Euro 2008 - Germany Certain and Put

The German team seems to be very confident for the Euro 2008 despite they haven’t won any European Championship since 1996. Since the 2006 World Cup the team is still very optimistic due to all the euphoria and excitement received. Up to this point the Germans have defeated the two Euro co-host Austria and Switzerland and expect to continue their winning streak.

The Captain Michael Ballack believe they can achieve everything they dream about as the team finished third in the World Cup and they have won 15 of the 20 games played (only losing two games) under the lead of Coach Joachim Lowe.

For the World Cup Germany was not forced to qualify as the nation was hosting the tournament; but after the event the Germans’ campaign has been very successful and the team was the first to secure a place in the Euro 2008 which will take place from June 9th to the 27th. The only big downfall was the loss against the Czech Republic of 3-0. On the other hand, Lowe’s has had a difficult time adjusting as he was the assistant coach and now he is the man leading the National team. Nevertheless; he’s done an extraordinary job; he was one of the main choices when Juergen Klinsmann withdrew from his position as head coach due to misunderstandings with a small part of the players.

The German team does not possess a super star; the only key player we might say is Michael Ballack due to his background but he does not feel comfortable in this position Right now he is under a lot of pressure as he also plays with the English team Chelsea and they are heading to the final of the Champions League besides their hunt for the Premier League title in the .

Although; Ballack was absent for most of the year in the national team’s schedule due to an ankle injury, Germany still qualified easily showing this is more than a one-man show. Lowe rarely had his full team complete as he often missed half a dozen players before matches. The German team’s weakness is the defense as it is usually very messed up and they leave a lot of open spots, not a good thing for counterparts as a player like Luca Toni will find his way through.

The midfield is pretty strong and currently even more as Michel Ballack is back in shape but there are many good players out due to injuries; for example: Torsten Frings who has had to deal with many injuries this season and Bernd Schneider the team’s more creative player who just step out of surgery.

The attack is Germany's biggest asset; Podolski played well with Miroslav Klose at the World Cup and Klose was the tournament's top scorer. Klose who was overshadowed by Toni at the Bayern Munich will enjoy being the top man once more.

It will definitely be up to the strikers to manage more goals; indeed Germany has a solid team but their skills will be put to the test as they will face teams like Italy that is currently at the top of its game.