GERMANY WORLD CUP ROSTER
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GOALKEEPERS:
Jens Lehmann (Arsenal)
Oliver Kahn (Bayern Munich)
Timo Hildebrand (VfB Stuttgart)
DEFENDERS:
Arne Friedrich (Hertha Berlin)
Robert Huth (Chelsea)
Marcell Jansen (Borussia Monchengladbach)
Per Mertesacker (Hannover)
Christoph Metzelder (Borussia Dortmund)
Philipp Lahm (Bayern Munich)
Jens Nowotny (Bayer Leverkusen)
MIDFIELDERS:
Michael Ballack (Bayern Munich)
Bastian Schweinsteiger (Bayern Munich)
Tim Borowski (Werder Bremen)
Torsten Frings (Werder Bremen)
Sebastian Kehl (Borussia Dortmund)
Bernd Schneider (Bayer Leverkusen)
Thomas Hitzlsperger (VfB Stuttgart)
David Odonkor (Borussia Dortmund)
FORWARDS:
Miroslav Klose (Werder Bremen)
Lukas Podolski (FC Cologne)
Mike Hanke (VfL Wolfsburg)
Oliver Neuville (Borussia Monchengladbach)
Gerald Asamoah (Schalke 04)
No one from Hamburg.
The complete roster of all teams participating, here.
May 21st, 2006 at
we don’t have a single world class forward on the team.
what are we going to to do when we’re up against teams that have several top strikers?
on top of that five of our seven defenders are very young and inexperienced, with no previous experience on an international stage let alone a global one. being inexperienced and being german, they will be self-conscious the whole time thinking: oh my god, this is the world cup!
it seems to me that this team is designed to be a long shot. klinsmann has put together people that have the potential to grow together and improve and become first class over the course of 4 to 8 years. it is the first step in a process of revivication after the old guard has retired. but it is by no means a strong team yet.
May 21st, 2006 at
sorry: it should read
revivification
(is there such a word?)
May 21st, 2006 at
Well, I think Klose is what I would call world class. I think if you score more goals in the Bundesliga than anyone else, you would be world class. I agree with you, forward and defense of this team is very thin, but I think the midfield is pretty solid, although, as you point out, the team overall is inexperienced. At the end I firmly believe in the saying that in football the ball is round, the game lasts 90 minutes and anything can happen. I think the best bet Germany has is working on the team and the traditional German strategy of boring their opponents and forcing errors, making up for lack of star-power. If we go with star-power of course, the Dutch and the English (even without Rooney, who is expected to join in the second round) should be way up there using their home (Europe) advantage over the south American, Argentina and Brazil (that really should be forced to send three teams, because they have to balance out their star-power.) I think at the end of the day the question is if Germany can bring up enough enthusiasm and momentum. Germans must ask themselves what are they about, what do they have worth fighting for, what can they use as a rallying point. This is the greatest missing factor, I think, and I wonder if it can be compensated. Germany however and at any rate, remains a strange underdog, because even the worst of German teams have managed to advance to threatening heights. By the way, I think Roy Makaay scored as many goals as Ballack for Bayern: the former is a left out of the Dutch squad, latter is the star of the German team. And yet, it seems like this constellation has always been in effect. Let’s see how the Black and White do, I’m in process of finalizing the list of the teams I support, and for once in a long while, I think Germany might be on top of the list.
May 24th, 2006 at
Bah. Forget about Germany; they will fall against Argentina in Berlin after quite too many boring games. Sad.
Check for Spain though and follow Asturian forward David Villa. He will get us to the semifinals by beating Italy or Brazil. That is going to be thrilling!
Rejoice!