We are as one behind the German NT under the flag of the "Burnt Chicken". Call us the 12th player if you will. JOIN US!!!
Squid: The comment about arrogant German fans was directed at me. I usually am not like that but, I am getting really tired of people acting like this should be a close game. If it is a tie or loss for Germany that would be a major upset. Beating England twice during the qualifiers is not that impressive (especially w/McClarren as coach). I get the feeling that people are rating this team based solely on that achievement.
See, what you seem to be forgetting is that is JUST YOUR OPINION! Germany was supposed to blow an unknown Croatian team off the pitch at the 1998 World Cup too. Do you remember what happened??? This is football. The great thing about it is you don't ever KNOW what is going to happen!! If there is any team in this competition who has an added incentive for wanting to beat Germany, it is Croatia because of the current and former Bundesliga players they have. Does that mean Croatia will upset Germany? No. Does that mean Croatia will give Germany a hard match?? No. But Germany being the much better squad on paper doesn't mean they will simply roll over Croatia either!
Of course I remember what happened, and I hope that we get some major revenge against them today. Especially b/c I have a really arrogant a55hole Croatian roomate that needs to be shut up . I agree with you footy, its just that this match has extra emotional investment for me than a normal Germany game. You know I'm normally not one to go around acting like an arrogant SOB before matches for Germany or Bayern... I will have no problem what so ever admitting I was wrong about Croatia if they tie/beat us.
That seems to be what you're bringing here. Please don't discount these guys to rest of us for that. Just like I'll have no problem saying I should have just ignored all of this if Germany blows Croatia off the pitch.....
I think that the fair assessment is this: - Germany is the better team, by how much is unclear, but there is more talent on the team. - Croatia is a very good team that can beat anyone on any given day, including Germany. - Croatia has a history of playing well against the best teams (WC98, Italy in 02, France 04). - I expect a close match, with a slight edge to Germany. I really think this one will come down to who scores first. - I expect both Croatia and Germany to play better than in their first games. Predicting anything else would be guesswork and somewhat meaningless. Cheers to a good match.
ye well everyone in the world might have been surprised by the 98 result except for the croatian fans..that team had worldclass players who could open up any defense in the world..this team has some good players but not like the 98 team..there current run of form has been bad but who knows maybe they will flick the switch on today and show that nice passing game they showed in the qualifiers..in 98 i was very confident we would win today im hopeful we will get a result..
I’m actually surprised that no one rated them in ’98. Croatia had a very good showing in EM1996 and most of the players that shined in that tournament had returned with more experience under their belts. Its kind of interesting, the parallels between Germany’s 1998 squad and the Italians this year. Both won a major trophy 2 years previously, and both had the oldest, most experienced team in the tournament. I wonder if the storylines will play out in a similar fashion.
Well, that's not what I was getting at, I mean Wörns was rather young back then. But I really think that without his red card before half time, this game might have gone the other way. But it's true that the old 98 team probably wouldn't have gotten any farther anyway with France waiting in the semis...but then again, except for the final, the French didn't look all that good in 98 (not that the Germans did).
He was 26. He was two years older than Per Mertesacker is now. How is that "quite young?" Age had nothing to do with that red card. And you can speculate all you want, the bottom line is that they lost and no amount of "what-ifs" or speculation can change that.
Exactly, not only did we lose, but we were played right off the pitch. No sense making up what-if scenarios. Its to bad that it took 7 years for Germany to get its act together after that.
k line ups ! http://en.euro2008.uefa.com/tournament/matches/match=300693/mcpopup.html Exactly the same game with poland
And Germany's act would still not be "together" were it not for the courage shown by Klinsmann in completely changing the way things are done with the national team. What we're seeing today are the rewards of his labor even though I know quite a few Germans who still steadfastly refuse to give Klinsmann credit for it.
Well, compared to the rest of the team he was. Of course not. Of course "what-ifs" don't have any actual merits, but it's still fun...anyway, my initial point was that this time, our defenders are smart enough, not to pick up a red card.
I agree wholeheartedly with you ff1. 1998’s failure should have been a wake-up call. 2000’s failure should have been a wake-up call. Needing to win a playoff to get to WM2002 should have been a wake-up call…it goes on and on. We are d@mn lucky that Klinsmann came to the rescue.