The Hindu : Sport : Easy draw could backfire on favourite Germany

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Easy draw could backfire on favourite Germany

It has forgotten to win at the Euros

— Photo: AP

GEARING UP: Clemens Fritz, Michael Ballack and Lukas Podolski will be hoping to turn the tide in favour of Germany.

VIENNA: The Germans haven’t won a European football championship game in 12 years and their last World Cup triumph was in 1990.

Now comes a Euro 2008 they must have dreamed of.

The three-time champion opens up against Poland, a team it has never lost to in 16 meetings. Then comes Croatia, whose only victory in seven meetings was at the 1998 World Cup. Co-host Austria is the opponent in its final group match and it hasn’t beaten Germany since 1986.

It gets better.

Germany is in a different half of the draw from three of its main rivals — World Cup champion Italy, France and the Netherlands. And those three are in the same group, which means at least one of them won’t make it to the quarterfinals.

It’s not as if the Germans have needed time to get used to the local conditions either. Co-hosts Austria and Switzerland both border Germany and make for a short walk across the border.

No wonder the bookmakers make them 4-1 favourites to lift the title when the final of the 16-team tournament is played in Vienna on June 29.

Looking easy

It just looks easy for Michael Ballack and his team. Too easy. Something has to go wrong, so watch it happen on Sunday.

The Germans have forgotten to win at the Euros with two losses and a draw in 2000 and two draws and a defeat four years ago.

Now Poland bids to keep that unwanted German streak going, and striving to get a first-ever victory over its neighbour after 11 losses and four draws will be a powerful motivating force.

Germany struggled to beat Poland at the last World Cup on home turf in Dortmund, with Oliver Neuville scoring the only goal in the injury time with the Poles down to 10 men.

And although Germany has something of a geographical advantage, Poland won’t be far behind in the modern, 30,000-capacity Woerthersee Stadium.

There should be 9,900 German fans inside the ground and 8,200 Polish supporters. Organisers estimate about 25,000 German fans will cross the border to be in Klagenfurt, even though most won’t have tickets, and 20,000 Polish followers will also be there to make plenty of noise for their team.

Another factor that may go against the Germans is the impact of the result.

Historic significance

Although it would end a winless run, a German victory would appear almost routine. But a first Poland triumph in a match-up that has huge historic significance would spark wild celebrations both back at home and among the fans in and around the stadium. It would also add to the European Championship gloom hanging over the Germans both within the team and back home.

Poland coach Leo Beenhakker has tried to get his players to ignore the history between the two teams and the significance of the result.

“I don’t know how much their game has changed since the World Cup — I haven’t analysed it,” Poland striker Maciej Zurawski said. — AP

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