Stranzl awaits 'event of the century'

The UEFA European Championship is the "event of the century" for Austria according to powerful defender Martin Stranzl who says it has put every member of the home-nation squad on tenterhooks.

Huge impact
Stranzl might have spent the past two seasons in Russia with FC Spartak Moskva but he is fully aware of what the impact will be of staging such a high-profile tournament as UEFA EURO 2008™ in his homeland. Josef Hickersberger's squad arrived in Vienna yesterday morning to make final preparations before tomorrow's Group B encounter with Croatia at the Ernst-Happel-Stadion and Stranzl revealed: "The whole team on the bus was full of tension. We're really looking forward to the match and we're all fully prepared. We know it's going to be tough but we're well prepared and we'll do our best."

'Event of the century'
The players needed no reminding of just how important the game is. "It's the event of the century for the whole of Austria and extremely important for all our players," added Stranzl who will come up against his Spartak team-mate and Croatian goalkeeper Stipe Pletikosa tomorrow. "You could sense since yesterday the build-up of tension and all of us are happy to get started. I am optimistic and it would be great to see a three [points on the board] tomorrow. That would be a great step forward but we know it is going to be difficult."

An advantage
With the Russian season only now getting into full swing, Stranzl, who turns 28 a week on Monday, believes he enters the tournament holding an advantage over those players who have just ended a demanding club campaign. "We have not played so many matches yet [Spartak have played eleven] and normally the first five or six games are good preparation for the rest of the season and that is what has happened with us. For myself and the Russian team it can be an advantage. We shall see during the tournament because your rhythm can be different."