Germany:Cyprus 17.11.07 [R]

[The Old Lady Hertha]

German National Team for this game at Hannover and the game against Wales in the Commerzbank Arena

Trikot Name Geburtstag Verein Spiele Tore

Tor
23 Robert Enke 24.08.1977 Hannover 96 1 -
12 Timo Hildebrand 05.04.1979 FC Valencia 7 -
1 Jens Lehmann 10.11.1969 Arsenal London 49 -

Abwehr
35 Gonzalo Castro 11.06.1987 Bayer 04 Leverkusen 4 -
3 Arne Friedrich 29.05.1979 Hertha BSC Berlin 54 -
24 Manuel Friedrich 13.09.1979 Bayer 04 Leverkusen 8 1
2 Marcell Jansen 04.11.1985 FC Bayern München 20 1
16 Philipp Lahm 11.11.1983 FC Bayern München 35 2
17 Per Mertesacker 29.09.1984 Werder Bremen 37 1
21 Christoph Metzelder 05.11.1980 Real Madrid 37 -
40 Serdar Tasci 24.04.1987 VfB Stuttgart - -

Mittelfeld
18 Tim Borowski 02.05.1980 Werder Bremen 29 2
27 Clemens Fritz 07.12.1980 Werder Bremen 9 1
34 Roberto Hilbert 16.10.1984 VfB Stuttgart 5 -
15 Thomas Hitzlsperger 05.04.1982 VfB Stuttgart 28 3
39 Jermaine Jones 03.11.1981 FC Schalke 04 - -
38 Simon Rolfes 21.01.1982 Bayer 04 Leverkusen 6 -
7 Bastian Schweinsteiger 01.08.1984 FC Bayern München 47 13
28 Piotr Trochowski 22.03.1984 Hamburger SV 9 -

Angriff
32 Mario Gomez 10.07.1985 VfB Stuttgart 5 3
9 Mike Hanke 05.11.1983 Hannover 96 11 1
11 Miroslav Klose 09.06.1978 FC Bayern München 70 35
10 Oliver Neuville 01.05.1973 Borussia Mönchengladbach 65 9
20 Lukas Podolski 04.06.1985 FC Bayern München 42 23
© DFB 09.11.2007 / jt

Nice to Jones there, but Neuville??? (hi Alex :D), Tasci? and an injured Hilbert/?? :confused:

[Osnator]

I'm all for giving Jones a chance with the NT and I don't mind calling Neuville up as well.
But I'm not happy with the Tasci call-up. I would much rather see Westermann or Wolf getting a call. Hell, I would even choose Madlung or Franz over Tasci.

[The Old Lady Hertha]

Tasci is interesting but not really, because I doubt he'll even be on the subs bench.

[Borussia]

Nice to Jones there, but Neuville??? (hi Alex :D), Tasci?


I bet that Alex bribed Jogi Löw! :p

Oliver Neuville, Oliver Neuville, Olli Olli, Oliver Neuville!!! :)

[+Gooner+]

Good to see Neuville back. He is doing quite well at the moment, right? I am also very pleased to see Jones finally getting a call up. :)

I feel this game will be unpredictable. You never know what you get with Cyprus. :eek:

[IlTedesco]

Hell, I would even choose Madlung or Franz over Tasci.

Thank God you're not the German coach!

:p

Hopefully Serdar and JJ will get their chances, that's what those games are for anyway.

[MicFW]

Hard to get excited for this game. I'd like to see an offensive-minded formation, no matter which players are part of it. The last two games were quite disappointing in this respect, too many square and back passes for my liking.
Let's not ruin the overall great impression of 2007!

[MicFW]

Hell, I would even choose Madlung or Franz over Tasci.

*Shudder* Yeah, and Mike Hanke to reinforce our striker department - oh, wait, that's already the case. :eek:;)

[Borussia]

I feel this game will be unpredictable. You never know what you get with Cyprus. :eek:

I'm going for another 1:1 draw (like in Nikosia). Finally we have to do anything possible in order to avoid the A pot concerning the EC 2008! :p;)

[+Gooner+]

I'm going for another 1:1 draw (like in Nikosia). Finally we have to do anything possible in order to avoid the A pot concerning the EC 2008! :p;)

No problem avoiding the A pot with a loss against Wales if Timo plays. ;) I'd like a win over Cyprus to make amends for the loss against the Czechs though.

[The Old Lady Hertha]

Thank God you're not the German coach!

:p

Hopefully Serdar and JJ will get their chances, that's what those games are for anyway.

Why didn't Loew cap Westermann then? :confused:

[IlTedesco]

Why didn't Loew cap Westermann then? :confused:

Dunno, you should ask him if you want to know for sure. Also keep in mind that Westermann isn't really a regular at Schalke. If Bordon and Krstajic are fit they play. However, at the moment he benefits from the injuries of some of his colleagues and his own versatility. That is not to say that Westermann hasn't delivered some very nice performances lately. He definitely has! The question, though, is whether he's going to remain in the starting eleven when all other players are back on board...

[KumarsS]

Wait, Hilbert? Isn't he still injured? If not, that's wonderful news. I love having him as a back-up to Schneider on the right flank, and unlike subs like Trochowski, I have faith in his ability to play a fine 90 minutes for the NT.

[IlTedesco]

I have faith in his ability to play a fine 90 minutes for the NT.

That is nice, but that is something Hilbert still has to prove. So far his appearances in the NT weren't any better than those of say Trochowski and mostly worse than what the often criticised Odonkor tends to provide.

He was good though today when Stuttgart beat Bayern.

[KumarsS]

That is nice, but that is something Hilbert still has to prove. So far his appearances in the NT weren't any better than those of say Trochowski and mostly worse than what the often criticised Odonkor tends to provide.

He was good though today when Stuttgart beat Bayern.

I thought he was wonderful against Wales.

[IlTedesco]

I thought he was wonderful against Wales.

Thinking of Hilbert's NT-appearances brings many words to my mind. "Wonderful" isn't one of them...

:eek::D;)

[TheBoss84]

Hilbert didnt impress me at the beginning either. But since the Wales game he has been really good, maybe not wonderfull, but miles better than Trochowski or Odonkor. He has very good technique and is able to send some good crosses too, unlike Trochowski.

[TheBoss84]

Awww...man!! Jermaine Jones is injured. He injured himself in the game against Hamburg today. He already told Löw that he wouldnt be able to play.:(

[KumarsS]

Awww...man!! Jermaine Jones is injured. He injured himself in the game against Hamburg today. He already told Löw that he wouldnt be able to play.:(

Our midfield is cursed. :(


Anyway, with that new development in mind, this is what I'd play against Cyprus:

------------------------ENKE---------------------------
-----------MERTESACKER----METZELDER----------------
-LAHM------------------------------------------JANSEN-
-----------HITZLSPERGER----SCHWEINSTEIGER----------
-HILBERT------------------------------------BOROWSKI-
------------------------------PODOLSKI----------------
--------------------KLOSE------------------------------

It's the most logical line-up, I think. Gomez has been banging in more goals than Podolski, but we need Klose's finishing in the target man role and with Podolski as a support striker we can effectively link the midfield with the attack. Without that player in the hole, we rely too much on wing play to create offensive chances. If Ballack or Schneider were healthy, it wouldn't be a problem, but with the injuries we've got no creative playmakers in the midfield. I play Schweinsteiger as a deep-lying playmaker because frankly that's where he seems the most comfortable lately - and we need a creative fulcrum in midfield, so bringing out the best in Schweini is a top priority. Otherwise, I'd much rather have Rolfes on the field than Borowski.

[TheBoss84]

Id rather put Hitzelsperger in the wing than Borowski. Borowski does make some nice passes and could therefore help to feed the forwards.