Thursday, November 18, 2010
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.
Sunday, November 14, 2010
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)
Thursday, November 11, 2010
HAPPY BIRTHDAY KAPITAN
Monday, November 8, 2010
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.”
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