Austria coach Josef Hickersberger has selected four new faces for the friendlies against Scotland and Paraguay in Vienna on 30 May and 2 June respectively.
The UEFA EURO 2008 co-hosts, who do not have to qualify for the final round, have given a senior chance to 20-year-old SK Rapid Wien forward Erwin Hoffer after a prolific record at junior level.
In 30 matches, Hoffer scored 18 goals - attracting the attention of major clubs across Europe. He is accompanied by the 20-year old midfielder Emin Sulimani, 19-year old defender Sebstian Prödl and 30-year old defender Jürgen Patochka.
Austria squad
Goalkeepers: Jürgen Macho (1. FC Kaiserslautern), Alexander Manninger (AC Siena), Helge Payer (SK Rapid Wien).
Defenders: Christian Fuchs (SV Mattersburg), Martin Hiden (SK Rapid Wien), Andreas Ibertsberger (SC Freiburg), Markus Katzer (SK Rapid Wien), Jürgen Patocka (SV Mattersburg), Sebastian Prödl (SK Sturm Graz), Joachim Standfest (FK Austria Wien), Martin Stranzl (FC Spartak Moskva).
Midfielders: Cem Atan (SV Mattersburg), René Aufhauser (FC Salzburg), Andreas Ivanschitz (Panathinaikos FC), Christoph Leitgeb (SK Sturm Graz), Thomas Prager (SC Heerenveen), Yüksel Sariyar (FCS Pasching), Jürgen Säumel (SK Sturm Graz), Emin Sulimani (SV Ried), Markus Weissenberger (Eintracht Frankfurt).
Forwards: Mario Haas (SK Sturm Graz), Erwin Hoffer (SK Rapid Wien), Sanel Kuljic (no club), Roland Linz (Boavista FC).
22 April 2007
Marco Materazzi scored twice, once from the penalty spot, as Inter Milan won 2-1 at Siena to clinch their second successive Serie A title with five games to spare.
The win, coupled with second-placed AS Roma′s 2-1 defeat at Atalanta gave Inter an unassailable 16-point lead. Inter have 84 points from 33 games, Roma have 68.
Materazzi put Inter ahead in the 18th minute with a right-footed shot following a goalmouth scramble only for defender Paolo Negro to head in Siena′s equaliser three minutes later.
Inter regained the lead 15 minutes after the break, when Siena keeper Alexander Manninger brought down Julio Cruz in the area and Materazzi converted the penalty.
Siena fought back and had several good chances to level but Inter hung on despite effectively playing the closing stages with 10 men, because Brazilian defender Maicon was carrying an injury and coach Roberto Mancini had used all his substitutes.
Inter, who seemed invincible for much of the season, went into Sunday′s match looking for a win to steady nerves after picking up just two points from their last three matches.
Mancini′s men also wanted to make up for the disappointment of suffering their first league defeat of the season on Wednesday, losing 3-1 to Roma.
By winning the championship with five games to spare, Inter have matched the record set by Torino in the 1947/48 season and equalled by Fiorentina in 1955/56.
It is the club′s 15th scudetto, but it is the first time fans have seen Inter claim the trophy on the pitch since 1989.
Last year Inter were awarded the scudetto in July after the season was over when a sports tribunal revoked Juventus′s title win in the fallout from the country′s match-fixing scandal.
Roma travelled to Bergamo without defender Philippe Mexes and midfielders David Pizarro and Mancini, all suspended, and injured captain Francesco Totti.
Atalanta′s Cristiano Doni headed in a superb cross from Brazilian Adriano Ferreira Pinto in the 37th minute and Riccardo Zampagna made it 2-0 just before halftime with a fine lob.
Simone Perrotta scored Roma′s goal in the 19th minute of the second half.
Lazio (57 points) lost 1-0 at home to Fiorentina and now have AC Milan (56), who beat Cagliari 3-1 on Saturday, breathing down their neck for third place. Adrian Mutu′s 15th goal of the season ended Lazio′s 15-match unbeaten run.
25 March 2007
Austria and Ghana drew 1-1 in a lively friendly international in Graz on Saturday as both teams continued preparations for major tournaments on home soil.
Austria, the Euro 2008 co-hosts with neighbours Switzerland, took an unexpected lead after 55 minutes when midfielder Rene Aufhauser headed in Andreas Ivanschitz′s corner.
Ghana, who will also be busy next year hosting the African Nations Cup, struck back with three minutes left - Udinese midfielder Sulley Muntari benefiting from a poor Austrian clearance to level the match.
The Africans, who last year made their first appearance at the FIFA World Cup finals, had looked the stronger team for most of the first half.
Even without influential captain Stephen Appiah and Chelsea midfielder Michael Essien, both missing through injury, Ghana created a host of good chances, the best of which fell to Muntari′s Udinese team mate Asamoah Gyan.
Gyan, who scored the fastest goal of the 2006 World Cup, came close to another early strike on Saturday when he hit the crossbar in the third minute.
He then blazed narrowly over Alex Manninger′s goal a quarter of an hour later.
Gyan′s forced withdrawal at halftime with an apparent pulled muscle seemed to give the home side some breathing space and following Aufhauser′s opener Roland Linz had two good chances to extend the lead.
The Austrians were left ruing those missed opportunities in the 87th minute when Muntari pounced on a weak header from defender Christian Fuchs and slid the ball back through Fuchs′s legs and beyond the outstretched Manninger.
Austria′s next friendly is against France in Paris on Wednesday, while Ghana meet Brazil in Sweden on Tuesday.
17 February 2007
Ronaldo scored two goals and set up another as AC Milan beat Siena 4-3 to climb to fifth in Serie A on Saturday.
Milan only claimed the points in the final minute of stoppage time when Massimo Ambrosini headed in from a corner but the dominant figure was three-times FIFA World Player of the Year Ronaldo, making his first appearance in Milan's starting line-up since signing from Real Madrid last month.
Milan have 33 points after 23 matches, taking into account their eight-point penalty for match-fixing, and are 30 points behind leaders Inter Milan, who racked up their 16th successive Serie A win by beating Cagliari 1-0.
Second-placed AS Roma slipped 14 points behind Inter after losing 1-0 at Empoli.
Ronaldo inspired Milan to a dramatic victory after Siena had pulled themselves level each time they fell behind only to succumb to Ambrosini's header in the final seconds.
The Brazilian opened the scoring in the 15th minute, out-jumping his marker to nod a Paolo Maldini cross past keeper Alex Manninger.
Midfielder Simone Vergassola equalised four minutes later but Ronaldo conjured up a defence-splitting pass for strike partner Ricardo Oliveira to restore Milan's lead just before the half hour.
Siena levelled again, January signing Massimo Maccarone pulling down a cross before angling a shot past goalkeeper Marco Storari.
Milan's chances of winning the match suffered a setback in the 77th minute, when midfielder Cristian Brocchi was sent off for a clumsy challenge on Francesco Cozza.
But three minutes later Ronaldo struck again, tapping in from close range after a superb solo run and cutback by playmaker Kaka.
Maccarone seemed to have grabbed a point for Siena when he was left unmarked at the far post to fire in his second goal two minutes from the end.
Milan made it six victories in their last seven Serie A matches, however, thanks to Ambrosini's last-gasp winner.
Inter's victory at the San Siro stadium was a more prosaic affair. Defender Nicolas Burdisso headed the winner from a Zlatan Ibrahimovic cross in the 11th minute.
The leaders went close again when Dejan Stankovic thumped a shot off the crossbar 10 minutes from the end.
Roma's performance in their defeat to fourth-placed Empoli (35 points) will have failed to impress Olympique Lyon coach Gerard Houllier, watching from the stands at Empoli's Castellani stadium.
Roma host Lyon in the Champions League on Wednesday.
The game was settled by a fifth-minute goal from Empoli striker Nicola Pozzi. Roma's David Pizarro and Simone Perrotta hit the post in the first half.
28 January 2007
AS Roma trimmed Inter Milan's lead in Serie A when they beat Siena 1-0 on Sunday.
Serbian striker Mirko Vucinic got the winning goal, his first in Serie A for the club since joining at the start of the season, to give second-placed Roma 46 points from 21 games.
Roma are eight points behind Inter, who play Sampdoria in a later match (kickoff 1930 GMT).
Palermo lie third on 39 points despite losing 3-0 to Lazio on Saturday.
Catania drew level with Lazio in fourth on 30 points after their 18-year-old Japanese striker Takayuki Marimoto crowned his Serie A debut by grabbing a late equaliser in a 1-1 draw away to Atalanta.
AC Milan notched up their fourth win in five games when Filippo Inzaghi scored the winner in a 1-0 victory over Parma.
After drawing their last two games against Messina and Livorno, Roma desperately needed a win to close the gap on runaway leaders Inter.
Captain and first-choice striker Francesco Totti was suspended but they had their chances to take the lead in the first half at the Olympic Stadium.
Vucinic wasted the best of them when he headed over from close-range in the 17th minute.
Siena came close to going ahead early in the second half when Mario Frick lashed in a volley that home keeper Doni tipped over his bar at full stretch.
Vucinic made up for his earlier mistake just past the hour when he ran on to Francesco Tavano's defence-splitting pass and beat keeper Alex Manninger at his near post.
Siena's hopes of equalising were killed off in stoppage time when Tomas Locatelli was sent off for elbowing Daniele De Rossi in the face.
After a week of excitement surrounding the imminent arrival of Brazilian striker Ronaldo, Milan's players down to earth with a bump as they struggled to beat relegation-threatened Parma.
The six-times European champions dominated but failed to capitalise on a string of chances until the 76th minute, when an Andrea Pirlo free kick bounced through a crowded area to Inzaghi, who pulled the ball down and fired in from close range.
Milan are ninth, but with just three points separating them from Lazio and Catania they are closing in on a place in next season's Champions League.
09 January 2007
Palermo striker Amauri could be out for the rest of the season after undergoing knee surgery in Rome to reconstruct his ruptured cruciate ligament.
The Brazilian sprained his right knee causing a partial rupture of the ligament during the last match of 2006 after colliding with Siena goalkeeper Alex Manninger.
He has now been operated on by Professor Pierpaolo Mariani, the orthopaedic specialist who helped Francesco Totti recover after fracturing his ankle.
The surgery lasted over an hour in the presence of Palermo's doctor Giuseppe Puelo and was successful, as stated on the Rosanero's website.
The striker is expected to go back to Sicily on Wednesday and will then return to Rome for an examination after a week.
The Rosanero hitman is set to be out of action for the rest of the season and Palermo have been linked with several players who could be signed this month to replace the striker.
However, President Maurizio Zamparini has insisted that he already has a substitute in the form of Andrea Caracciolo.
05 January 2007
Palermo striker Amauri will need to undergo surgery after seeing a specialist about his knee injury.
The Brazilian limped out of the last match of 2006 after a collision with Siena 'keeper Alex Manninger, having sprained his right knee and causing a partial rupture of the ligament.
Amauri travelled to Rome for an examination by an orthopaedic specialist, the same one who contributed to Francesco Totti's amazing recovery after he fractured his ankle, who stated that the player will need an operation.
"Professor Pierpaolo Mariani, in the presence of the club's doctor Roberto Matracia, confirmed that Amauri will need to undergo knee surgery," read a note on the club's website.
"Mariani told me that I have to be operated on - now I will think about it and I will decide what needs to be done," said Amauri to ilpalermocalcio.it.
"I am serene and now I just want to consider this possibility before I take any decisions," added the Rosanero.
The news might influence the club's moves on the market, as the Rosanero have allegedly targeted Siena's Erjon Bogdani to strengthen their forward line.
28 December 2006
Palermo striker Amauri is set for a long spell on the sidelines after injuring his knee ligament in the match with Siena last Saturday.
The Brazilian limped off the pitch at the Stadio Franchi following a collision with Alex Manninger after 28 minutes of the match, which ended in a 1-1 draw, and underwent medical tests on Wednesday in Brescia - which confirmed the seriousness of his injury.
"The scan confirmed a sprain of the player's right knee, with a partial rupture of the ligament," read a note on the club's website.
"The striker will now rest for the next few days and will be re-examined by an orthopaedic specialist when training resumes, in order to assess the treatment he will need to undergo," added the statement.
"I hope I can return as soon as possible so I can give my contribution to this fantastic club," commented Amauri after the diagnosis was released.
The latest news may influence Maurizio Zamparini's moves in the upcoming transfer market, as the Rosanero chief has allegedly targeted Fabrizio Miccoli and Daniele Cacia to strengthen his side's forward line.
