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Ballack blow German playmaker to miss Italian friendlyPosted: Monday August 18, 2003 11:39 AMSTUTTGART, Germany (AP) -- Star midfielder Michael Ballack has been ruled out of Germany's exhibition match against Italy on Wednesday. Germany's Player of the Year has a calf injury and sat out Bayern Munich's 2-0 win over Bochum in the Bundesliga on Saturday. German coach Rudi Voeller called Bayern Munich officials Monday and then decided not to insist on Ballack showing up at team headquarters near Stuttgart. Already hit by a number of injuries, Germany will be without defender Arne Friedrich of Hertha Berlin as well, bringing to eight the number of unavailable players. Another defender, Werder Bremen's Frank Baumann, missed Monday's practice because of an ankle injury, but he is expected to be fit for Wednesday's match in Stuttgart. Striker Fredi Bobic of Hertha Berlin and Borussia Dortmund midfielder Sebastian Kehl, who is serving a six-match suspension in the Bundesliga, only jogged lightly, because of calf and hip problems, respectively. "We have enough good players, who are now eager to prove themselves," said midfielder Carsten Ramelow. While Voeller is running out of healthy players, Italy's coach Giovanni Trapattoni plans to field "the best possible team." The Italian league season still hasn't started, while the Bundesliga has three rounds behind it. For both teams, the match is a warm-up for upcoming decisive Euro 2004 qualifying matches. Italy plays Wales on Sept. 6, while Germany travels to Iceland the same day and plays Scotland four days later. In particular, Trapattoni wants to test the efficiency of a three-pronged attack featuring Inter Milan striker Christian Vieri, with imaginative AS Roma's Francesco Totti and Juventus Turin's Alessandro Del Piero just behind him doubling as playmakers and strikers. Vieri, Totti and del Piero, called in Italy the "wonder trio," will be playing together for the first time since last year's World Cup in South Korea and Japan, where Italy suffered a humiliating early exit. Germany went to the final, losing 2-0 to Brazil. Wednesday's match at Stuttgart's Gottlieb-Daimler stadium features two of the most successful sides in the world. Germany and Italy have three World Cup titles each. Italy is one of the rare teams in the world to have a winning record against Germany -- 11 wins for seven defeats and eight draws. Germany has won two of the last three matches, but the nations haven't played each other since a 0-0 draw at the 1996 European championship in England. The Germans have lost their last three internationals in Stuttgart -- the last win coming against Italy nine years ago. Trapattoni said he wanted to "cut a bella figura" against "one of the most powerful" European teams. The Italian coach remains highly popular in Germany, where he had two stints with Bayern Munich. Voeller will be without several defenders and defensive midfielders, all because of injuries. The missing include Christoph Metzelder, Torsten Frings, Dietmar Hamann, Christian Ziege, Joerg Boehme and Jens Nowotny. In addition, talented Bayern Munich midfielder Sebastian Deisler, who is making an impressive return after missing 15 months with a knee injury, was left out of the team. Voeller said Deisler needed more match fitness before returning to the national team. |
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