Still plenty to smile about
England might be out of Euro 2008 but there's plenty of other action to keep fans riveted this year, says
Noli Dinkovski
Prior to the game, it was difficult to believe that a rain-sodden November night in north London would dictate the footballing fortunes of an entire nation for the following year.
But, when Mladen Petric rifled in a 25-yard winner with 13 minutes left to give Croatia a memorable 3-2 victory and send a plodding England crashing out of Euro 2008, everything changed. Suddenly people across the land realised that this summer might be better spent in the garden rather than trying to enthuse over matches like Switzerland v Turkey.
Despite the lack of any UK or Irish representation, football fans will still relish the feast that will be served up almost every day for three weeks from 7 June. All 31 matches for Euro 2008 will be played during the evening hours, and the competition remains the biggest football event of the year.
England aside, all of Europe's big guns are present and the most likely winner will be either Italy, Germany or France. Croatia, Portugal and the Czech Republic are the most fanciable dark horses, but following Greece's remarkable triumph at Euro 2004, always expect the unexpected in this competition.
Meanwhile, much will be made of England's first couple of friendlies under new coach Fabio Capello; at home to Switzerland on 6 February, followed by a tough encounter away to France on 26 March. Will the old guard of David Beckham and Sol Campbell make the squads, or is Capello going to turn to a clutch of upcoming talent that includes the likes of Blackburn's David Bentley, Arsenal's Theo Walcott, and Gabriel Agbonlahor of Aston Villa? Either way, the Italian has been working hard to justify his £6m-per-year pay deal by embarking on intensive English language courses from his Geneva home.
Of course, it's not all about the England team - there are plenty of other football occasions to enjoy this year. The African Cup of Nations kicks off on 20 January, and plenty of big Premiership names will be on show. Chelsea's Didier Drogba and Saloman Kalou will turn out for the Ivory Coast, as will Arsenal's Kolo Touré and Emmanuel Eboué. Representing Nigeria are Joseph Yobo and Ayegbeni Yakubu, both from Everton, and look out for Bolton's El-Hadji Diouf leading Senegal's forward line.
The drain of African talent will impact on a number of Premiership teams as the season shifts gear towards its conclusion in May. And it looks like being a close contest; champions Manchester United are now neck and neck with early leaders Arsenal at the top of the table, with Chelsea not far behind.
Cup competitions are hotting up too. With five British teams - England's "big four" and Celtic from Scotland - in the last 16 of the Champions League, hopes are high that the silverware will be brought back to these shores. This is especially so after the disappointment of last year, when Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United made the last four, but the eventual winners were AC Milan.
The UEFA Cup looks equally interesting. In the last 32, Everton and Tottenham will be reasonably confident in overcoming SK Brann and Slavia Prague respectively, but Bolton face much harder opposition in Atletico Madrid. Rangers won't relish their trip to Athens to face Panathinaikos, but surely the most romantic clash of them all is Aberdeen's tie with the mighty Bayern Munich. Led by a certain Alex Ferguson, Aberdeen won the competition in 1983 and beat the German giants along the way. That was an achievement in itself, but having played second fiddle to the Glasgow clubs of Celtic and Rangers domestically in recent years, further progress this time round will surpass the success of 25 years ago.
Don't forget the domestic game either. The FA Cup can produce surprises, and even at the current fourth-round stage a number of Premiership clubs face potential banana skins. Middlesbrough won't be looking forward to a trip to lowly Mansfield in the first tie of the round, live on the BBC, Saturday 26 January.
Carlsberg: keeping a strong association
Football may have been in the doldrums since England's non-qualification for Euro 2008 but, according to head of sponsorship Gareth Roberts, Carlsberg's outlook for the year remains positive.
As Official Beer of the England team, the summer may seem to be over for Carlsberg, but Roberts says this is far from true.
"Carlsberg offers its customers an association with the FA Cup, moving through to competitions to win tickets to England's first match under new manager Fabio Capello in February," says Roberts.
Despite England's absence, football fans will still watch Euro 2008 in their millions. Many will also want to go and experience the tournament at first hand. "With Carlsberg in the 'top tier' of sponsors we can offer unique prizes," says Roberts.
There has already been an off-trade
on-pack promotion, which will continue
for the next few months, with further promotional activity in the on and off-trade.
"As soon as Euro 2008 is over, it's straight into World Cup qualifiers and hopefully a successful England campaign," says Roberts.
"Carlsberg's status as Official Beer of the England team allows the brand to continue to offer unique and exclusive promotions."
getting it right: Varsity, Liverpool
Formerly a Barracuda Bar and still part of the pubco, Liverpool's Varsity is an international sports-themed bar in the heart of the city centre. The venue has 12 big screens and a further three plasmas placed around the venue, plus a VIP room for up to 100 people.
Running a bar of Varsity's size might be a big task, but licensee Ian Middlebrough feels it's the small things that make all the difference. "During the bigger matches we often like to hand out free buckets of chips," says Middlebrough. "You've got to do all you can to win people over, especially in such a competitive environment as ours."
Of course, that doesn't mean everything comes free, though heavy discounts in the form of a "Sports Package" are available on match days - including two for one on food, Varsity food-bucket specials, and drinks offers.
"What we have found is that since the smoking ban, smokers are less likely to come to the pub because they are prone to going outside every 10 minutes, missing the action," says Middlebrough.
"These promotions are necessary to help keep them here."
A large proportion of the Varsity regulars are students. To support them, the bar sponsors a number of local student union football teams. "It matters for us to keep in touch with the community and show that we are grateful for them making the Varsity such a popular venue," says Middlebrough.
J Ian's top tip: "I definitely think table service is an important way of up-selling. Basically, anything to stop people having to leave their seats is a big plus."
