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

this overracting whiny attitude gets annoying...

There was again a lot wrong today but some of you ppl are going totaly over top.
Germany vs Portugal is ofc a 50/50 match even if you ppl like this "oh god its all bad, the world will end" talk.
Seriously, dont act likes kids or i might think you ppl are kids cause then obviously you havent seen other tournaments of germany or other big teams.

 

I think another variable that needs to be discussed regarding our terrible form has to be our inconsistent line ups ranging from the World Cup to this tournament. I apologize if this was brought up already and I missed it.

Since '06, due to either injuries, bad spells of form, or experimental player selection, we rarely saw a run of NT games in which the line up was consistent. Take for example the absence of Frings and Ballack for long spells from the NT. Both are key players in Loew's set up and basically constitute the core of this team. Everything operates from and through them. Both were missed due to injuries through a large chunk of qualification games. Whenever a player recovered, another was injured or missed games.

How many games were played since 2006 that included our set starting XI from the World Cup? The answer is none. There were always alterations made, minor at first, but going into '07 a lot of changes were made by Loew due to the above mentioned factors.

Personally, I think the absence of two such key elements in the preparation leading up to the tournament hurt the team as there was insufficient time to prepare and practice together. It may have prevented the team from finding the right balance and reach a good team chemistry that results in comfortable playing on the pitch.

 

Nah, you get it all wrong. we'll win 3-1. Although that scoreline will be slightly flattering.

The second goal will be scored by Klose who'll benefit from a shot by Hitzlsperger that'll be deflected by Ricardo.
You heard it here first

 

I would love for you to be right!

 

FR

from end of wc to and including czech game, we had everyone available ecxept :

schneider who missed cyprus

mertesacker and metz who missed all games until swiss friendly in feb

klose who missed czech

 

portuguese link in their thread says loew will watch the qf from the stands

 

What the heck??? Why is that ?

 

Because he supported the Austrian coach who was quite articulate about his disagreement with the ref in the game. Löw said that it was their job to support their players, so both coaches were ordered to leave the pitch.

However, AFAIK there is no official verdict of the UFEA yet. So it's merely speculation...

 

yeah i know that they had to leave the pitch today.. but why portugal game? that doesnt make sense

 

Well, the UEFA has the right to administer additional punishment. It has happened before.

 

so he got sent cos he was supporting hickersberger? not because he was independently complaining at the same time?

 

That's how I understood it. Apparently he told the fourth ref that Hickersberger has every right to be upset because it's his job and the coaches have to do their job on the sideline.

Of course Löw could be lying, but he doesn't seem like someone who'd do that.

 

ugh.
oh well.. there is nothing we can do about this now...

For some reasons, i have a good feeling for protugal game.. and THEY have to win to play in the semi (which is also my bday!) so they have to win the semi as well as a bday gift

 

he is a gentleman, i dont think he will lie about that.

 

what date is the semi?

 

the 25th

 

so, i have a question : how many of you would rather have had schneider on the right, even after his relatively poor season?

 

count me in. My ideal lineup would be the exact one we put up against Argentina in 2006.

 

Germany 4-1 Portugal
Schweini 3 goals 1 assist, klose 1 goal

Have hope my friends!

 

I love this optimism. Lets all be positive now and help fire our team onto victory!

 

yeah, no more negativity, let's be cheerful

 

bring it on!

[youtube]<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/VbWtFXMuf6s&hl=en"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/VbWtFXMuf6s&hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>[/youtube]

 

Right, the first couple of qualifiers we didn't miss too many regulars although we had some out. But going into the last months of '07 and into '08 we saw a lot of changes and players that ended up not making the Euro squad.

I am now wondering whether these inconsistencies might have had anything to do with the end product we're seeing so far in the tournament. It never helps missing key players in preparation, which qualifiers and friendlies essentially are. I don't want to grossly exaggerate the effects of this since all teams go through line up changes due to similar factors as us but some of our problems (team chemistry, unpreparedness) do resemble characteristics of a team and players who lacked a lot of playing time together leading up to the tournament.

 

The first half of the qualifying campaign + czech republic were done with virtually a full strength team and we played very well and won easily.

Could be...be but we were relying on ballack and frings and the others being very familiar with each other already so being able to pick up where they had left off. That is why during the last 4 friendlies, despite not showing the usual form we thought they'd come good during the tournament.

More than anything, it's just them not handling the mental side of it during the tournament..

 

Since that video that prymetyme posted, our uniforms have gotten baggier and their much tighter!!