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THE DRAMA STARTS HERE!

Excited yet? You should be. And just to get the juices flowing even more, FourFourTwo have produced our biggest ever Euros preview, 68 pages jam-packed with everything you need to know about June and July’s jamboree in Poland and Ukraine. We’d given ourselves even more of an uphill task than England this summer by venturing to give you an interview with a player from each of the 16 competing nations, on top of the vital info about the teams, the stadia, the armchair viewing and, for those of you travelling to Eastern Europe, the tourism. But we pulled it off. The Three Lions take note: triumph in the face of adversity is possible.

First, though, they’ll need to get past resurgent France, new-look Italy, history-chasing Spain, redemption-seeking Holland and a German juggernaut. It should be a belter. Hopefully FourFourTwo can really get you in the mood.

Louis Massarella Supplement editor

CONTENTS

04 Xavi: Welcome to the Euros 2008’s player of the tournament on what makes the continental carve-up so special

06 Why Euro 2012 will rock! From unlikely winners and end-to-end thrillers to naked protesters and the cheapest beer in Europe, a blinder awaits

14 How the Euros became massive From minnow to monster: the rise of the world’s toughest international tournament

20 Group A Poland, Russia, Greece, Czech Republic

30 Group B Holland, Germany, Portugal, Denmark

42 Group C Spain, Italy, Croatia, Republic of Ireland

52 Group D Ukraine, England, France, Sweden

62 The venues From Poland’s new nest of a national stadium (left) to Shakhtar’s spaceship that houses some of Donetsk’s best nightlife, grounds at the Euros have gone all futuristic

64 Fixtures and TV schedule At a glance: when, where and how to catch every single Euro 2012 game. We don’t plan on missing a single minute

66 “Sweden’s defence is how tall?” Euro 2012 in numerical extremes: from prolific scorers to freaks of nature

DESTINATION FOR ALL FOOTBALL FANS JJBSPORTS.COM

Get geared up for the European Championship with JJB Sports, the destination for all football fans. Turn to p12-13 and p40-41 to see the latest kit from the world’s leading sportswear brands, or log on to www.jjbsports.com.

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Editor David Hall Supplement editor Louis Massarella Production editor Charlie Ghagan Sub-editors Richard Purvis, Huw Davies, Ali Maxwell Art editor Anthony Moore Designer David Robinson Picture editor Jeff Beasley Brand director Hugh Sleight Publishing director Martyn Jones Publishing manager Ollie Stretton Production controller Roxy Agius Thanks to Alison Wilcock, Lee Backhouse, Charlie Skillen, Andrew Gold, James Savundra, Michael Redford, Didrik Ottesen, Robert Summerscales, Viral Shah, James Hilsum Pictures PA Photos Free with the June 2012 edition of FourFourTwo © Haymarket Media

FourFourTwo.com Euro 2012 guide 3