Kahn demands "superhuman performance" against South Korea
Seogwipo, South Korea (dpa) - The whole world is criticising German football, "Kaiser Franz" is ranting, and "red hell" awaits the team in Seoul. But in the Germany camp, the only thing that matters is the sensational prospect of a dream Final against record FIFA World Cup™ winners Brazil.
"We are so focussed on our objective that nothing else matters. Nothing of what has been written in the media has affected us at all," said captain Oliver Kahn, emphatically sweeping all of the negative hype aside. The concentration of the entire German squad is devoted to just one thing - success in the semi-final against FIFA World Cup hosts Korea. "We are all convinced that we can become world champions," said Kahn in Seogwipo, in fighting mood and brimming with confidence.
Portugal, Italy, Spain - Rudi Völler and his men want to avoid adding to the trend of huge footballing nations to crash out of the tournament on the South Korean wave of euphoria. And the coach was highly critical of his team after the lethargic 1:0 victory over the USA.
"If we want to get past the South Koreans, we won't just have to battle. We will have to show a little more footballing instinct. We need something extra," said Völler, demanding a significant improvement on the universally maligned performance against the Americans.
Whilst Kahn has been showered with praise, he remains protective of his outfield team-mates ("Without them I'm nothing"), but admits that they will have to play through the pain barrier and forget their tired legs against the miraculously fit South Korean side: "We will probably have to produce a superhuman performance to reach the Final."
Germany's players were completely exhausted after being taken apart by the Americans, but they hope to draw from the energy of the crowd in the cauldron-like atmosphere in Seoul. "This was the game the team wanted. I've never experienced anything like this. These millions of people all wearing red t-shirts. Going into a stadium like that is the kind of thing every player thrives on," said Kahn in anticipation of the "festival of football" in front of around 64,000 Koreans, who will roar their team forward with the battle cry "Daehan Minguk" (Great Korea).
Dietmar Hamann has an anxious wait to see if he will taste the experience. The midfielder's ligament strain in his right knee is worse than first feared. "The doctors are working frantically on it," said assistant Germany coach Michael Skibbe, whose usual, notorious optimism has for once given way to alarming scepticism: "It is too early to comment on his chances of playing."
Hamann certainly has a fight on his hands if he is to be involved. He was at least able to take part in some light running in the squad's final training session on the island of Cheju. However, Jens Jeremies has already been pencilled in to have a say in the clash for a place in the Final that nobody would have predicted. "We cannot be satisfied with reaching the semi-finals," said the Bayern Munich player.
Inevitably, the possibility of Germany meeting four-times champions Brazil for the first time in the 72 year history of the FIFA World Cup is already at the back of their minds. "It's an enormous incentive," said an enthusiastic Kahn on the prospect of a Final showdown against Ronaldo and Co. next Sunday in Yokohama.
The furthest thing from the minds of the German camp, however, is the criticism of the their team's style of play and Franz Beckenbauer's latest attack, in which only the consistent Kahn was spared. "We're used to that with Franz, but we don't all look at things so dramatically," said a composed Völler. "The people in Germany are out on the streets celebrating. That's the most important thing, not what some so-called experts are saying," Christian Ziege added.
Kahn has re-watched the last quarter of an hour against the USA and defends the way in which his team-mates ground out the result. "I like to see aesthetic football as well. But that's not always what this tournament is about. The teams who came here to play champagne football have been lying on the beach for the last fortnight," the captain argued, referring to the ignominious first-round exits of favourites France and Argentina.
Völler is also remaining resolute, particularly as he is acutely aware of his team's tendency to lapse into modesty. "We have a very, very good goalkeeper and we're deadly in the air from set-pieces. There's no shame in winning your games like that," he said, defending German qualities and virtues. His main criticism of the team at the weekend focussed on an entirely different department: "We have to go out with a lot more confidence," said the 42-year-old, bemoaning his team's anxious body language.
The German team are also worried about the prospect of some home refereeing decisions for the host team. "Against Italy and Spain, there were one or two disallowed goals where you wondered what was wrong with them," said Kahn. However, he maintained that a wrong decision should not distract you from your game plan, adding "You can't let yourself be provoked by that type of thing." |
