Für unsere Gäste » impress in attack as France are place emphasi

MOUNT TREBEVIC, Bosnia-Herzegovina -- Sports enthusiasts and former athletes in Bosnia have taken it upon themselves to reclaim some of the glory Sarajevo savored as host of the 1984 Olympics -- and in the process rekindled the flame of international cooperation.Since the country lacks the resources to rebuild the Olympic facilities that were destroyed in the deadly war that followed the breakup of Yugoslavia, volunteers bought tools, rolled up their sleeves and got to work.At first, they planned to restore the bobsled and luge track on Mount Trebevic just so it could be used by the Bosnian national team for summer training. But the previously abandoned facility became a draw for athletes from throughout Europe.We bought some tools with our own money and started cleaning the track from vegetation, debris and mud, Senad Omanovic, the head of Bosnias Bobsleigh Federation, recalled. We had trees growing out of the track.The 1992-95 Bosnian war was the most brutal conflict on European soil since World War II. It took over 100,000 lives and turned more than half the population into refugees.It also trashed the decade-old Olympic facilities on the mountains around Sarajevo, venues residents once proudly looked up to from downtown as symbols of one of the citys most glorious moments. During the war, Sarajevans hid from the artillery and snipers Bosnian Serbs had placed on the Dinaric Alps.War turned the bobsled and luge track on Mount Trebevic, overlooking Sarajevo, into a concrete skeleton that eventually became covered with graffiti and trash. Little remains of the ski-jump facilities on Mount Igman, another site of fierce fighting. The mens downhill courses on Bjelasnica were resurrected as the citys main ski resort, but only after the land mines around them were cleared.It took Omanovic and his teammates years to clean the bob- and luge track where in 1984 teams from the German Democratic Republic took the gold and silver medals. They could only approach the Trebevic track after mine-removal experts cleared its entire length.As word spread through Eastern Europe that the Olympic track had been fixed up, teams in other countries approached Omanovic to ask about practicing there. The first was from Slovakia.Omanovic recalled frankly telling the Slovaks the facility lacked locker rooms, timing sensors and even toilets. They insisted the Sarajevo track, despite its rough history and condition, was among the best of the nine tracks available around the world for summer training.Tackling the course on wheeled equipment, racers can achieve speeds of 130 kilometers (81 miles) per hour. After Slovakia, teams from Poland, Turkey, Slovenia, Croatia and Serbia followed.So this became a regional training center, said Omanovic, who now hopes the track will one day achieve its old glory.Jacob Simonek, a member of the Slovakian team that has practiced in Sarajevo six times now, said the track was a bit bumpy but good despite its age and battle scars.On the other end of town, the ski-jump facilities on Mount Igman still stand as sad relics of war.Selver Merdanovic, a former ski jumper for Bosnia, has started working to revive the two small jumps so the 15 children from his club team can practice there. Rebuilding the high jumps, an expensive endeavor, remains a distance dream.Im trying to return this sport to Bosnia, Merdanovic said. I wish this to be my legacy.---Aida Cerkez in Sarajevo contributed to this story. Blackhawks Jerseys 2020 . 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The home side created most of the chances but struggled to break down Braunschweigs resilient defence, resulting in the Bundesligas 1,000th scoreless draw.Scotland defender Russell Martin believes friendly matches against Italy and France will help Gordon Strachans men prepare for the World Cup campaign. Strachan will take his squad to Metz for a game against Euro 2016 hosts France on Saturday, having lost 1-0 to Italy in Malta last weekend.Scotland return to Malta in September to start their qualifying campaign and will face Group B opponents Lithuania, Slovakia and England before the end of the year while a visit from Slovenia awaits next March. And the Norwich centre-back reckons the players will be ready for the challenge when the competitive action begins.This will get us ready physically and mentally, Martin said.We learnt a lot on Sunday night about a different formation. And especially this time of year, you dont want to be coming away and playing friendlies that dont have any meaning. Matt Ritchie had Scotlands only effort on goal in the match against Italy I know weve not qualified but these teams are gearing up for the European Championship and we are playing against top teams, so we have to be up and at it or else we are going to be on the receiving end of some wrong results.These are the teams you want to be testing yourselves against because, once the qualifiers come around, we are going to be playing against teams of this calibre, and we need to make sure we have got a chance of qualifying.Scotland only managed one shot against Italy, when Matt Ritchies effort flew wide of the target, and the team will have to improvee against France.ddddddddddddMartin reckons Scotland will have more opportunities to impress in attack as France are place emphasis on attack. Scotland defender Russell Martin (4) in action against Italy It will be a step up in terms of intensity and tempo because they are obviously the home nation, Martin said.Its going to be a great atmosphere, they have sold it out, and it will be a little taster of what the atmosphere is going to be like at the Euros. So we need to be at it from the start, its as simple as that and we know that.Its a different system. France have probably got a little bit more flair in attack, but probably not as good defensively as the Italians.So its a different test but its against a formation we have played against many times so we have to go there and be prepared, and we need to try and impose our own game a little bit more than we did on Sunday night, in terms of getting on the ball, and movement, and keeping the ball a bit better and hopefully getting a few chances ourselves. So we will go there and well have a go. It will be an extremely tough game and we need to take into account who we are playing against, but hopefully on Saturday we put on a better show with the ball and keep that spirit and doggedness without it. Also See: Scotland latest Scotland fixtures Scotland stats Table Live on Sky ' ' '