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Matthäus plays Germany to pair Kirsten, Jancker up front vs. England
Posted: Thursday June 15, 2000 10:20 AM
VAALS, Netherlands (AP) -- Despite growing pressure to drop veteran Lothar Matthäus from the European Championship lineup, German coach Erich Ribbeck says the libero will be a starter against England at Charleroi, Belgium, on Saturday. "I hope Lothar will show what he can really do," Ribbeck told German TV. There have been reports of other German squad players being unhappy that the 39-year-old New York/New Jersey MetroStars player was a starter, especially after an embarrassingly bad performance in Monday's 1-1 Group A tie with Romania at Liege, Belgium. Reports said that Matthäus had offered to quit the team if people were unhappy with his inclusion but Ribbeck, who has stood by him throughout, gave him his support. "I offered my resignation to the coach and I told him that this would be the best solution if I'm a burden to the team," Matthäus told Kicker magazine in comments published Thursday. "I wanted to fly to New York immediately," Matthäus said. But he said Ribbeck offered his backing. According to Matthäus, the German coach told him: "We will go through this together. You helped me and I won't let you fall." "Lothar felt abandoned," Ribbeck told Bild newspaper. "I told him that a departure was out of question. He has to pull himself together and show his critics." Ribbeck and Matthäus had a private talk in the team headquarters while the squad had 24 hours off between Tuesday and Wednesday. Asked at the daily news conference Thursday to comment on the reports, Ribbeck replied: "I talked with him and he is still here." "I don't want to talk about details," Ribbeck added. Kicker quoted Matthäus, who made his debut at the 1980 European Championship in Italy and has made a world record 148 appearances for his country, as vowing to make England pay for his poor performance against the Romanians. "I think I'll play much better than I did against Romania and shut the mouths of my critics," he said. Ribbeck's comments will further fuel the controversy and comes at a time when the Germans also are reeling from the loss of star striker Oliver Bierhoff, who was ruled out of Saturday's high profile game after he injured a calf muscle in training on Wednesday. Bierhoff said Thursday that although he is captain of the team, he only learned about Matthäus' offer to depart from newspaper reports, reflecting what appears to be a cool relationship with Ribbeck. "Our relationship is as the relationship between the captain and the responsible coach should be," Ribbeck said. Kirsten, Jancker to start as German strikersWith captain Oliver Bierhoff out injured, Germany will start Ulf Kirsten and Carsten Jancker as forwards in Saturday's high profile match against England. Coach Erich Ribbeck made the early announcement Thursday, although he usually keeps his cards close to his chest until shortly before the match. Bierhoff pulled his right calf muscle in practice Wednesday and will also miss the last Group A match against Portugal. "It's a big blow but we'll overcome it," Ribbeck said. "We took along four strikers because we knew that the threat of injury to strikers is greater than to other players." Bierhoff said he was "immensely disappointed" to miss the match. "I really wanted to play against England." Jancker is Bayern Munich's 25-year-old forward, a towering, rugged striker known for his heading ability. Kirsten is 34, a fleet-footed forward of Bayer Leverkusen who is an opportunist in the box and sometimes resembles the great Gerd Mueller. A three-time Bundesliga top scorer, Kirsten was the second best league scorer last season with 17 goals. Jancker had 10 and he is not always a starter for Bayern. England is desperately in need of a win against Germany, after losing 3-2 in its opening game. In Germany's disappointing 1-1 draw against Romania on Monday, the defending champion started with Bierhoff and Paulo Rink, Kirsten's Bayer Leverkusen teammate. There has been speculation that Bierhoff's injury would lead to the tested combination of Kirsten and Rink up front, but Ribbeck decided differently. "Both have shown that they can play well together and I think they are the right strikers to play against England," Ribbeck said. "We have four first-class forwards and one of them is now out. Goals have to be shot anew and Kirsten will be motivated," the coach said. Kirsten would have started against Romania, but suffered a twisted nerve in his back in practice before the match and missed it. "The back is OK now, I still feel a little twinge but it'll be fine by Saturday," he said. Kirsten will be playing his 50th international for Germany. He also has 49 caps for East Germany. "It's a great team, a great opponent,' Kirsten said of the upcoming match against England. "For me, it's a great opportunity, I'd already been written off," said Kirsten, who has missed a lot of important matches for Germany because of injuries. "This is my last big tournament." Kirsten said playing with Jancker instead of Rink was no problem. "We don't need much time to get used to each other, we played together during some warm-ups and we know we can function together on the field. And we get along well off the field," Kirsten said. Jancker, who sports a shaved head and earrings, also began his career in East Germany. "It's too bad for Oliver but I am glad I have the opportunity to play," he said. "As a team we've been written off, but we still have a chance," Jancker said. "We have a point and England has none, so perhaps this is our chance," he said. "It's a game of great prestige, it will be a physical match and there will be some hot duels," Jancker said. Ribbeck said he was likely to make two or three other changes from his lineup against Romania, but would not disclose names.
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