EURO 2008 - the ultimate high (from uefa home page)
All-star Austria and Switzerland teams played a special game 3,545 metres up in the Alps to celebrate a year to go until UEFA EURO 2008.
Famous names
The five-a-side match, played on a 30x15m artificial pitch perched on top of the glacier at the Jungfraujoch - the so-called 'Top of Europe' - featured current internationals David Degen, Johan Djourou, Christian Fuchs, Zlatko Junuzovic and Jerzy Dudek as well as famous faces from the recent past like Michael Laudrup, Sergei Aleinikov, John Jensen, Dariusz Dziekanowski, Otto Konrad and Paulo Sousa.
Thin air
The Swiss team, with all players wearing No20, was captained by 103-times capped international and UEFA EURO 2008 ambassador Stéphane Chapuisat who led by example with two goals. Fellow ambassador Andreas Herzog - also capped 103 times - led the Austrian team, who all wore the number 08. The mountains made a dramatic backdrop for the game, but the thin air soon took its toll on even the fittest stars.
Coaches playful
The final score after five minutes each way was 5-5. With a smile, Switzerland coach Jakob Kuhn said: "The good thing for both coaches is that we will both remain unbeaten at this height above sea level." His Austria counterpart Joseph Hickersberger countered: "My team dominated this match but unfortunately we could not train yesterday and in the second five minutes we paid the price."
Special guests
UEFA Executive Committee member Gerhard Mayer-Vorfelder, UEFA General Secretary David Taylor, Swiss Football Association president Ralph Zloczower and his Austrian counterpart Friedrich Stickler were among the 400 special guests invited to attend the match and watched Swiss referee Urs Meier take charge of proceedings.
Train journey
Having taken the UEFA EURO 2008 train from Lauterbrunnen to the highest railway station in Europe at the Jungfraujoch, the guests and players were served drinks from glasses carved from ice under the shadow of an ice football, ten metres in diameter. Great care had been taken in the days preceding the game to keep the ice ball intact, with the glacier well known for its unpredictable conditions.
Genealogy
Community
