Now that the WWC is over Germany has lost two very important players: Bettina Wiegmann and Maren Meinert because they thought it's the best time to retire. I'm wondering if the German Team can somehow compensate this major loss of these leaders. Do you think they will be able to be as strong in the Olympics as they were in the World Cup? I'm just wondering what your opinions are...
nope, without meinert they lose that player in the midfield that changes the complextion of the game. she pulls the strings that make the offense work, all while playing some of her best football ever this past year. sure they will still be able to score with prinz, but it won't be the same without meinert in there.
SV: Germany without Wiegmann and Meinert Welcome to the boards *KSC*. I agree with you fidlerre. You could almost say the same thing about the Carolina Courage and their loss of Hege Riise this past season. As great of a player as she is, Birgit Prinz couldn't do it all by herself at Carolina and in order for Germany to stay on top, someone will need to step up and at least partially fill the void created by the retirements of Meinert and Wiegmann.
My initial thought was 'no way'...but it seems Germany has a very talented and strong bench. Who knows, maybe one of the young reserves is a future Meinert or Wiegmann, and with Theune-Meyer coaching, the team could become just as strong again. All they need is someone in midfield who clicks with Prinz. TT-M isn't retiring too, is she??
No I don't think that she will retire. Maybe Renate Lingor can try to get more influence and become a strong leader of this team because IMO her abilities are good enough and she can play really well together with Birgit Prinz
Renate Lingor From Karlsruhe I was really impressed with how well the former Karlsruher SC (*KSC*) player, Renate Lingor, performed during the World Cup. I agree that Renate could be a good candidate to take on more of a leadership role on the GNT. Does anyone know if Lingor currently has more of a playmaking role with her club team, FFC. Frankfurt? BTW - congratulations *KSC* on that great 10-0 victory yesterday by Karlsruher SC.
Creative players like meinert are very difficult to replace... GAREFREKES impressed me, and I wonder if she's able to play a more central midfield role. How many euro qualifiers does germnay have prior to the Olympics? I suspect some experimenting will occur to locate the best set of players. As to the Olympics themselves..just hope the pollution and heat aren't major factors in Athens.
Renate Lingor is actually the playmaker in her club team FFC Frankfurt. Her technical abilities were definately not all seen at the defensive position she had at the WC. IMO she would be a good choice for the playmaker role and as said before she is used to playing with Birgit Prinz in front of her for a long time. Viola Odebrecht who was only a sub in the WC might also get a bigger role in midfield. It will be interesting to see if coach Tina Theune-Meyer will try to build in some more young players before the Olympics as that might be the last tournament for some of the older players. BTW Hi *KSC* ~ Nadja
Renate Lingor "Danke" for this information Nadja. Here's what was posted about Renate Lingor at the FIFA WWC site: Renate Lingor
Thanks Nadja and nordby1 (It was good to score some goals in this match because we don't want the last season to be repeated ) Germany has to play 4 euro qualifiers before the Olympics starting on November 15 th against Portugal.In February they have to play them again and the other two opponents are Ukraine(sp?) and Scotland. I'm really looking forward to see how the Germans will perform and which players will get the chance to maybe replace Meinert and Wiegmann. I think Petra Wimbersky will also get a try but I'm not sure how she's playing at the moment but she used to play this role when she was younger. But I think Renate Lingor should definitely play on this position because like Nadja said she can play better although she did really well in the WC.
Re: SV: Germany without Wiegmann and Meinert I'm not sure if that because of they had a different coach or because the absence of Riise or because of both, needed a research to find out.
No player in the entire tournament impressed me as much as Meinert did and I think that the key reason why Prinz was so successful is because of the number of chances that Meinert gave to her. Now Meinert's gone and a replacement is needed, I think the best bet is Lingor. In terms of qualities as a player they are the most similar, although I think Meinert's has the better eye for goal. The question on who to put into Wiegmann's place... well I really am not sure. Also, if the team relies on crosses, I think Garefrekes is better moving into the center forward position. She has the team's best header. Despite Prinz's height, she is more comfortable when the shot is by foot.
I agree almost 100% with the comment on Lingor. On Wiegmann's position: maybe Nia Künzer could fill it out. I think this is the tactical role she also plays for FFC Frankfurt, as a defensive midfielder, who is still capable to give input to the offense because of her good technical abilities and shot...and headers, not to forget About Garefrekes: you're right, her heading qualities are better than Prinz's (oh my God..that stupid s-Genitive *sigh*...must be spelled wrong now, right?) But I think she fit into that role on the right side really well, and her cooperation and understanding with Stegemann there was great. She should stay there, and then the flexibility in the German offense is still great enough that she can go for the header opportunities, when it's the right moment.
I hope that shelly thompson gets the second spot as striker for two reasons: 1.That gives germany the fastest sriking duo in the world, with both players abled to create chances for the other. 2.She would look great on the team picture. She is the best looking footballplayer in the world
True! The German womens team could have a bit more good lookers on their squad! Did you see the last Womens World Cup where the Swedes got all the fans just because they looked hot. Oh man... Hanna Marklund! What a babe! HOT!!!! I have a yahoo group dedicated to her. Surprisingly I have a girlfriend... lol
Here's what Viola Odebrecht has to say about the game vs. Portugal: http://www.maerkischeallgemeine.de/?loc_id=96&id=141286&weiter=200[q]
Well, cheering for other women is by far better than chasing for other women, right? If she is reasonable enough to understand that, they are both lucky. ^^
@tiej: Thanks for the link. Odebrecht is still cautious about her chances to start on Saturday in that interview, however, today's edition of "Kicker" magazine sees her as a starter in its prognosis: Angerer - Stegemann, Hingst, Minnert, Gottschlich - Garefrekes, Odebrecht, Lingor, Pia Wunderlich - Prinz, Müller. The three changes in comparison to the WC final are clear: Angerer for Rottenberg (nobody doubts that), Odebrecht would replace Bettina Wiegmann, and Martina Müller plays for Meinert. I think this is very likely, Odebrecht's starting spot seems the most debatable. We'll see if she is right in saying that the performance in today's training match against the VfB Stuttgart B-youth team will give the deciding impression... About Shelley Thompson: I watched her playing in the last DFB cup final for FCR Duisburg and in that brilliant 6-0 against Englang during the U-20 (?) European Championship, when she scored four goals (too little, too late, but still...)... She was awesome in both games and impressed me a lot, not only by her good looks (but with that, too, of course ^^). Indeed a very promising player. Can anyone tell for which university/college she is playing during her year in the US?
Actually she gets concerned when I don't look at any other women. She says it's unnatural and says I should look at them because it's normal to do so. I know, I couldn't believe it myself. Well I don't look too much...
The game between the german NT and the male-U16 of Vfb Stuttgart ended with a 3:0 win for Stuttgart. Looks like women soccer is not as far as I thought it would be....
actually, it's very common for women's team to lost to "boys" teams etc. there are lots of factors to that ... and i know that both canada and the USA have done similiar (scrimmaging vs. youth teams) and often times the other team wins. elaine
I am very fortunate but in more ways than that really. And she says what she means... a very different girl. I truly am blessed.