-Rod

Guess who's not coming to dinner....

GK: Neuer, Adler, Wiese DEF: Lahm, West­er­mann, Merte­sacker, Jansen, Riether, Bad­stu­ber MID: Traesch, Mueller, Podol­ski, Khedira, Schwe­in­steiger, Ozil, Kroos, Marin ATT: Cacau, Klose, Kiessling, Gomez

At least for now Ballack has been left off the squad by coach Loew! Frankenstien given the cold shoulder? My wife's boyfriend not given the nod? BALLACK?!?! Wow. Yeah... he over stated his intent to take back the captaincy. And the midfield is sweet with Khedira and Schweini... but this is Ballack, man. BALLACK! There room on the squad... the experience, the power, the added depth... I'm surprised. He's got one more major tourny in him I think. And hopefully when he's returned to full form and fitness things will be readdressed. But for now he's not in for the upcoming qualifiers against Belgium in Brussels on September 3 and Azerbaijan in Cologne four days later.

My wife will be in tears when I tell her...and...



...Kevin Prince-Boateng.... yer a dead man.

-Rod

A bit premature there, Rod.

Ballack is Captain - sort of, for now, if he earns it

Jogi ist ein smarte Motherfucker.

isnt that supposed to be mutterficker?

Excellent news! Was just about to post it.

My wife is happy.

----
Ballack holds on to Germany captaincy

By Soccernet staff
September 1, 2010


Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Michael Ballack is to remain captain of Germany once he returns from his injury lay-off, coach Joachim Low has confirmed.


GettyImages
Michael Ballack and Philipp Lahm were both in the frame to be named captain
The issue has been a hot topic in the country since Philipp Lahm took over the role for the World Cup in South Africa, which Ballack missed because of an ankle problem.

Both players had expressed their desire to wear the armband, but ahead of their opening Euro 2012 qualifier against Belgium in Brussels on Friday, Low has made his decision - and also confirmed his No. 1 goalkeeper.

"I have in the past days had a personal discussion with Ballack and I decided that Michael Ballack will continue being the captain of our team," Germany coach Joachim Low said.

Low came to the decision after talks with former Chelsea man Ballack, who turns 34 this month.

''After a personal, open and trustful talk with Michael Ballack, I have decided that Michael will continue to be captain of our team,'' he said. ''Philipp Lahm, who completed the task excellently at the World Cup, will be Michael's deputy. When Philipp is not there, Bastian Schweinsteiger will fill in.''

Neuer has gained the goalkeeping job full time after fulfilling the roll in South Africa. It means Ballack's club mate Rene Adler, who had been number one before missing out on the World Cup through injury, drops down the order.

''We said Rene Adler was the number one but that there was a chance for Manuel Neuer,'' said Low. ''We're now going with Manuel Neuer. As long as he's fit and playing well, he will play in the qualifiers.''

Yeah, that's missing a lot of the juicy details that are in the german version, though. Soccernet's like that.

Ballack is "Captain", though he's not guaranteed a starting role. At the moment he's not a starter (and therefore not captain for any of the next few games) because Loew likes Khedira and Schweinsteiger.

It's open to Ballack to fight for a consistent starting spot. Insofar as Loew decides he's worth starting, he's captain. Otherwise, it's Lahm. Ballack accepts this.

That's why I said Loew's a smart motherfucker. He's played directly to Ballacks ego, managed to have him competing to earn a spot he feels entitled to, and Ballack thinks he's won.

I've got a couple of friends who'll be in Berlin on October 8th
erm... it may be near impossible, but any chance of info on getting tickets to the match that night?

Germany vs. Turkey @ Olympiastadion

I know it's a huge stadium, but this is an equally huge match, and German qualifiers are well attended to begin with, without any extra spice to them.

If you saw Ballack play on the weekend for Bayer you would not him even considered for the national team. Slow and awful 1 on 1, maybe it is time for him to take a role on the bench - And I loved my Ballack when he was younger.

As for tickets to Germany v. Turkey.... Try here

Edit: Nevermind, there all sold out. Good seats v. Azerbaijan are available. <_<

thanks Zac, my friend actually found this site on her own as well.
I suppose it's the only official distributor of national team matches.

using the google webpage translator, we deducted that tickets went on sale in mid august, so it's too late.
Tickets are popping up on the exchange at a tiny bit of a mark-up (original tickets were 22-70 EUR), now the markups they've seen on the official exchange is likely the same type of markup the TFC official exchange has, 60-80... but even those are getting snapped up within the hour.

I'm crazy enough that if it were me, to go there during the day and maybe try and land some not too expensive tickets, but they're dragging along someone who's not sold on the sport to begin with (though enjoys SkyDome Argo's matches :blink: ), and was being sold on the fact that it's at the 1936 olympic stadium, though obviously not in the same state.

--- In their opening Euro 2012 qualifier against Belgium, Germany struggled to play the exciting, expansive football that fired the nation to the World Cup semi-finals just two months ago but Joachim Low's side still managed to grab a 1-0 victory that laid a solid foundation for their new campaign.

Given the somewhat unexpected party that German football enjoyed in South Africa it's no surprise that there was a hangover. Friday's win at the Koning Boudewijn Stadion was largely due to the inspired form of goalkeeper Manuel Neuer and Low will be hoping that Tuesday's opponents, Azerbaijan, give his side the chance to regain their attacking stride. ---

Doh. Bal­lack is set to miss six weeks of action due to a frac­tured tibia after a knock he took dur­ing Bayer Leverkusen’s match against Han­nover this weekend. This guy can't get a break... or rather can't avoid them. A string of bad luck.



-Rod

"Jogi Löw decided not to give in to the Mainz hype just yet and nominated a mostly unchanged roster for next week’s Euro 2012 Group A qualifiers against Turkey and Kazakhstan. Only surging Borussia Dortmund’s Kevin Grosskreutz is a new additon. Jerome Boateng steps back into the squad after missing the last two matches with injury; he takes the roster place of the injured Stefan Kiessling.

Goalkeepers: Rene Adler (Bayer Leverkusen), Manuel Neuer (Schalke 04) Tim Wiese (Werder Bremen)

Defenders: Holger Badstuber (Bayern Munich), Jerome Boateng (Manchester City), Marcell Jansen (Hamburg SV), Philipp Lahm (Bayern Munich), Per Mertesacker (Werder Bremen), Sascha Riether (VfL Wolfsburg), Heiko Westermann (Hamburg SV)

Midfielders: Kevin Grosskreutz (Borussia Dortmund), Sami Khedira (Real Madrid), Toni Kroos (Bayern Munich), Marko Marin (Werder Bremen), Thomas Mueller (Bayern Munich), Mesut Ozil (Real Madrid), Lukas Podolski (Cologne), Bastian Schweinsteiger (Bayern Munich), Christian Traesch (VfB Stuttgart)

Strikers: Cacau (VfB Stuttgart), Mario Gomez (Bayern Munich), Miroslav Klose (Bayern Munich)"

-Rod

Honestly, the was Lewis Holtby is playing, I would bring him into the squad. Andre Schürlle is also going well. Maybe next time for a "less important" quali match.

Seriously. Holy shit.

Glad the boy saw sense and opted for a squad with a future.

Where was he eligible for again? Bangladesh or something?

Kevin Großkreutz is out for the quali vs. Turkey.

Germany should call in Holtby to get him capped.

NOOOOO!!!!

I just read this: "Germany midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger will miss the team’s upcoming qualifiers against Turkey and Kazakhstan after being diagnosed with a ligament tear in the right foot. Schweinsteiger complained of right foot pain following Bayern Munich’s 2-0 defeat at Borussia Dortmund on Sunday. An MRI ordered by Bayern and DFB team doctor Hans Wilhelm Müller-Wohlfahrt revealed the tear on Monday. There was no immediate word on whether a replacement would be named to the squad."

NOOOOO!!!

-Rod

Was nice to see Poldi have a good game against Kazakhstan with a 2 assists and a goal. He's not been in good form as of late and hopefully this will see his confidence rise. Full marks to Jogi Löw for not pulling him in the 2nd half, giving him a clear mind to do his thing and not worry about being yanked or his recent bad run of luck. Felt bad for Muller who was subbed out...
Hard fought game that Germany controlled for the most part... but that plastic pitch really made keeping those balls under control difficult it seemed. Should have been 7-Nil had it been on grass me thunks.



-Rod

Wow. Nice find.

A picture of Poldi back from when he was a good player, I mean.

I think Poldi's got more in him still. This slump is disappointing. Klose hasn't exactly been tearing it up... he's laid goose-eggs so far... but for the National Team he's on fire! 6 Goals in 4 games? Nice. Maybe a bit of confidence in the ECQ stage will translate to their club work.

-Rod

Here's some recent Poldi's for you from the Kazakh match.

Klose's shit at club, legendary on the NT.

Podolski's been shit at both for 2 years. Sure, he scored on Kazakhstan. So did Mario fucking Gomez. Which suggests Jogi Löw probably could have banged in a goal or 2 if he'd only remembered to bring a change of shoes.

He may have more in him, but he's not showing it. And he's only really effective when Klose's up top. When Klose goes, I think Poldi goes soon after.

Hope Marin's ready by then.

How do you know it's Thursday in Cologne?

























Poldi has shown up for training. :lol:

Don't get me started on Gomez.

-Rod

Holy shit I spoke too soon. Gomez put 3 past Hannover on the weekend. The best Ive ever seen him play. Maybe at 25 he's turned a corner to earn himself that massive transfer fee.

-rod

Whether you spoke too soon or not, after that game someone better be keeping that Hannover keeper away from trains.

Too soon? (not for me, of course, I'm a sick bastard.)

Harsh! But Gomez...and I can't believe I'm saying its.... has looked really good these past two matches. 1 Country and 1 for club. With a number of injuries maybe he sees his chance to make a stand for his spot in the starting 11. Maybe his skill is catching up to his inflated hype. Perhaps it's just a lucky stint, and the real Gomez will reappear soon.
Mario "The Kiss of Death" Gomez.

-Rod

He was top striker in the BL what - 2, 3 years back? He's had spells of being on fire for club. For country he's always been the kiss of death.

I kind of figured that after he went to Bayern his club form was matching country form. Maybe the opposite is starting to happen.

My theory has always been that he's way too pretty to be an effective striker. Klose - there's a guy who doesn't lose anything if he puts one in off his face. Mario's big, but he's also precious.

Frankfurt/Main - Youth is the buzzword for the Wednesday friendly away to Sweden, Germany's final international of a memorable year.


"I've raised the bar very high, but the best situation for a coach is to have players putting pressure on the likes of Khedira, Özil, Podolski or Badstuber. Nowadays, a 19-year-old can keep a 23-year-old on his toes”, national team coach Joachim Löw declared after naming six newcomers in his squad for the game in Gothenburg, while leaving out the established likes of World Cup top scorer Thomas Müller.

Chance for newcomers

Löw headed north with his 20-strong squad on Monday, also minus Köln's Lukas Podolski and Wolfsburg's Sascha Riether, who respectively pulled out with ankle and ligament injuries after the weekend games for their clubs. Four young prospects from league leaders Borussia Dortmund - Mario Götze, Marcel Schmelzer, Kevin Großkreutz and Mats Hummels - were on board the flight, alongside uncapped Mainz duo Lewis Holtby and Andre Schürrle.

Having rejuvenated the team for the World Cup finals in South Africa over the summer, Löw is already looking ahead to the EURO 2012 finals in Poland/Ukraine and sees in Götze and co. "another new generation” of Germany stars. "These are players who give you the feeling they take their profession and their career very seriously indeed. They're ambitious, conscientious and have a very clear idea of where they're heading in life, the coach told the newspaper Welt am Sonntag.

End of a fine year

Holtby and Schürrle in particular will be looking forward to the chance to get back on track after suffering along with the rest of the Mainz team from a bit of a form dip of late, in the wake of their fantastic start to the season. "They still have to go through the difficult times faced by the likes of Lukas Podolski and Bastian Schweinsteiger earlier in their careers”, Löw warned.

Germany regulars Müller, Philipp Lahm, playmaker Mesut Özil and Bremen keeper Tim Wiese have been given a break for this one, while Michael Ballack, Stefan Kießling, Miroslav Klose , Arne Friedrich and Holger Badstuber all join Podolski and Riether on the injured list. All of which notwithstanding, Löw is looking to end a "positive and successful year” with "a good performance to take us into the winter break, after which there's a particularly exciting challenge with the classic against Italy in Dortmund on February 9th.”

Here's a run down of upcoming fixtures.

-Rod

And Group A's EURO table...

-Rod

2008 called. They want their blooper back.

Meaningless Friendly? BAH!

Germany v Brazil was a very entertaining match with a great result... one that was 18 years due. And I felt that both sides, Friendly or no, wanted the win because history weighed so heavily.



Mario Gotze's first cap, and first goal was pure class. What a run, what a goal. While Schweinsteiger's "never give up" battle for the ball, and the resulting pass that Schurrle picked up for his goal was magic.

"After a goalless first 45 minutes, a second-half penalty by Bayern Munich's Bastian Schweinsteiger and a superb individual effort from Götze put the hosts ahead before Brazil's Robinho converted a penalty on 71 minutes.

The Germans made sure of victory when Bayer Leverkusen's Andre Schürrle came off the bench to score the German's third on 80 minutes while Brazil's Neymar scored his side's second in the 92nd minute.

This was the first time the two teams have met since 2003 and with the game at Stuttgart's Mercedes-Benz-Arena being televised in 190 countries, it lived up to it's billing as the clash of two of football's biggest names."

Meaningless? Not to me.

------
also...



This signage is a little unfair to Philipp Lahm, who I think is doing a fine job as captain. As he did in South Africa, and as he's doing today... it's a shame that Ballack was forced out due to injury, but that's the game (and that *unt Kevin Prince-Boateng). I'me a huge Ballack fan, but thought this sign a bit unfair. Lahm is the captain now.

I agree with Ballack's rejection of having this game branded his "farewell" match. This match was scheduled way before the idea of turning it into something else popped up.... doing so watered down the sentiment. Ballack was right to say no, and the German FA was wrong to suggest it IMO. For all Ballack has done for the team, he deserves a proper send off a-la Oliver Kahn's 2008 testimonial match between Bayern Munich and The National Team. I just hope any bitterness can be resolved to make this happen, it's another meaningless friendly I'm looking forward to seeing.



-Rod

An experimental Germany team survived a scare on Friday as the guests had to come from 3-1 down to seal a 3-3 draw with Euro 2012 co-hosts the Ukraine in a friendly.

Kiev's newly renovated 70,000 capacity Olympic Stadium will host the Euro 2012 final on July 1 and the hosts were on course for a historic first victory over the Germans at the fifth attempt before the guests hit back.

Germany were missing a host of stars with Bastian Schweinsteiger and Miroslav Klose both injured while captain Philipp Lahm was rested, but Joachim Loew's youthful team were caught cold on a night of sub-zero temperatures.
Loew named a very young team, the average age was just 23, with striker Mario Gomez, 26, captaining his country for the first time and was the oldest German on the pitch.

Real Madrid star Mesut Ozil and Dortmund's rising star Mario Goetze started together for the first time, but they failed to fire and came off with 25 minutes left.
Hanover 96 goalkeeper Ron-Robert Zieler made his debut, but endured a torrid first-half by conceding three goals in the opening 45 minutes.

The Ukraine took the lead when Dynamo Kiev striker Andriy Yarmolenko opened the scoring when he stabbed home his shot on 28 minutes for the first goal.
The second came nine minutes later when German defender Mats Hummels lost possession near the Ukraine penalty area and midfielder Yevhen Konoplianka sprinted some 70 metres to round Zieler and slot home.

Germany pulled a goal back on 39 minutes when Bayern Munich midfielder Toni Kroos rifled a shot home from outside the penalty area.

The hosts went into the break 3-1 up when replacement Serhiy Nazarenko calmly took a pass from Shevchenko and beat Zieler with a curling shot from outside of the area a minute into added time at the end of the first-half.

Loew enforced his team at the break with Leverkusen pair Simon Rolfes and Andre Schuerrle, but stuck with the same formation as Nazarenko and Shevchenko both fired just wide of the German goal early in the second half.
Rolfes pulled a second goal back for Germany to make it 3-2 on 65 minutes while Loew bolstered his attack by bringing experienced pair Lukas Podolski and Thomas Mueller off the bench.

It paid off as Mueller hit the equaliser when he cut in from the left wing and unleashed his shot which Ukraine goalkeeper Oleksandr Rybka failed to save with a feeble attempt on 78 minutes.

The hosts could still have won the game as Konoplyanka again found acres of space to attack in the weak German defence, but his final pass failed him and with time almost up replacement Marko Devic squandered a great chance to win the game from three metres out.

Germany will need to be much improved when they host Holland in Hamburg on Tuesday in their final game of 2011.

Thus ends the Löw experiment with 3-5-2.

Boy oh boy did the Germans school the Dutch during the recent friendly. 3-nil. Wooden shoes? Must have been...man were they lax, stagnant and completely ineffectual. I was expecting a much tighter and closer game... not a clinic.

"Clinical Klose exposes Oranje as Ozil and Muller complete dominant friendly win."



HAZZAH!

-Rod

did anyone hear about two players from league 3 who turned to robbing betting places, banks and stuff like that?

happend few days ago, saw it on deutche welle but now can't find it anywhere

THIS?? Or something else?

-Rod

-Rod

Better hope that isn't Paul(2) the Octopus' prediction for the final group standings. B-)