi Sports Complex in Pune on June 6 and 7, Hockey India has not yet formally announced the team, as there seems to be some difference of opinion in the choice of the skipper.

A top source said mid-fielder Sardar Singh should have been the automatic choice as the skipper, but Hockey India seems to be keen on goal-keeper Bharat Chetri, despite the fact that he is no more the No 1 goalie.

That mantle has fallen on the younger P.R.Sreejesh, who has played in all the crunch matches during the past one year. Former goalkeeping coach Romeo James had rated Sreejesh as the best custodian, when he was part of the team. But chief coach Michael Nobbs has more faith in Chetri, and had also rooted for him as captain.