Paul Scharner Gets Call up For Austria

Wigan Athletic defender Paul Scharner revealed on Sky Sports Goals on Sunday that he has received a call up to the Austrian squad for their game with Italy on Wednesday.

Scharner retired from international football following a row with the Austrian FA over their preparations for last summers Euro Championships which they co-hosted with Switzerland.

Scharner said on the show:

'I've tried to retire from retiring'

'I got the call-up yesterday and I'm looking forward to Wednesday's game against Italy."

'It was not happening for the Euros, but now it's a new situation in Austrian football."

'For me the problem was we weren't professional enough and that's why I took the step of retiring."

'We got the European Championships six years ago and we didn't focus on that tournament and build a really good team. That was disappointing in the end."

'That was the decision, but I don't live in the past and I'm looking forward to the qualifier."

'Actually I was surprised by Euro 2008. I think we had quite a good fitness level but we couldn't score enough goals to go through."

'You can feel they are looking more at the football now and I think we have a really good squad for the qualifiers.'

Nice one Scharns

Win Carling Cup Tickets with Vital Wigan

Vital Wigan are offering you the chance to win TWO tickets, 1 adult and 1 under 16 for the Carling Cup 2nd round tie between Wigan Athletic and Notts County to be played at the JJB Tuesday 26th August 7:45 kick-off

To be in with a chance of winning you must be a member of Vital Wigan register here

The competition is simple to enter just follow this link and have a go

Closing date Saturday 23rd August 5 pm
No more than two entries per person will be accepted
Please ensure that you will be able to attend the game before entering the competition

Vital Latics

It's easy to join us at Vital Latics to register , simply click the link and enjoy getting involved

Click here to join in the debate on the club forum.