Press Releases from Castrol UK and Ireland (61 total)
European Championships 2008: Fantastic four
These four players aren’t all household names but, thanks to the Castrol Performance Index, we can reveal they are among the best in Europe.
Diniyar Bilyaletdinov (Russia) 1623 pts
FC Lokomotiv Moscow’s 22-year-old midfielder is a rising star in the most promising generation of footballers to emerge in Russia since the 1950s. The fourth-best midfielder on the Castrol Performance Index rankings, Bilyaletdinov averaged almost two shots a game in the Euro 2008…
European Football Championship: May the best team win
It’s far easier for Tina Turner to belt out ‘Simply The Best’ than it is to decide which football team is indeed simply the best. This endless debate often revolves around FIFA’s monthly rankings of the best national sides.
If you take the February 2008 FIFA ranking as a yardstick, this is how the 16 UEFA Euro 2008TM qualifiers rank in the UEFA zone.
1 Italy: 1,484pts
2 Spain: 1,352
3 …
European Championships 2008: All-rounder Sneijder leads
Flair players, precision passers, irrepressible tacklers and supersonic wingers – all of them feature in the Castrol Performance Index top 20 midfielders bound for the UEFA Euro 2008TM finals.
More than any other area of a team the midfield plays host to the largest variety of player shapes, sizes, strengths and techniques. And following the recent round of friendly games a much larger number of clubs and countries are also represented…
Euro 2008: Romanians remain
Defenders rarely steal as much of the limelight as their goal-scoring counterparts, but a solid back four has been the linchpin of many successful teams and according to the Castrol Performance Index Romania have one of the best in Europe.
The top three defenders have remained as resilient in the Index as they have on the pitch following the recent round of friendly games. While Greek centre back Sotirios Kyrgiakos stays…
European Football Championship 2008: Friendlies put Coupet top
With a few notable exceptions, footballing status is a fragile thing and nowhere more so than with goalkeepers, who have the ability to win or lose games in a moment. Which is why 90 minutes of friendly football earlier this month has given our list of the highest ranking keepers a substantial shake-up...
The Castrol Performance Index examines the teams who have made it to the UEFA EURO 2008TM finals and…
WRC Rally Sweden: Untouchable Latvala heads 1-2 in Sweden
Jari-Matti Latvala became the youngest ever winner of a World Rally Championship event when he took victory in Sweden. The Castrol-sponsored Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team completed a one-two with Mikko Hirvonen second and it was a Ford podium lock-out with Gigi Galli taking third for the Stobart VK M-Sport squad. The result took the reigning Manufacturers' champions into the points lead.
After Petter Solberg topped the time sheets on…
European Football Championship 2008: Euro-Files Russia
Russia is a great footballing nation, but it has yet to prove that greatness on the field of play. One European Championship (1960, as the Soviet Union) and one UEFA Cup (CSKA Moscow in 2005) are a paltry return for a country of 142 million people, whose passion for the beautiful game has remained constant throughout a century of political and social upheaval.
In the Communist era, the national team’s…
European Football Championship 2008: Euro-Files Switzerland
Switzerland’s talented squad could do worse than listen to Fairground Attraction’s swooping folk ballad ‘Perfect’ on the team bus during UEFA Euro 2008TM. Because their coach Jakob Kuhn has set them a simple but ambitious target: “Play perfect football. We should aim for nothing less.”
But does Kuhn have the players to deliver perfect football? Much will depend on the form of goalscoring skipper Alexander Frei, whose strike rate – 32…
European Football Championship 2008: The Euro files - Austria
Austria’s coach Josef Hickersberger knows that Euro 2008 will be the toughest test his country has faced since it last qualified for a major finals, the 1998 World Cup. But recent friendlies suggest his side are better than some might think.
It’s easy to see why expectations are, in some quarters, low for the co-host nation. Austria has never qualified for the European Championship finals on the field of play, and…
European Football Championship 2008: Numbers vs Neurons
Pythagoras versus triangles, teenage students versus algebra, Fibonacci versus a long list of numbers – the battle between man and maths has been raging for centuries. Now, in the latest skirmish, an expert football pundit goes head-to-head with the Castrol Performance Index.
The Castrol Performance Index (CPI) gives a detailed list of every UEFA EURO 2008TM qualified player\'s performance, his importance to his team and his effectiveness on the pitch. Its…
European Football Championship 2008: Germany’s Numbers Add Up
Football is constantly changing, but there’s one thing that stays the same – German teams are efficient, well organised and entirely focused on victory. Demand a dollar every time a commentator says “Teutonic efficiency” about a German side, and you\'ll soon have enough cash to join the race to be the next US President.
It may be a cliché as old as The Miracle of Bern, but how much truth does…
