 |
| |
|
 |
 |
||
 |
 |
||
 |
|||
EVENTS
CENTERS
CNNSI.com GROUP
COMMERCE
|
 |
No panic Germany coach keeps cool ahead of crunch qualifiers
Updated: Sunday September 30, 2001 6:08 PM
BERLIN (Reuters) -- Germany head coach Rudi Voeller faces his toughest week since taking over the national team, but the former international striker is keeping his cool. "There is one thing I'm not going to do and that's panic," Voeller said before Saturday's crunch World Cup qualifier against Finland in Gelsenkirchen. Germany's fate has dropped out of their own hands since the traumatic 5-1 defeat by England four weeks ago in Munich left them second to their old rivals in Group 9 on goal difference. A win over Greece on Saturday would secure England top spot and an automatic place at next year's tournament, leaving Germany having to beat Ukraine or Belarus in the November playoffs to qualify for Japan and South Korea. Greece's German coach Otto Rehhagel has promised to lend his countrymen a hand, urging his team to show pride and saying he believed they were capable of beating England in Manchester. "I know Otto will try everything to make Greece win," Voeller told Sunday newspaper Bild am Sonntag. "But first of all we must do our part by beating Finland. It would be too bad if Greece took a point and we still finished second by not winning our game." Voeller has heard Franz Beckenbauer, the man who won the World Cup for Germany as captain an coach, predict England would qualify while the Germans may not make the finals at all. Beckenbauer pessimistic"I can't see England losing to Greece," the legendary libero told Sunday newspaper Welt amd Sonntag, adding that he was not sure that Germany could beat Ukraine or Belarus in the playoffs. "I am not certain that we will beat those [playoff] opponents to go through [to the finals]," Beckenbauer said. "Our team are not stable and we have weaknesses...We must still give proof that we are good enough for the World Cup. We have problems both in attack and in defense. It is important to have a good game against Finland because that will give us confidence for the two playoff matches." Voeller, who was appointed on a caretaker basis following Germany's disastrous first-round exit at Euro 2000 and has since been handed the job on a permanent basis, has hinted he may step down if Germany missed out on the 2002 World Cup. He remains popular, however, despite the England setback -- Germany's worst home defeat in 70 years -- and Beckenbauer said he hoped Voeller would stay whatever happens on Saturday. "It would be sad if he quit," said Beckenbauer, who is a vice-president of the German Football Association (DFB) and chairman of the organizing committee of the 2006 World Cup in Germany. "Even if we don't qualify, it would be an interesting challenge for him to carry on until 2006." Plenty of worriesVoeller has plenty of worries ahead of the Finland game, with several key players unavailable because of injuries, among them Bayern Munich midfielders Mehmet Scholl and Jens Jeremies. Two strikers in the 20-man squad unveiled by Voeller on Thursday, Bayern's Carsten Jancker and Kaiserslautern's Miroslav Klose, are struggling with injuries, while Oliver Bierhoff has only just resumed playing for his Monaco side after a lengthy break. "We've still got time," Voeller said. "There is a good chance that all those players will be fit for the match." Voeller also had to persuade Christian Woerns to reconsider his position after the Borussia Dortmund defender said he wanted to end his international career because he had been hurt by the criticism which followed his poor show against England. "I've had several conversations with Christian Woerns and it's all been sorted out," said Voeller, who also had to talk to Joerg Boehme after the Schalke 04 midfielder said he would turn down selection because he was not playing well enough. "Joerg Boehme's reaction is only a normal one from a frustrated player," the Germany coach said. 'He didn't really mean that the didn't want to play." Before Saturday's moment of truth, Voeller said he was convinced the three times world champions would put the England accident behind them and deliver a convincing performance. "You will see a team that will give everything to win," Voeller promised. "England will remain a one-off slip-up." RosterGoalkeepers: Oliver Kahn (Bayern Munich), Jens Lehmann (Borussia Dortmund). Defenders: Frank Baumann (Werder Bremen), Sebastian Kehl (Freiburg), Jens Nowotny (Bayer Leverkusen), Marko Rehmer (Hertha Berlin), Christian Woerns (Borussia Dortmund). Midfielders: Gerald Asamoah (Schalke), Michael Ballack (Bayer Leverkusen), Joerg Boehme (Schalke), Sebastian Deisler (Hertha Berlin), Carsten Ramelow (Bayer Leverkusen), Lars Ricken (Borussia Dortmund), Bernd Schneider (Bayer Leverkusen), Christian Ziege (Tottenham Hotspur). Forwards: Oliver Bierhoff (Monaco), Marco Bode (Werder Bremen), Carsten Jancker (Bayern Munich), Miroslav Klose (Kaiserslautern), Oliver Neuville (Bayer Leverkusen).
Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
