There is at least one man in Austria who hopes the fate
of the Henri Delaunay Trophy isn't decided by
penalties.
J. Alexander Richter's company is responsible for laying the
turf at the Ernst Happel Stadium, the venue for the final of Euro
2008.
So far, the pitch is holding up very well, but Richter is not
counting his chickens yet. After all, it was grass provided by his
firm that cut up at just the wrong moment in Moscow. Remember
John Terry's penalty miss in the Champions League final?
Vienna-born Richter, a board member of the International Turfgrass
Society (yep, there is such a thing), has double cause for
concern ahead of the 29 June finale in Vienna.
Not only is national pride at stake, but he is apparently busy
negotiating a contract with moneybags Chelsea to provide the turf
at Stamford Bridge.
Another slip could be very costly indeed...
For the record, Richter's company has provided the grass for
pitches at the Stadio Giuseppe
Meazza (San Siro) in Milan and the Stadio della Alpi in
Turin.
A square metre of the luscious green stuff can cost as much as
20 euros - and you need 7,500-8,000 of them.