Quoteno mertesacker , good news for us
Metzelder and Ballack included, despite their current injuries
Squad: Timo Hildebrand (Stuttgart), Jens Lehmann (Arsenal); Malik Fathi, Arne Friedrich (both Hertha Berlin), Manuel Friedrich (Mainz), Marcell Jansen (Borussia Monchengladbach), Philipp Lahm (Bayern Munich), Christoph Metzelder (Borussia Dortmund); Michael Ballack (Chelsea), Tim Borowski, Torsten Frings (both Werder Bremen), Thomas Hitzlsperger (Stuttgart), David Odonkor (Borussia Dortmund), Bernd Schneider (Bayer Leverkusen), Bastian Schweinsteiger (Bayern Munich); Gerald Asamoah (Schalke), Mike Hanke (Wolfsburg), Miroslav Klose (Werder Bremen), Oliver Neuville (Borussia Monchengladbach), Lukas Podolski (Bayern Munich).
no mertesacker , good news for us
Was he crazy!! Yeah , in a very special way , an Irishman.
I slept, and dreamed that life was Beauty;
I woke, and found that life was Duty.
http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/arti...1-ArticlePage1BERLIN, Aug 24 (Reuters) - Germany coach Joachim Loew will be without three of his four World Cup central defenders for the start of the Euro 2008 qualifying campaign on Sept. 2 against Ireland.
Injuries to Per Mertesacker, Robert Huth and Jens Nowotny will force Loew to rebuild his defence. Christoph Metzelder, who missed Germany's 3-0 victory over Sweden in a friendly last week, will, however, be back in the 20-man squad.
"We've certainly got some problems with our central defence," Loew said.
Loew, who opted not to nominate any new players for the first two Euro qualifiers in the first week of September, will also have captain Michael Ballack back in midfield. Ballack had missed the Sweden friendly with a hip injury.
"These two players are enormously important for us," Loew said. "We assume Michael will be able to return to training soon. I talked with Christoph Metzelder on the phone and he expects to be back in training by the start of next week."
The only new face will be Loew's new assistant coach, Hansi Flick, who was hired on Wednesday to fill the post that Loew had held under Juergen Klinsmann the last two years. Loew was promoted after Klinsmann stepped down in July.
Loew has stuck loyally by the squad that finished third at the World Cup under Klinsmann, saying they all deserved to be included on the basis of their performances at the tournament.
That is good news for VfB Stuttgart's Thomas Hitzlsperger and VfL Wolfburg's Mike Hanke, who have struggled and are no longer first choices at their clubs. It is also fortunate for Lukas Podolski, who has been off form at his new club Bayern Munich.
Because of the injuries to Mertesacker and Huth, Loew had nominated Manuel Friedrich from Mainz and Hertha Berlin's Malik Fathi for the Sweden match and they both played in the second half.
Berlin's Arne Friedrich, normally a right back, was shifted to central defence against Sweden and did a solid job.
Both Manuel Friedrich and Fathi will again be in the squad for the match against Ireland in Stuttgart.
Germany then play on Sept 6 in Serravalle against San Marino in their next qualifier.
Squad:
Goalkeepers: 1-Jens Lehmann (Arsenal), 23-Timo Hildebrand (VfB Stuttgart)
Defenders: 3-Arne Friedrich (Hertha Berlin), 25-Malik Fathi (Hertha Berlin), 24-Manuel Friedrich (Mainz), 2-Marcell Jansen (Borussia Moenchengladbach), 16-Philipp Lahm (Bayern Munich), 21-Christoph Metzelder (Borussia Dortmund)
Midfielders: 13-Michael Ballack (Chelsea), 7-Bastian Schweinsteiger (Bayern Munich), 18-Tim Borowski (Werder Bremen), 8-Torsten Frings (Werder Bremen), 19-Bernd Schneider (Bayer Leverkusen), 22-David Odonkor (Borussia Dortmund), 15-Thomas Hitzlsperger (VfB Stuttgart)
Forwards: 14-Gerald Asamoah (Schalke 04), 9-Mike Hanke (VfL Wolfsburg), 11-Miroslav Klose (Werder Bremen), 20 Lukas Podolski (Bayern Munich), 10-Oliver Neuville (Borussia Moechengladbach)
Last edited by eirebhoy; 24/08/2006 at 1:59 PM. Reason: link
Absolutely brilliant! Germany had terrible problems with their defence before the world cup. Now only Metzelder is available from their 4 world cup centre halfs. Metzelder not going to be training until Monday. So their defenders are:
Malik Fathi (Hertha Berlin) - Left back
Marcell Jansen (Borussia Moenchengladbach) - Left back
Arne Friedrich (Hertha Berlin) - Right back
Philipp Lahm (Bayern Munich) - Left back / Right back
Manuel Friedrich (Mainz) - Centre back
Christoph Metzelder (Borussia Dortmund) - Centre back
So they've 2 centre halfs and one is currently injured. It says in the reuters article that A.Friedrich played the 2nd half at centre back against Sweden so he's an option but certainly not a reliable one.
Last edited by eirebhoy; 24/08/2006 at 2:00 PM.
my optimism is starting to build again.
If we lose by less than three I'll be happy!
Saw this lad tonight on Eurosport for Hertha Berliner SC v Tiblisi in the UEFA Cup, he didn't look much kop, seemed to be playing left back and I can see us exposing him if he starts for Germany in Stuttgart.Originally Posted by eirebhoy
In fact Hertha were not much good at all save their forwards Pantelić and Lakić but they play for Serbia and Croatia so are not an issue for us now.
I think some guy named Lahm is going to start for them at left back, McGeady will get no change from him.
Jansen is ahread of Fathi in the pecking order for left back. He played against Sweden with Lahm at right back.
vega007 - I don't know. Lahm is extremely strong going forward but isn't too comfortable defending on his bad side. Anyway, Jansen might be playing left back anyway.
It´s basically the same squad that hammered Sweden three nil.
So is ours and look where we are 6 months on!
Foot.ie - NFL Fantasy Football Champion, 2006!
Metzelder has pulled out. Löw will nominate another center half today.
I seem to remember us hammering Finland 3-0 away from home in our first game after WC 2002 and then getting beat 4-2 (away) and 2-1 (home) against Russia and the Swiss respectively, but low moral due to the Saipan issue contributed to that. We all have to agree that Germany are hot favorites for this one but we should remain optimistic. If we put in a decent performance and still loose I won't be too disapointed because we are the 4th seeds playing against the 1st seeds on their own patch. If it's a gutless performance with little or no positives then I will be very disappointed. Of course if we play sh!te and stil manage to come away with some kind of result I won't be complaining to much because our main aim has to be to stop the Germans from playing, which will look scrappy and ugly if we pull it off.
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Germans will have far from their strongest and with the likes Duff, Keane, doyle, Mc Geady all runnin at them we should be able to expose them. Gettin the ball to our wingers and strikers from midfield is what im concerned about!
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National team: Christoph Metzelder will miss Euro 2008 qualifiers
27.08.2006 12:30:00
Joachim Löw and Hans-Dieter Flick
Germany coach Joachim Löw on Thursday named a 20-man squad to face Ireland and San Marino in upcoming Euro 2008 qualifiers. Germany face Ireland in their Group D opener in Stuttgart on Saturday and then travel to San Marino four days later.
Löw was without three of his four World Cup central defenders for the start of the Euro 2008 qualifying campaign from the start. Injuries to Per Mertesacker, Robert Huth and Jens Nowotny will force Löw to rebuild his defence.
Additionally Christoph Metzelder announced on Sunday that he will miss both games due to a knee injury. After a morning training session at his club, Borussia Dortmund, he still had problems with his right knee. So doctors agreed to a surgery on Thursday.
Loew, who opted not to nominate any new players for the first two Euro qualifiers in the first week of September, will also have captain Michael Ballack back in midfield. Ballack had missed the Sweden friendly with a hip injury.
The squad can be found here.
hs/ko
Arne Friedrich is injured too and it is possible that he misses the match. He should have replaced Mertesacker/Metzelder together with Manuel Friedrich.
So, looks like the Germans need centrebacks.
Jesus, this is fantastic news for us. All four of Germany's world cup centre backs are injured!
smithy - I see A.Friedrich was on the bench on Thursday, did he not even travel to Hamburg today? What are his chances of making the Ireland game?
As far as I know, Friedrich wasn't even on the bench in Hamburg. There is not much information though if he can make it...
However, Loew has nominated another Centreback - Alexander Madlung.
http://www.dfb.de/dfb-team/nationalt...exander&lang=D
Very tall centreback - I think about 1,95m. Especially known for scoring goals with his head after corners but compared to Mertesacker or Metzelder, he is below average.
He won´t play. A Friedrich has the flu or some other illness, shouldn´t be serious. I expect him to start at center half, Jansen to start at left back and Lahm switching to right back.
Mike Hanke (striker) is apparently now out of the German Squad too. To be honest I dont think he would have started the game for them, but he can be a dangerous player with a good turn of speed, which could put the runs on our defenders.
Full story
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/st...377489&cc=5739
"Germany coach Joachim Löw will be without all four of his FIFA World Cup central defenders for the Group D matches against the Republic of Ireland and San Marino after Christoph Metzelder joined Per Mertesacker, Robert Huth and Jens Nowotny on the sidelines. The BV Borussia Dortmund defender, 25, was expected to be back this week but a knee injury turned out to be more serious than anticipated and he will undergo surgery on Thursday. Alexander Madlung, 24, from VfL Wolfsburg has been drafted in and could win his first cap."
And Robbie Keane is 10-1 for first goalscorer...might be worth a €20?
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