A little over a fortnight remains until the start of Euro 2024, a month-long festival of European football for 24 nations.
Hosted in 1996 winners Germany, the eyes of the footballing continent will be on Munich on June 14 as Scotland face the hosts.
Giving the Reading Chronicle a challenge to find a link to the Royals for each nation partaking in the tournament.
Group A:
Germany- Uwe Hartenberger
Prolific German striker Hartenberger arrived under Mark McGhee in 1993 and became an instant hit, scoring on his debut against Swansea City. Ultimately, he scored five goals in 29 matches before returning home in 1995.
Scotland- Steve Clarke
An international for Scotland while becoming a legend at Chelsea, the 60-year-old has proved an impressive coach too. Taking Reading to an FA Cup semi-final, he has since been with Kilmarnock and took them into Europe before taking charge of his nation. One of the most successful managers in Scotland’s history, Clarke has taken them to Euro 2020 and Euro 2024.
Hungary- Peter Mate
Not many Reading players have a 100 per cent scoring record for the club, but former Hungary Under-21 international Mate made one appearance and scored one goal against Darlington. Injury hampered his Royals stint, but the 39-year-old enjoyed a long career until 2015.
Switzerland- Dom Ballard captaincy
An incredibly niche link to Switzerland, but Reading loanee Dom Ballard captained England Under-19s for the first time in September and netted against the Swiss in a 4-2 victory.
Álex Fernández scored his first goal for Reading in a 5-2 FA Cup win against Huddersfield in 2016! 👌 @AlexFdez8 #readingfc pic.twitter.com/LbmC0XULez
— Talk Reading (@TalkReading) May 19, 2017
Group B:
Spain- Alex Fernandez
A bit of a cult favourite while on loan with Reading in 2015/16, Spanish midfielder Fernandez played often for all age groups up to Under-21 for his nation. Formerly of Real Madrid, the 31-year-old scored once in 10 games for Reading but has spent the last six years with Cadiz.
Croatia- Alen Halilovic
27-year-old Halilovic was once compared to Lionel Messi, playing for giants such as Barcelona, AC Milan and Dinamo Zagreb. First moving to the UK in 2020 with Birmingham City, the attacking midfielder played just 12 times for the Royals before returning to Croatia. With 10 caps to his name and still in his ‘peak’ years, Halilovic is currently playing in the Netherlands.
Italy- Vito Mannone
Reading spent £1m on the former Arsenal and Sunderland goalkeeper in 2017, playing just 47 times in three seasons. Moving on to America in 2019, the 36-year-old is still playing at the top level in France with Monaco, Lorient and Lille as of last season. He earned seven caps for Italy Under-21s from 2009 until 2010.
Albania- Chris Gunter record
Chris Gunter, the full-back with over 300 appearances for Reading, earned his 93rd Wales cap in a 1-0 defeat to Albania in 2018- making him his country's highest-capped player. He retired from international duty in 2022 with 109 caps.
What a finish from Paul Mukairu 👌
— Talk Reading (@TalkReading) September 20, 2023
Could not be any more in the top corner 🎯 #readingfc pic.twitter.com/9nHvTlaNin
Group C:
Slovenia- Jure Travner
Former Slovenia Under-21 international Travner is a legend at Celje, the current national champions, with over 250 club appearances over two stints. With spells in Bulgaria, Scotland and Azerbaijan, the full-back played once for Reading in 2015.
Denmark- Paul Mukairu (Copenhagen)
A bit of a cheat for Denmark, 24-year-old winger Mukairu spent last season on loan at Reading from Danish giants FC Copenhagen. The Nigerian played three times for the Royals last season, scoring three times.
Serbia- Dejan Tetek
Born in Oxfordshire and formerly an England Under-18s international, 21-year-old Tetek rose through the Royals Academy and made 21 appearances. While impressing under compatriot Veljko Paunovic, the midfielder earned five Under-21 caps for Serbia.
England- Neil Webb
Born and raised in Reading, the son of Biscuitmen’s legend Douggie, Webb played almost 100 times for his boyhood club before enjoying a successful top-flight career with the likes of Manchester United and Nottingham Forest. Earning 26 caps for England, the midfielder played in Euro 88 and Euro 92, as well as the Italia 90 World Cup.
Group D:
Poland- Gregorz Raziak
Polish striker Raziak began a six-year spell in England in 2004 and enjoyed an international career while playing for the likes of Derby County, Tottenham and Southampton. Ending his UK stint in Berkshire, he scored nine goals in 30 appearances.
Netherlands- Nathan Ake
Classy defender Ake enjoyed a very brief loan spell in Reading from Chelsea back in 2015, making five appearances in April. Since then, the 29-year-old has picked up four Premier League titles, an FA Cup, an EFL Cup, a Champions League and a Club World Cup in a stellar career with Manchester City.
Austria- 2018/19 pre-season
To my understanding, Reading are yet to field an Austrian so the vague link of a short pre-season tour in 2018/19 will have to suffice. Paul Clement took his side to the continent for friendlies with Besiktas and Rubin Kazan, with both ending in draws. Current striker Sam Smith, who was a youngster on the tour, and Marc McNulty netted in the 2-2 draw with the Turkish giants, while Kazan held the Royals to a 0-0.
France- Naby Sarr
After proving popular with Charlton and Huddersfield Town fans, supporters were looking forward to seeing centre-back Naby Sarr in action. After waiting weeks to officially register, the former French Under-21 international scored on his debut at Millwall. 24 appearances and a relegation later, the 30-year-old triggered a clause in his contract and departed to Qatar.
The last ever video posted on KSV Roeselare's socials (with rough translation) when Dai had ultimately killed them off.
— 106 Chat (@106Chat) June 22, 2023
It can't happen again. #SellBeforeWeDai #ReadingFC pic.twitter.com/C3cgb5e5bc
Group E:
Belgium- Roeselare
A very pertinent link, 100-year-old KSV Roeselare were bought out by current Reading owner Dai Yongge. Just three years later, after suffering relegation to the third tier, the historic club were filed bankrupt and wound up. Tom Holmes played 11 matches for them on loan from Reading in the season before their tragic demise.
Slovakia- Ryan Bertrand 2016
Former popular loanee Bertrand, who finished third in the Player of the Season poll for 2009/10, made his first start of Euro 2016 in a 0-0 draw with Slovakia.
Romania- George Puscas
The club’s record signing back in 2019, the former Inter Milan forward arrived to huge expectations. Hitting a respectable 14 in his debut campaign, including the fastest hat trick in Championship history, it never truly took off and the international has been passed through three Italian clubs since 2022.
Ukraine- Andy Carroll 2012
'AC' scored his only tournament goal for England in a 3-2 win over Sweden back at Euro 2012, hosted in Kyiv.
Group F:
Turkey- Jem Karacan
A legend who rose through the ranks to get the club back into the Premier League, combative midfielder Karacan made nearly 200 appearances despite suffering multiple long-term injuries. Playing for the likes of Galatasaray, Bolton and Millwall, the Turkey youth international retired at just 34 last year.
Georgia- Zurab Khiznalvili
Leaving his native Georgia in 2001 for a decade in the UK, the no-nonsense centre-back played for Dundee, Rangers, Blackburn Rovers and Newcastle United before being loaned to Reading in 2009/10. Impressing so much, he returned for 2010/11 and featured in the Championship play-off final at Wembley. Now 42, he is now a coach in the Georgia national set-up.
Portugal- Daniel Carico
Highly regarded Portugal defender Carrico cost Premier League Reading just £750,000 in January 2013. Not working out, the 35-year-old managed just 87 minutes as a Royal before moving on to Spanish giants Sevilla. Four Europa League titles later and he remains one of the most decorated former Royals of all time.
Czech Republic- Marek Matějovský
A popular figure in his native Czech Republic, featuring almost 200 times for Sparta Prague, Matějovský was a classy operator in over 50 appearances for the club. Often referred to as possibly too talented for his teammates to get the best out of him, the creative midfielder was a regular at Euro 2008 while a Royal.
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