WORLD CUP 2010: German squad ready to invade?
Finally, the German team is prepared for the journey as the last bits of their preparation click into place. It’s been announced that Bayern Munich’s defender Philipp Lahm will be captaining the German team who is taking the place of injured player Michael Ballack. There is more assuring news too that Manuel Neuer will be the starting goal keeper for the German team in the FIFA World Cup in South Africa.
Neuer has made it to the final line-up largely due to an injury to first choice goalkeeper Rene Adler as broke a rib while practicing for his club Bayern Leverkusen. With no progress on his condition, it’s apparent that Rene won’t be participating in the FIFA World Cup in South Africa.
After the tragic death of Robert Enke, Adler had stepped up for the job and Joachim Loew seemed pretty happy with him. With a steady performance for both the club and country, he had put himself ahead of Manuel Neuer and Werder Bremen's Tim Wiese.
The 25-year-old German is out of the scene as Neuer is showing great hope and promise to step up to the cause. Unfortunately, this is not the only bad news for Germany as their midfielder Simon Rolfes too has a slim chance of playing in this World Cup. Simon still needs the permission of the medical staff to approve him entirely fit for the World Cup which includes the team physiotherapist.
The Leverkusen captain who has captured 21 caps for Germany is lingering with an injury when he damaged his cartilage. Due to this reason, the captain has an injured knee which has kept him on the bed since January.
The 28-year-old admitted to the fact that his chances of playing in the mega-event were slim. He said, “It’s most likely, the World Cup is out of my reach. I have not given up hope and I am in contact with Joachim Loew but I don’t think I will be there, which is a pity.”
That does seem true as his current recovery rate and rehabilitation time will take a lot of time.
Loew is deeply disappointed by this development after having a full plate of fully fit players in front of him. He isn’t very happy when it comes to the performance of the football team in general. The coach has expressed his concerns regarding the performance and health of a number of players on different occasions.
The German team’s forward line does not seem to have a lot of practice before the big tournament. Miroslav Klose of Bayern Munich and Cologne's Lukas Podolski haven’t played in much of the season back home, which is why they are expected to be out of form and out of touch. The German strikers have scored a mere four goals in the entire Bundesliga. Various other issues have erupted with German captain Michael Ballack too.
Lahm has been granted the captaincy powers only after Ballack got injured. This was a heavy blow for the German team and the fans seemed anguished by the results. The injury occurred during a match in the English Premier League when he landed himself with a mean tackle and severely hurt his ankle.
The German injury list includes players such as Stuttgart’s midfielder Sami Khedira, who injured his knee. He is followed by Hamburg’s Marcell Jansen, who has harmed his ankle in a domestic match in Germnay. The list seems to be thinning the world cup squad for Germany, days before the start of the World Cup in South Africa. At the current rate, Loew won’t be left with any nails to chew during the matches.
The coach as well the players are anticipating for the event with a lot of expectations from the team. Germany is considered as the hot favourites for the Cu but it seems that they will have a hard time in proving their mettle in this World Cup.
The German team is placed in Group D with Australia, Ghana and Serbia. Their first match is on the 13th of June against Australia. All eyes will be on the team that is ready to create the biggest upset in the tournament by beating a weakened German team in the FIFA World Cup in South Africa.
Tags: