Was it really "a wonderful defeat," as Süddeutsche Zeitung wrote? The supporters in the Weserstadion had certainly shown little leniency with their team at the final whistle, when the Germany players were jeered and booed on their way into the changing room. "We could have easily conceded three or four, we completely left the back four to their own devices tonight," admitted Bayern Munich midfielder Thomas Müller. Miroslav Klose, too, thought that the performance against the French had been indefensible (pun intended). "Of course the timing of this game in the middle of the season is not great but it's pointless to look for excuses," said the Lazio forward. National manager Joachim "Jogi" Löw went one step further. He professed himself "angry" with the way France had dominated and won the match 2-1. "They were superior in the course of the 90 minutes, also in pure football terms," Löw told ZDF television. "We were shown that there's still much to do defensively before the European
It's become fashionable to see friendly internationals as pointless. In a literal sense, they are, of course: neither money nor trophies are at stake, and the very idea of professional players risking their health for no tangible benefits (apart from the profits made by the federations and TV stations) is anathema to club supporters and managers.
One sole error of judgment, a little slip or loss of concentration, and your entire career can go do down the drain. That's the frightening reality of life as a professional goalkeeper. The idea that an outfield player could be similarly affected by a single mishap seems absurd. But perhaps that's exactly what happened to Mario Gomez.
CNN's Diana Magnay gets reaction to Germany's 4-0 win over Argentina from fans in Berlin.
CNN's Kate Giles previews the upcoming German Bundesliga soccer season.
A wise man once said the difference between the rich and everyone else is that the rich get second chances. When they suffer setbacks, they know they can always dust themselves off, reopen the wallet and take another shot at it.
Did I miss something? What's going on? It's the third week in June and the transfer market is lifeless. Take away Manchester United (which moved swiftly and effectively to lock up Owen Hargreaves, Anderson and Nani before the end of May) and things look positively dead.
Europe's richest clubs are preparing for what is likely to be one of the busiest summers ever in the transfer market. A combination of new television deals, new investors and new coaching regimes means major personnel changes are in the cards.
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