let me remind you again, it won't be as easy.
it was a hell of an opening match. 4-2 to germany. klinnsmann promised goals and his team delivered. two contenders for goal of the tournament. wow.
i am quite impressed by germany's passing in the first half. maybe in the second half, they were less fluent. but they had the ideas, they had the shape. but they are like an unpolished diamond. their time will come in 2008. just wait and see. although i think klinnsmann is leaving after this tournament. which is a shame. let's just hope the next guy wont undo his good work, especially in attack.
and i feel cheated by new paper. because i bought it yest, seeing that they had a 25page special on the world cup, and i thought on opening day, maybe they would have something special. but the content was..errr...
the funniest thing was that they suggested how costa rica could shock germany. not that i never considered the possibility. but what i found amusing was that they suggested that the german left wing was one of the weak links. because bolanos is a very tricky player, and schweinsteiger doesnt like to defend, and lahm is a right footer.
first of all, bolanos din play, so maybe, JUST maybe, the left wing wasnt exposed as much. but if you watch the game, i think you would notice schweinsteiger coming back to defend. and hes not afraid of throwing himself into tackles. he even goes to the right flank to track back. anywhere. and lahm...i thought he had a relatively error-free game. and if u think he can only use his right foot, please note that klose's second goal came from a perfect cross from lahm's left boot.
hey, i think the schweinsteiger-lahm combination is mouth watering.
anyway, here's what i think of the german performance:
lehmann: he had an outstanding season for arsenal. but i am afraid his season ended with his sending off against barcelona. it wasnt his fault that wanchope got two goals; keepers are always expected to lose in one on one situations. but if you look at him, he doesnt exude the same confidence. he is not quite the same player as he was just a month or so earlier. you can see it in his eyes. and considering he let in two goals in the first game, i think his confidence would have taken a beating. (ps. arsene, please buy another keeper. like hildebrand.) anyway, i think it would be a good idea to reinstate oliver kahn. and lehmann seems to have picked up an ankle injury. so maybe its a blessing in disguise. i said lehmann is a key player because he needs to play well to cover up for the so called frail defence. but if he doesnt, its better to drop him, because we all know how terrible he can be.
metzelder and mertesacker. can't really distinguish between the two from far, because they are both so tall. but i thought they had an ok game. i don't really blame them for the goals. but they were generally quite stable. of course there would be better strikers than wanchope, so they need to brush up their acts. but they werent as easy meat as pple make them out to be.
friedrich. i think he had a poor game by his standards. he played wanchope onside twice, and wanchope scored twice. watch the line.
lahm. my choice of man of the match. what a nice goal. of course that the costa rican slipped helped set him free. but he cut in very nicely and played the ball very nicely. if you notice, i think it went in perfectly, hitting the intersection of the crossbar and the right post, before going in very nicely. abit of luck, but classy goal. and he was very lively, set up for klose's 2nd goal. i think he had a great game.
and i am very proud of him because he just came back from a knee injury. he was out for like 6 to 9 months? and he's back in the national team. his is a story of inspiration. from unknown bayern reserve loaned out to stuttgart, made an instant impact, became a full international, all in one season. then germany's best player in a lacklustre euro 2004. den a long layoff, fought very hard to get back into action, now in the world cup, starting eleven. scorer of the first goal. i speak of him as though he's my son. that's how proud i am of him. marcell jansen is the otehr left back, even younger than lahm, but i must say, the leftback position is always lahm's. as simple as that.
borowski. i dun think he was as disappointing as they say...it's just that he din had an outstanding game. he was involved in distributin the ball from the centre of the park. he just din make those incisive passes that he's capable of. that's all.
frings. when the ball went in, i was stunned. goal of the tournament. but he need to pass better. just before he scored, i was thinking: theres soemthing missing in this partnership. i think it is this: if borowski doesnt play those through balls, no one would, because frings dont really do that; hes the destroyer, and long range canon.
the answer might be sebastian kehl. he came on for borowski. he seem to give me the impression that hes the man. passer and tackler. he seem to be both. but of course i haven seen enough of him yet. just a few of his touches. and i am quite interested to see how it would go.
schweinsteiger. actually, schweinis play is very predictable: he will always cut into the center. yet, despite knowing that, defenders still get beaten because they dunno when he will do that. and when he cuts in, lahm can come up to offer anotehr option. and i like the way he switches with schneider.
schneider. if i were the german coach, he would be the captain. unlike ballack, he is still very much the same player as he was in 2002, in terms of heart and attitude. no superstar ego from him. tahts what i like about him. and there was once when he was like playing as rightback when friedrich goes up. germany is quite fluid. but schneider is very versatile. and tricky as well.
podolski. he made alot of intelligent play, but they are all rather subtle. he flicked quite a few balls into space. and there was this time when he chested down a ball and volleyed straight into the keeper. but it was really a very good connection. the ball even curled. i just have this feeling that he will score a contender for goal of the tournament. but he really is a tremendous talent, as pele had described him.
klose. the man of the match. i like the way he goes out to the flanks to pick up balls. it adds another dimension to the play, because people can then go into the space. and he got two goals, so what more have you got to say? happy birthday to you, miroslav.
odonokor, he played too little. but he seems to be highly rated. if so, germany's wings are secured, because schneider is quite old already. someone has to fill his boots. so maybe this is the man.
neuville. ok game, din really do much.
but germany must improve alot, alot. this wun be enough to see off tougher opponents. u can say costa rica made them look good. but at least they look good. better than nothing. and no, ballack isnt the answer to their problems.
it was a hell of an opening match. 4-2 to germany. klinnsmann promised goals and his team delivered. two contenders for goal of the tournament. wow.
i am quite impressed by germany's passing in the first half. maybe in the second half, they were less fluent. but they had the ideas, they had the shape. but they are like an unpolished diamond. their time will come in 2008. just wait and see. although i think klinnsmann is leaving after this tournament. which is a shame. let's just hope the next guy wont undo his good work, especially in attack.
and i feel cheated by new paper. because i bought it yest, seeing that they had a 25page special on the world cup, and i thought on opening day, maybe they would have something special. but the content was..errr...
the funniest thing was that they suggested how costa rica could shock germany. not that i never considered the possibility. but what i found amusing was that they suggested that the german left wing was one of the weak links. because bolanos is a very tricky player, and schweinsteiger doesnt like to defend, and lahm is a right footer.
first of all, bolanos din play, so maybe, JUST maybe, the left wing wasnt exposed as much. but if you watch the game, i think you would notice schweinsteiger coming back to defend. and hes not afraid of throwing himself into tackles. he even goes to the right flank to track back. anywhere. and lahm...i thought he had a relatively error-free game. and if u think he can only use his right foot, please note that klose's second goal came from a perfect cross from lahm's left boot.
hey, i think the schweinsteiger-lahm combination is mouth watering.
anyway, here's what i think of the german performance:
lehmann: he had an outstanding season for arsenal. but i am afraid his season ended with his sending off against barcelona. it wasnt his fault that wanchope got two goals; keepers are always expected to lose in one on one situations. but if you look at him, he doesnt exude the same confidence. he is not quite the same player as he was just a month or so earlier. you can see it in his eyes. and considering he let in two goals in the first game, i think his confidence would have taken a beating. (ps. arsene, please buy another keeper. like hildebrand.) anyway, i think it would be a good idea to reinstate oliver kahn. and lehmann seems to have picked up an ankle injury. so maybe its a blessing in disguise. i said lehmann is a key player because he needs to play well to cover up for the so called frail defence. but if he doesnt, its better to drop him, because we all know how terrible he can be.
metzelder and mertesacker. can't really distinguish between the two from far, because they are both so tall. but i thought they had an ok game. i don't really blame them for the goals. but they were generally quite stable. of course there would be better strikers than wanchope, so they need to brush up their acts. but they werent as easy meat as pple make them out to be.
friedrich. i think he had a poor game by his standards. he played wanchope onside twice, and wanchope scored twice. watch the line.
lahm. my choice of man of the match. what a nice goal. of course that the costa rican slipped helped set him free. but he cut in very nicely and played the ball very nicely. if you notice, i think it went in perfectly, hitting the intersection of the crossbar and the right post, before going in very nicely. abit of luck, but classy goal. and he was very lively, set up for klose's 2nd goal. i think he had a great game.
and i am very proud of him because he just came back from a knee injury. he was out for like 6 to 9 months? and he's back in the national team. his is a story of inspiration. from unknown bayern reserve loaned out to stuttgart, made an instant impact, became a full international, all in one season. then germany's best player in a lacklustre euro 2004. den a long layoff, fought very hard to get back into action, now in the world cup, starting eleven. scorer of the first goal. i speak of him as though he's my son. that's how proud i am of him. marcell jansen is the otehr left back, even younger than lahm, but i must say, the leftback position is always lahm's. as simple as that.
borowski. i dun think he was as disappointing as they say...it's just that he din had an outstanding game. he was involved in distributin the ball from the centre of the park. he just din make those incisive passes that he's capable of. that's all.
frings. when the ball went in, i was stunned. goal of the tournament. but he need to pass better. just before he scored, i was thinking: theres soemthing missing in this partnership. i think it is this: if borowski doesnt play those through balls, no one would, because frings dont really do that; hes the destroyer, and long range canon.
the answer might be sebastian kehl. he came on for borowski. he seem to give me the impression that hes the man. passer and tackler. he seem to be both. but of course i haven seen enough of him yet. just a few of his touches. and i am quite interested to see how it would go.
schweinsteiger. actually, schweinis play is very predictable: he will always cut into the center. yet, despite knowing that, defenders still get beaten because they dunno when he will do that. and when he cuts in, lahm can come up to offer anotehr option. and i like the way he switches with schneider.
schneider. if i were the german coach, he would be the captain. unlike ballack, he is still very much the same player as he was in 2002, in terms of heart and attitude. no superstar ego from him. tahts what i like about him. and there was once when he was like playing as rightback when friedrich goes up. germany is quite fluid. but schneider is very versatile. and tricky as well.
podolski. he made alot of intelligent play, but they are all rather subtle. he flicked quite a few balls into space. and there was this time when he chested down a ball and volleyed straight into the keeper. but it was really a very good connection. the ball even curled. i just have this feeling that he will score a contender for goal of the tournament. but he really is a tremendous talent, as pele had described him.
klose. the man of the match. i like the way he goes out to the flanks to pick up balls. it adds another dimension to the play, because people can then go into the space. and he got two goals, so what more have you got to say? happy birthday to you, miroslav.
odonokor, he played too little. but he seems to be highly rated. if so, germany's wings are secured, because schneider is quite old already. someone has to fill his boots. so maybe this is the man.
neuville. ok game, din really do much.
but germany must improve alot, alot. this wun be enough to see off tougher opponents. u can say costa rica made them look good. but at least they look good. better than nothing. and no, ballack isnt the answer to their problems.
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