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EURO 2008 BRIEFS

AFP, Vienna
The 2008 European football championship in brief:
GOOOAAAL!
All good things require preparation, including screaming at the top of your lungs. With less than two months to go before the start of the Euro, an Austrian voice coach is advising fans to start training their vocal cords now if they want to deliver a pitch-perfect cheer when their team scores its first goal. The method: "don't bray continuously, pause every once in a while, vary the volume." says Ingrid Amon. And drink lots of water.
BANKING ON THE
CZECHS #2
After UBS. it's the turn of Austria's Raiffeisen Bank to predict a Czech victory at the Euro. Analysts at the bank said they will narrowly beat the Spaniards in the final, based on calculations that included countries' FIFA ranking, gross domestic product, bookmakers' forecasts...
and beer consumption. Austria could only hope to win if the model added more weight to GDP and lager, while co-host Switzerland would need the calculations to focus more on its anti-corruption record to triumph.
A LITTLE HEAVENLY HELP
Austria is certainly hoping the Pope can work miracles. Captain Andreas Ivanschitz and his team, currently ranked 102nd in the world by FIFA, have been granted an audience with Benedict XVI and will travel to the Vatican on May 7th to meet the Pontiff. Whether the German Pope, who has a well-known love for Austria, supports Andreas Ivanschitz and Co. or the Mannschaft, only the cardinals will know.
ECO-FRIENDLY LOO
Come rain or shine, host city Innsbruck is set for an environ mentally-friendly championship. Its Tivoli stadium will use rain water to water the pitches as well as to supply the visitors' toilets. Meanwhile, solar panels will cover
part of its electricity needs. A lesson in using atmospheric conditions to your advantage.
NO CARLSBERG, NO FOOTBALL
Three cafes in the Swiss town of Basel will be literally walled off from the nearby public viewing area during the Euro because they refuse to serve the official beer. A partition will be installed on the edge of their terraces so their customers will not be able to enjoy a view of the giant screen. The drinking holes have reacted sportingly and decided to decorate the wall as creatively as possible.
TRAITOR INTHEIR MIDST
Austria's interior minister Guenther Platter is tipping Portugal to lift the trophy on June 29, after defeating Italy in the final. And this, despite his country's participation in the championship. Ei ther the min ister is showing great sportsmanship or — since Austria fell to 102nd place in FIFA's ranking — he is just being realistic.