PBP: (EURO 08 Group B) Austria v. Germany [R]

I am not that pressimistic about the Portugal match. If Löw changes the line-up that is. The experiment with Gomez/Klose upfront and Poldi on the left needs to stop. Gomez is completely messed up now and it is irresponsible to start a striker completely out of confidence against a team like Portugal. That would simply mean we are doooooooooomed.
I wish there was a way to replace Frings and maybe the media should have focused on him and his lack of matchpratice a bit more instead of bashing Lehmann all over the place which might have indeed affected him. Frings has not been playing well for the national team since he came back. All he does is passing the ball backwards or losing it. And as with Gomez it doesn't matter how his form was for his club.
The thing is that Portugal is neither unbeatable nor is their defense rock solid or their goalkeeper that excellent. I wish someone could take better crosses because he's got problems with those.

So, if we get the changes upfront (if not then Löw can go if we go out because of Gomez missing another two sitters), the back four and Lehmann reach the state they had reached after the Poland WC game (because that was when they had finally gelled) and if we finally play with more confidence I don't necessary see us without a chance. Ronaldo might give us some trouble but there are more dangerous players in this team. Two years ago I though we stood no chance against Argentina and see what happened. I think the team will feel more comfortable knowing they will be the underdogs. Not to mention that I fancy us in a penalty-shootout should we survive that long.

Only great that Croatia or Turkey will wait in the semis.

Anyway, please Jogi, stop sticking to that ridiculous, predictable and useless line-up. What happened? There have been plenty of game in the past two years where he got the line-up so right it was a joy to watch. Did Gomez save his life once or why is he insisting on giving him chance after chance even though things looked much better as soon as Klose and Poldi were upfront again.

 

The team needs to turn things around enormously for me to be able to imagine us taking a lead against Portugal. They are inhibited, reactive.

And please stop all Schneider talk, he is injured, that's worse than the talk about Marin and Pander.

 

Germany are favorites against Portugal people...because Germany will play better than the group stage and Portugal is not as good as people think...on top of this Portugal lack the winning attitude.
Germany to win 2-1

 

So I was just lurking around the chelsea board and saw this gem :


"David Blaine has said he will re-attempt and extend his stunt of living suspended above the Thames if, as expected, his 44-day record of doing nothing in a box is broken by Mario Gomez."*

 

BTW, i thought A.friedrich did well. And hitz made some nice passes and movements down the left.

A.Friedrich is solid as a DEFENDER as usual. He does nothing spectacular running forward as again as he was in WC 06, but last nite he did his priliminary job well. Rock solid

Hitz is a capable player and his left foot can provide something "special" at long shots, i hv to admit i underestimated him. At least his long shots can be a possible weapon to the game, Fritz has nothing to offer

I think Merteacker, Lahm n Podolski are the three players who look in better shape. A.Friedrich and Hitz and Lehmann also not bad. But 6 players in better shape doesnt mean we can beat the portugese.

 

The space between the back four + Frings and the rest of the team was too far. And where was the fluidity we have been praising for? Frings and Ballack barely made one nice pass. Let alone the fluidity.

They should improve, and if they do, we will have an exiciting march on 25th, otherwise, be prepared to see CR-7 and co. screws our back four.

 

Frings has also not been too impressive so far...maybe Jones would have been an option after all.

 

Frings has been better than I would have hoped as a defensive midfielder on the whole. After the Poland game, he was rightfully praised as "excellent" by many including Arsène Wenger. But I think he's hiding offensively.

 

Bad news, Loew said that Podolski is questonale for Portugal game. That means we may hv to stick with Gomez up front

 

Holy sh't. Speechless.

 

Well, maybe Gomez can play well know, with his reputation smashed.

More rubble, less trouble...

 

Nah, Poldi will be fit on time. No worries.

Borowski and Hitz should start on the left. Podolski in for Gomes.

 

lol maybe will get another 2 goal performance from piggy just like in 06.


haha yea right

more realistically maybe Klose will re-find his form

 

Is he really injured tho? I heARD it from the other forums.......dun even know how serious and which part did h get injured with. The stupid calf injury again?

Two more days and we're playing Potugal
This time we are the underdogs. Things should be different. I think Gomez has now got nothing to lose. His pressure should be off, since if he does well next match, its a bonus and if he doesn't its just another bad match from him in this tourney IF Poldolski is really not match fit.

I would gamble it on Gomez rather than playing Kuranyi to be honest. At least Gomez's quality is there, just lacking a but of confidence. If he scored one goal, i m sure things will be different. Kuranyi may waste us a number of good chances. He isnt a good finisher

 

I hope Germany improves. I hope Portugal lost their momentum after resting their players. Hope, hope, hope...That`s all I can do.

(And I hope that Ronaldo will go out the night before the game and wakes up in some Austrian basement. I will light a candle in the nearby cathedral. No wait. Eleven candles.)

 

source:http://www.transfermarkt.de/de/news/21691/17062008_1342/news/anzeigen.html

It should be a "calf wound"

is it really a "bug question mark" as mentioned? I dont think this sohuld be a problem to be honest.

Schweini is back in the starting lineup! i wonder who the RM is..........still Fritz?

 

Expect to see The Fritz. I think he is given the nod for comic value in an otherwise overly dull side.

 

Have faith my friend

 

Mediocre game. Some aspects could be chalked up to wanting to stay healthy, ballack on a yellow, and making sure not to concede. Austria have challenged well in this tournament, but Germany were still less than convincing yesterday.

As much as I love Gomez, he has to come off

Fritz is a waste of space. Doesn't do anything wrong necessarily, but doesn't do anything right. I could take a run out on the right side and nobody would know the difference. So Fritz has to be out.

Friedrich played well enough defensively so I would keep him. For me, Lahm always plays his best games on the left side for the NT. He changes the face of games in that position, so I would leave him there.

Many don't like Schweinsteiger, but I think he can make a difference. Has to play.

v. Portugal

..................................Lehmann...................................
Friedrich......... Merte............... Metz................... Lahm
Borowski......... Frings............... Ballack ..............Schweini
......................Klose............. Podolski...........................

Then I would be happy

 

Objectively, we were playing better in the second half than first.

Well, I found it amusing coz Loew wasn't on the bench in the second half and we played better!

 

Fritzl could have played on the right. Nobody would have noticed.

 

No crosses, no runs down the line, no shots...

you are right, I didn't notice anything.

"IF" Loew plays him on thursday, I will not be able to watch the game, as my television will have a beer bottle stuck in it.

 

The same might happen here. And really, it's not exactly news that Fritz is no solution in that position. Out of 5 games which he's played there for the national team in 2008, only 1 against Poland vaguely suggested he might be able to play there. And that performance came against an absolute makeshift leftback as was easy to learn.

So AT LEAST whenever Podolski switched to being a striker and a midfielder came on on the left, Fritz should have gone off, too.

 

I was talking about Fritzl:

 

Maybe this is the answer for the RM...



Basically as it is now