Fritz Walter. Uwe Seeler. Gerd Müller. Karl-Heinz Rummenigge. Rudi Völler. Jürgen Klinsmann. Oliver Bierhoff. Miroslav Klose: over the years, Germany has always been blessed with a centre-forward that anyone can call world class. For as long as we all can
It’s that time again, and the upcoming double-header – and what should hopefully be the full complement of six points – against Kazakhstan in Astana and then four days later in Nürnberg.
As had been the case in 2012, Germany would kick off their footballing year against France – the second in two pre-arranged friendly encounters between the two sides. In Bremen the French had gone away with a 2-1 win against
After a winter hiatus lasting the best part of three months, the Nationalmannschaft’s schedule for 2013 would finally get underway in Paris against France, an opponent against which a victory was long overdue. The French had spoiled Germany’s party in
I sometimes wonder why we still bother with these friendly matches. Unless they serve some sort of purpose – the hastily-arranged fixtures packed in before every major tournament springs to mind – there is just no real point. Fans pay
Has it been so long? My plan was to write a couple of articles over the Winterpause, but it just didn’t happen. Real life, work, and what can best be described as winter writer’s malaise… I have no excuses. This
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
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.
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