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Euro Cup 16′ – Tournament Preview

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Euro Cup 2016 Preview

1 more sleep!

Euro Cup 2016 is nearly upon us. With 15 men’s and 7 women’s teams on display tomorrow it’s sure to be a jam-packed day of Aussie rules action.

This year’s Euro Cup sees the biggest turn out of women’s teams to date. Players from Croatia, Denmark, England, France, Ireland, Scotland and Sweden will be making their way to Lisbon this weekend with hopes of getting their hands on some silverware.

danish-valkyries
The reigning champions; the England Vixens, will be returning with a new three-man coaching team on board and with a few new faces in the line-up they will be looking to retain their title. Joining the Vixens in group A are the 2014 Champions, the Irish Banshees. After being absent at the 2015 Cup in Croatia and narrowly losing to the GB Swans in the European Championships this August, the Irish will be fired up and no doubt will be coming out in full force. The French Cockerelles face a tough competition in what is likely to be the tougher of the two groups, however; this season has seen the French being involved in a number of tournaments including the Champions League and ANZAC Cup so will be hoping their practice as a team will aid their chances. Finalising group A is another 2015 absentee in the Scottish Sirens. After struggling in the 2014 Euro Cup, the Sirens have been secretly strengthening and with the majority of the squad fresh from playing for the GB Swans this summer, they will be one to watch.

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Unfortunately, due to a late drop out, there will only be 3 teams making up Group B. 2015 runners up, the Danish Valkyries, will be looking for an easy run through to the semi-finals however their neighbours, the Swedish Ravens, will surely have something to say about this. The Ravens displayed a strong performance at the Champions League tournament earlier this year and they look to have recruited well this season with a huge social media campaign displaying their many new faces. The battle of the Scandinavians is sure to be a tight contest and one not to be missed. Finally, the youngest team, in both years established and in average player age, are the Croatian Queens. The Queens debuted in their home country last year with a team made up of school students. Little has been heard from the team in the last year but considering the strength of their brothers, the Croatian Knights, they cannot be ruled out.

The men’s side of the draw is being contested by 15 teams each divided into four groups. We’ve taken a look at each team’s prospects leading into tomorrow’s tournament.

England – 2015 placing Runners-Up – The English return looking to go one step further in 2016 after losing in the final to Denmark in Croatia. A lot of the squad returns for 2016 with some new faces from previous Dragonslayers squads. After the GB side won EC16 expect a strong challenge from the Dragonslayers who boast 14 of their side being 18-a-side European champions. Expect a quick and physical game from the Dragonslayers in coach, Rob Fielders, last tour in charge. Can they do the double in 2016 and send Rob out on a high note?

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Croatia – 2015 placing 3rd – The Croatians come into the tournament on the back of a strong Euro Cup 15 beating Ireland in the 3rd place playoff after losing to tournament winners Denmark in the semi-finals. Expect a bruising style of football from the Southern-Europeans looking to make the finals in 2016. Without Denmark, Ireland or England in their side of the draw they have to be considered strong contenders.

Ireland – 2015 placing 4th – The Irish have long been the powerhouse in European footy but 2015 and 2016 so far haven’t gone to script. Expect the Irish to come back hard at Euro Cup 16 and set the record straight. The Irish still consider themselves the best team outside of Australia and will be bringing their fast, running style to Portugal to right the wrongs of Euro Cup 15 and EC16. A mouth-watering potential semi-final between England and Ireland could make an interesting encounter.

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Germany – 2015 placing 5th – The Germans have been gathering steam since finishing 5th in Croatia. A strong performance at EC16, where they finished 3rd, will look to be built on when the Germans return to their usual 9-a-side format. Expect the Germans to bring a powerful team full of industry who will be well drilled and ready to go come Saturday.

France – 2015 placing 6th – The French come into Euro Cup ’16 after a disappointing Euro Cup ’15 where they expected better. The French will be looking to improve on that performance with their free-flowing game. In a tough draw with Ireland expect them to be challenging for the title in that group and a showdown with the winners of Pool D.

Austria – 2015 placing 7th – The Austrians had a tough Euro Cup ’15 being drawn with eventual champions Denmark before a tough game against France but recovered well to beat the Scottish to 7th place. The Austrians will continue to bring serious fight and endeavour to the tournament and should go well in a group with returning sides Italy and Wales.

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Scotland – 2015 placing 8th –  The Scottish are coming they say. A belief from the north of the UK is that Scotland should be placing higher than 8th within Europe and they plan to use Euro Cup ’16 to prove this. With a number of GB hopefuls looking to push a claim towards the GB International Cup ’17 side expect them to come hard in a group they will look to win.

The Netherlands – 2015 placing 9th – The Dutch continue to improve and rise their standing within Europe. The boys from Holland have continued to improve their league and recently played their first full international against GB. The Dutch have plenty of skilled players and a return to the usual 9-a-side format should give them a good chance against England and the Crusaders.

The Crusaders – 2015 placing 10th – The Crusaders are something of an unknown entity. Made up of European players who don’t have a national team to play for, or weren’t selected, they could be anything. The biggest challenge for the Crusaders is always a mix of languages that have never played together before. Can they overcome this in 2016?

Norway – 2015 placing 11th – The Norwegians come into the tournament looking to replicate their neighbours in Sweden and Denmark and bring a stylish game to the field. A team looking to improve are in a tough group but don’t count them out now

Peace Team – 2015 placing 12th – The Jerusalem Peace Team Lions are back in for Euro Cup 2016 in Lisbon, Portugal. The Lions team manager, Avraham Benvenisty has provided us with an insight into their preparations leading up to this year’s tournament. The Jerusalem Peace Team Lions are taking part in their 2nd European Championship! The team was founded again a few months ago, with only 3 players that knew how to play the game (or that have even watched a game before), but recruitment brought us to the point of having 14 lads that know the rules, learned the game, and accomplished the goal of playing in the upcoming Euro Cup!

Wales – 2015 placing DNP – The Welsh return to the International fold to give us a full complement of the British Isles. An unknown entity with a lot of new faces, and some old, returning to the Euro Cup fold. The Welsh will be looking to create some upsets in their group and believe they have the team to be the story of the tournament.

Russia – 2015 placing DNP – The Russians are will relish the Portuguese sunshine although the heat could prove a factor for them. They play a tough and uncomprising style of football and could surprise a few early tomorrow.

Portugal – 2015 placing DNP – The host nation. They’ve managed to pull together side and will seriously consider themselves a chance to impress on their home turf. The recruitment of former Portugal Rugby champion, Antonio da Cunha, could prove a real coup. His 52 games of international rugby experience could see some sore bodies from the Roosters opponents.

Italy – 2015 placing DNP – the Italians are back and they’ll be putting everything they’ve got into jostling for a good finals place. With a total travelling party of 25 they’ll be sure to have the sidelines filled fans. Could really surprise a few tomorrow.

italy

 

Tournament previews by Lisa Wilson and Jason Hill.

For those who can’t make it to Lisbon be sure to tune into our live stream of all Pitch 1 match’s

http://afleurope.org/eurocup-2016-live/

Full schedule:

http://afleurope.org/eurocup-mens-draw-announced/

http://afleurope.org/womens-draw-for-eurocup-announced/

 

 

 

Oldest Football Club in Australia’s Capital – With a European Connection

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Image: Current EastlakeFC Ruckman Chad Gibson with Hall of Fame Member Alex Jesaulenko

In terms of depth of history, Australia doesn’t come close to European countries.  Where Australian’s talk in hundreds of years, European’s talk in thousands.

Despite Australia’s brief history, their population is extremely proud of what it has achieved and their sporting culture has been a huge part of building beliefs and values.  Australian Rules Football has been around for 155 years and there have been a number of Europeans and European descendants who have mastered our game in that time.

Before I moving to London to work as AFL Europe’s General Manager, Ben MacCormack lived in the nation’s capital for five years.  During this time he was involved as a coach at Canberra’s oldest club, Eastlake.

This year marks Canberra’s 100th Birthday and today AFL Canberra Hall of Fame member and Ben’s former Football Manager, Keith Miller, launched the book “Kick It Long”, which celebrates the rich history of the Eastlake Football Club.

Eastlake provided one of the game’s all-time greatest players in Alex Jesaulenko, born in Salzburg, Austria.  He is regarded as one of the game’s greatest-ever players and is an official Legend of the Australian Football Hall of Fame.  He immortalised his reputation in the game by taking the Mark of the Century in the 1970 VFL Grand Final.

Son of a Ukrainian father and a Russian mother, Alex and his family emigrated to Australia in 1949.  According to Jesaulenko, the family name should have been spelt ‘Esaulenko’, but the immigration officials listed it with a ‘J’ in front thinking that is what they heard.  As Australians tend to do, they shortened it and nicknamed him ‘Jezza’ from a young age.

A young Jesaulenko played soccer (football for you Europeans) and rugby union before taking up Australian Rules when he was 14.  He starred for the Eastlake Football Club helping them to win three consecutive Premierships from 1964-1966.

“[Eastlake] certainly provided a winning culture.  I was lucky to play at a footy club that was on the way up that just had a new regime put in, with [former Carlton president] George Harris and his mob, appointed a new coach in Ronald Dale Barassi, they had experienced players and they recruited young guns… and I just fitted into the mix,” said Jesaulenko.

One thing Jesaulenko remembers was the culture at the club – it was a great place to be.

”I think we got paid $2 each or two pound each [per game], at the end of the year – we’d played 18 games – and we just put our $36 on the bar and drank it out, so we gave our money straight back to the club,” he said.

Jezza was then drafted into the AFL, playing 256 games for Carlton and 23 games for St Kilda.  In all of his 279 AFL appearances he kicked 444 goals and took many of the all-time great marks. To immortalise his ability, the annual AFL ‘Mark of the Year’ is known at the Jesaulenko Medal.

Miller’s book explores the history of Canberra’s oldest Australian Rules Football club, which was founded in 1926, as well as that of Manuka Football Club, which merged with Eastlake in 1991.

Miller’s extensive experience with the club included time as a captain, coach and player between 1978 and 1985.

“The book maps out the path of two clubs who created a rich tradition of fierce neighbourhood rivalry for over half a century then found themselves joining forces to survive,” said Miller.

“It is a history that has its origins in the formation of Canberra and parallels the changing economic, social, sporting and demographic development of Canberra.”

Manuka Football Club was formed in 1928 and was a long-time rival of Eastlake before they merged in 1991.

The two clubs were only separated by Manuka Oval and battled each other for six decades, playing 17 Grand Finals against each other and establishing one of the code’s strongest rivalries.

The two clubs shared 32 premierships between them, with Eastlake winning 17 and Manuka 15.

Miller said the book was a tribute to everyone who had contributed to the success of both clubs.

“The book is dedicated to every player, coach, committee member, volunteer and supporter who has travelled that journey and created our history,” Miller said.

“Canberra is 100 years old and these people have played an important part in 86 of those years.”

We look forward to many more Europeans playing their part in the history of our great game.

For those interested in buying a copy of the book please contact jamie.bradnam@contentgroup.com.au .