This was billed as a prestige friendly to end the calendar year, and seen by some as the third chapter in a three-part series that had started with the Mannschaft’s 3-0 win in Hamburg a year previously. Given the almost
That’s right, quite a few people fell asleep during this one. So, a rather dull close to the footballing year with a goalless draw in Amsterdam, an encounter that saw both goalkeepers have a quiet evening – apart from one
It’s not often that I shoehorn in another squad news update in between the posting the initial squad selection and the pre-match preview, but following this weekend’s league fixtures and what can only be described as a glut of injuries
So, it’s the final piece of what has been a dramatic and ultimately disappointing year for the Nationalmannschaft – and the third act of a three-part show against the Netherlands that started just around this time last year in Hamburg.
By Cristian Nyari Sweden’s incredible and historic comeback against Germany on Tuesday will no doubt add fuel to an already fiery debate about the National Team’s supposed mental frailty and Joachim Löw’s ability to truly reach their potential.
Eight competitive matches. Four draws. Four defeats. You can work out the rest, but I’ll say it anyway: zero wins. A record that defies all description, and more so after the defeat in the Euro 2012 semi-final, all logic. Even
Having handed out six of the best to the Republic of Ireland four days earlier, confidence in the German camp would be high ahead of a return home to Berlin and the game against Sweden.
Three goals up at half-time. Four to the good an hour in. Some fantastic one-touch football, some of the best stuff we have seen from the Nationalmannschaft this year. Two goals from Miroslav Klose to see him go one behind
There’s one burning question leading up to the World Cup qualifier in Berlin against Sweden: with skipper Philipp Lahm returning from his one-match suspension, is he going to return to the right or switch out to the left? Will Jérôme
In between the arguably less important matter of the international fixtures being played around Europe this week, a charity match was played in Frankfurt on Sunday 14th October between two sets of former players from Germany and Italy, billed as
After the semi-final failure at Euro 2012, a disappointing friendly home defeat to Argentina and two fairly insipid and uninspired performances in September in their opening two World Cup qualifying matches, Nationaltrainer Joachim Löw found himself under pressure for what
I am guessing someone somewhere had a look at my recent comments – or those of Franz Beckenbauer or Felix Magath, perhaps – on the subject of the singing of Nationalhymne by the German players.