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Low backs Ballack return

Germany coach Joachim Low believes midfielder Michael Ballack  k will return to form and regain the captaincy of the national side after the Germans were held to a goalless draw by Swedeb.

In their final game of 2010, Bayern Munich's Bastian Schweinsterger led an inexperienced Germany to a dull draw in Gothenburg on Wednesday with four players making their debuts.

Having missed the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ with an ankle injury, 34-year-old Ballack fractured his leg just below the knee on only his third game back for Leverkusen in the Bundesliga this season and will not play again until 2011.

In his absence, Real Madrid's Sami Khedira has filled Ballack's position in the heart of Germany's midfield and after the side finished third at the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, Ballack will have to fight to win his place back.

But with 42 goals for Germany and with 98 caps behind him, Low is backing his former captain to return with the Germans set to host Italy in Dortmund in February 2011 in their next friendly.

"It always happens that when a player gets injured, others come through and start playing and that is what we have seen with Sami Khedira and Toni Kroos  (Bayern Munich)," said Low. "We haven't written off Michael and I am convinced he will make it back it into the team."

Germany are top of their UEFA EURO 2012 qualifying group and are undefeated after four matches with a five-point lead over their closest rivals.

Sweden draw with Germany as coaches experiment

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Germany and Sweden drew 0-0 in Gothenburg on Wednesday in an international friendly where both coaches took the opportunity to experiment with personnel and tactics.

Germany coach Joachim Loew fielded a young side with an average age of 23 while, still smarting from a 4-1 drubbing at the hands of the Dutch last month, Sweden started with a five-man midfield to try and smother the visitors' short-passing game.

Despite Sweden's numerical advantage in midfield, it was the experienced German pairing of Bastian Schweinsteiger and Sami Khedira who held the upper hand in the first half on a chilly evening.

It took until the 36th minute to register the first shot on target for either side when Sweden keeper Andreas Isaksson parried Schweinsteiger's drive from distance.

Sweden's only chance of the half came when Christian Wilhelmsson pulled the ball back in the box only for Ola Toivonen to miscue his shot from seven metres.

"It was difficult, the weather was extreme and the pitch was not very good, so it was difficult for us to create chances," Germany striker Mario Gomez told Sweden's TV10.

With both Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Johan Elmander given the night off by coach Erik Hamren, it fell to Toivonen to lead the Swedish line alone. But all too often the PSV Eindhoven player came deep to collect the ball, adding an extra body to an already overcrowded midfield.

Real Madrid's Khedira almost gave the Germans the lead on the stroke of halftime as he latched on to a looping ball only to stick his lob over the crossbar.

Loew's decision to substitute his central midfield pairing on the hour mark allowed the Swedes a little more room to get forward and Lyon's Kim Kallstrom fired a volley wide in the 64th minute. 

Germany substitute Toni Kroos forced another fine save from Isaksson as he hit a rising drive from distance.

Hamren handed a debut to Helsingborg's Alexander Gerndt, but the top scorer in the Swedish league had little time to make an impression.

THe Swedesh coach was happy to see his side come away with a draw.

"Defensively we looked very good, offensively we had a few problems but in general I think we played a very good game," he said.

Germany coach picks four newcomers for Sweden friendly, leaves out some regulars

FRANKFURT — Germany coach Joachim Loew left Real Madrid midfielder Mesut Oezil and acting captain Philipp Lahm of Bayern Munich out of Germany's squad to play Sweden in a friendly next week while inviting four newcomers.

Oezil and Lahm were left out in agreement with their clubs, as well as forward Thomas Mueller of Bayern Munich.

The four newcomers picked Thursday are midfielder Mario Goetze and defender Marcel Schmelzer of Borussia Dortmund, and midfielders Andre Schuerrle and Lewis Holtby of Mainz.

Striker Miroslav Klose and defender Holger Badstuber, both of Bayern Munich, are out with injuries for the Nov. 17 match in Sweden.

Loew also picked two more players form Bundesliga leader Borussia Dortmund, defender Mats Hummels and midfielder Kevin Grosskreutz, both of whom have made one previous appearance for Germany.

"The match in Sweden is a good opportunity to give a chance to some players who are still developing," Loew said. "They have recommended themselves by playing constantly well in the Bundesliga and are likely to move up to the international level in the near future.

"We expect that some of them will make their debut in Goteborg."

The match concludes a successful season for Germany, which finished third in the World Cup in South Africa and has had a strong qualifying campaign for the 2012 European Championship so far.

The 22-man squad includes 10 players from Germany's World Cup team.

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The squad:

Goalkeepers: Rene Adler (Bayer Leverkusen), Manuel Neuer (Schalke)

Defenders: Andreas Beck (Hoffenheim), Jerome Boateng (Manchester City), Mats Hummels (Borussia Dortmund), Per Mertesacker (Werder Bremen), Sascha Riether (Wolfsburg), Marcel Schmelzer (Borussia Dortmund), Heiko Westermann (Hamburger SV)

Midfieleders: Mario Goetze (Borussia Dortmund), Kevin Grosskreutz (Borussia Dortmund), Lewis Holtby (Mainz), Sami Khedira (Real Madrid), Toni Kroos (Bayern Munich), Marko Marin (Werder Bremen), Lukas Podolski (Cologne), Andre Schuerrle (Mainz), Bastian Schweinsteiger (Bayern Munich), Christian Traesch (Stuttgart)

Forwards: Cacau (Stuttgart), Mario Gomez (Bayern Munich), Patrick Helmes (Bayer Leverkusen)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KAPITAN

Herzlichen Dank für die vielen Glückwünsche zu meinem Geburtstag. Ich habe gesehen, dass ich von Euch sogar einen Kuchen bekommen habe! Gestern Abend habe ich mit meiner Familie im kleinen Kreis gefeiert. Heute hat mir auch noch ein kleiner Fan, der Felix gratuliert, wie Ihr auf dem Bild sehen könnt. Sonntag geht’s gegen den Club. Da werden wir keine Geschenke verteilen. Grüße, Philipp!

No Bayern Munich pressure on Bastian Schweinsteiger

Bayern Munich general manager Christian Nerlinger insists the club will not pressure Bastian Schweinsteiger into signing a new contract.

Having tied defender Philipp Lahm to a new long-term contract last week, Bayern are keen to hold on to Germany international Schweinsteiger, whose current deal expires in 2012.

The 26-year-old said last week that Lahm’s decision to re-sign would not force him into making a rash decision over his future, and Nerlinger maintains the club will give the reported Real Madrid target time.

He told the club’s official website: “In regard to Bastian, the most important thing for us is that a new contract is signed.

“The concrete date of seeing him sign new terms is not that important for us.

“He has told us that we are his first option. We are not in talks just yet, we are not going to put him under any pressure.

“He is an important player for our team, though, and we are looking forward to speaking with him.”

Bayern Munich delighted with Lahm

Bayern Munich’s director of sport Christian Nerlinger is delighted that Philipp Lahm has agreed a contract extension to tie him to the club until the summer of 2016.

The 26-year-old Germany wing-back had been a reported target for a number of top clubs across Europe, but Nerlinger says that Lahm was adamant that he was happy to stay put.

Nerlinger told the club’s official website: “It was all done and dusted very quickly.

“We’ve been aware for a long time that a number of top European clubs have shown an interest in signing him, so it was particularly pleasing to hear from day one that he said ‘I want to extend my contract at Bayern Munich’.

“That was at the time we were getting off to a tricky start in the Bundesliga. We were all very pleased and impressed by that.

“I think he feels at home here, both from a personal and professional point of view and that he’s satisfied with the developments at the club.

“Philipp is a great role model and an important personality within the club.”

Philipp Lahm Concedes That Bayern Munich Title Hopes Are Fading

Bayern Munich defender Philipp Lahm has admitted his side's title hopes are slowly disappearing after a 3-3 draw against Borussia Monchengladbach on Saturday.

Lahm salvaged a point for the Bavarian giants after being down 3-2, with his team having missed a penalty and hitting the post twice.

"We are so many points behind that we cannot afford to drop any more, and we have dropped some here," the German international told AP. "We lost the ball too easily at the start of the second half and this is not the first time this has happened.

"It happened also against Cluj when we just slept for the first 15 minutes of the second half. The same thing happened, only this time we have been punished," he bemoaned.

Mesut Ozil Believes Real Madrid Is the Best Club In The World

German World Cup star Mesut Ozil believes he is playing for the best club in the world and is backing himself to continue improving as the season goes on.

Ozil joined Real Madrid in the summer to work with new coach Jose Mourinho he is also targeting titles.

He said on the club’s official website: “My goal, obviously, was to play with the best team in the world, and Real Madrid is. I’ve worked very hard to reach this far and I hope to win titles with the Club. I wanted to be part of Mourinho’s Real Madrid. I am very happy. I believe we are on the right path. The whole team supports me; we are all united and we will fight to achieve our objectives.”

“I’ve got German discipline, but also the Turkish way of letting people do their thing. I’ve felt comfortable on the team since the day I arrived. Everybody helped me adapt. We are all very young and we continue to improve. There is a great atmosphere on the squad; we joke around all the time.”

“I’m a person, not a robot. You can’t play a perfect game, but I always give 100% on the pitch. It’s important that we succeed as  a group and I personally want to continue to improve because I’m still very young.”

Real Madrid will face Atletico Madrid in the league on Sunday and Ozil is mindful of what their opponents can do.

He said: “Atletico Madrid have very good players, but we will face them at our stadium and we want to win. It will be an aggressive game. We will have to watch out or Diego Forlan because he is very dangerous. His shots are strong an powerful, but we will try to play our game.”

“I started to play football because of my older brother. I always went to see his games and I once told my dad I also wanted to play football and join a team. I’ve loved this sport ever since. It’s part of my life and I always enjoy myself on the pitch. Football is part of our lives in my family.”

A Good Defence Is Key To Winning Titles - Sami Khedira

Real Madrid midfielder Sami Khedira feels that a solid defensive unit is crucial in order to win titles, and suggested that the back-line Jose Mourinho has constructed since joining the club could be critical to their season.

Los Blancos have been notoriously miserly this season, particularly in the Champions League, where they have yet to concede a goal in their three victories so far.

Speaking to journalists today ahead of the clash at San Siro against Milan, Khedira, a summer signing from Stuttgart, is of the opinion that success in the match against the Rossoneri, and indeed across the season as a whole, will be built upon conceding as few goals as possible.

He stated: “If we can keep a clean sheet, we will win the game. That is our goal. If you look at the big teams who have made it far in the Champions League, they have almost always been the ones who have conceded the least goals.

“That is the key to success. A good defence wins titles, and so far that is what we have. We have let teams create very few chances, while we have a very good offence and our style of play is fast and attractive."

Khedira was also asked who he considers to be the favourites for this season’s premier club competition.
“Barcelona are a very strong team. I had the pleasure of playing against them last season with Stuttgart and their game is very colourful, and very fast.

“But there is also Inter and Bayern [Munich] who reached the final last year and managed to keep most of their players. But the Champions League is a marathon, and we must be prepared to the fullest.”

The German international is also in no doubt that he made the right decision in swapping the Bundesliga for la Primera in the summer, adding: “With Germany and Stuttgart I have had a great time, but being able to wear the shirt of Real Madrid is great. For me it is without doubt the best club in the world.

“Every day I am aware that I wear this shirt with great pride.”