Going through the motions

Shocked Germans hanging hopes on Ballack vs. McBerti

BERLIN (AP) -- Goalie Oliver Khan screamed at his teammates because of it, while Germany coach Rudi Voeller termed it a virus infecting his players.

But it happened again in a shock 1-1 draw Saturday against Lithuania, leaving the World Cup runner-ups in a perilous position in Euro 2004 qualifying.

The German players were simply lackadaisical against Lithuania, ranked 106th in the world by FIFA, behind countries like the Congo.

"If you don't do anything, you don't get any reward. We thought after the 1-0 the win would take care of itself," said Germany forward Miroslav Klose.

After Carsten Ramelow backheeled in the 1-0 in the seventh minute, the Germans did almost nothing until they were shocked in the 73rd minute by Tomas Razanauskas's equalizer. After that they woke up, but it was too late.

"The result hurts a lot, but we didn't deserve to win," Voeller said. "We've got a virus. The players just say, we can beat these guys with a little less. That just doesn't work."

Now Germany will face Scotland on June 7 in Glasgow in a decisive match with only the first place team from Group 5 advancing. Both countries have seven points from three matches, with the Scots boasting the better goal difference.

Germany will have to beat a squad led by a former Germany coach, Berti Vogts, who the German tabloids have dubbed "McBerti" since he took over the Scots.

"Berti can lead now -- the important thing is who tops the table at the end of qualifying," said Liverpool midfielder Dietmar Hamann, one of many German players who has been under Vogts tutelage.

Michael Ballack has also played under Vogts for the national team and at Bayer Leverkusen. Now the Germans are crying out for their best player to save them against McBerti.

He is expected to be back from torn ligaments in Glasgow.

"We've still got Ballack. Yesterday, everybody saw how much the team misses him. His ideas, his dangerous scoring ability, his fighting ability," wrote the Bild, Germany's biggest daily.

Still, it wasn't supposed to be like this for Germany against a much smaller opponent, even if the warnings sounded beforehand.

The three-time World Cup winner was lucky to escape with a 2-1 win against the tiny Faroe Islands in another Euro 2004 qualifier. After a lethargic 3-1 loss to Spain in a friendly, Kahn scolded his teammates for failing to fight, run and keep their minds on the game.

Kahn decided after the Lithuania match not to repeat his outburst, but couldn't help reminding his teammates about his warning.

"Let's not panic," the Germany captain said. "I reacted a little hard after the Spain match. But I warned that we have to keep working on ourselves. Nothing will be handed to us in this qualification."

This match was supposed to be the coming out for a new generation of German talent, like left winger Tobias Rau and Kevin Kuranyi, the promising Stuttgart forward who did enter the match, but couldn't influence the outcome.

Instead, the Germans left the pitch to boos from their fans at Nuremberg's stadium.

"Boy was that bitter, Rudi," was the Bild headline. "Now Rudi is behind Berti."

The Germans can only hope they live up to their self-belief that they always come through when it counts in Glasgow. Otherwise, Vogts can gain a measure of satisfaction for the way he was dismissed after a mediocre showing at the 1998 World Cup, only two years after he led Germany to the 1996 European Championship crown.

 

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