Tue, Jun 15, 2010 page20

• 2010 FIFA WORLD CUP: German coach pondering embarrassment of riches

  UNDER FIRE Australia coach Pim Verbeek accepted responsibility for some curious selections and tactics after his side were thrashed by Germany

  • REUTERS AND AP
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  GROUP D

  ▲Australia

  

  Australian goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer attempts to make a save during their match against Germany on Sunday at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban, South Africa.

  PHOTO: AFP

  ▲Germany

  Germany coach Joachim Loew was left pondering an embarrassment of attacking options after his young team took apart Australia with a scintillating display in their World Cup opener.

  The dapper 50-year-old sounded the obligatory note of caution after Germany put four goals without reply past a Socceroo side known for its tight defending, albeit one without the dismissed Tim Cahill for much of the second half, but previously stuttering forwards Miroslav Klose and Lukas Podolski getting on the score sheet would have been a huge encouragement, while Cacau scoring the fourth goal soon after coming on as a substitute was another big bonus.

  “Now I’m struggling even more to use the term ‘standard team,’” Loew told reporters after Sunday’s match at the Moses Mabhida Stadium. “Why? As far as our attackers are concerned we have a range of possibilities — Cacau, [Mario] Gomes, [Piotr] Trochowski — and they can really twist and turn a match when I bring them on.”

  “I could have fielded other players. It was a difficult decision not to field Cacau straight away. I just knew I had a strong substitute there on the bench,” he said. “At 2-0, I took off Klose and I’ve got a range of possibilities as far as our defense is concerned.”

  Loew’s decision to favor Thomas Mueller over Trochowski in his starting lineup also looked like a masterstroke after the young Bayern Munich winger dominated the right flank, drilling a series of quality balls across the face of goal and capping a fine night with a goal.

  “Trochowski prepared well, he implemented the instructions I gave him, but Mueller is particularly valuable when it comes to playing a more defensive squad,” the coach said. “Mueller can take the ball from midfield and take it up to the 18-yard box. He can really penetrate the defense.”

  Loew said Serbia, Germany’s next Group D opponents on Friday, would provide a different set of challenges to his team, particularly after they lost their opening match to Ghana.

  Being in charge of the youngest German World Cup squad in 76 years, however, Loew was delighted to get the first match out of the way and banish his players’ pre-tournament nerves.

  “The first match of the tournament comes with an enormous amount of pressure,” Loew said. “Of course, all the suspense and tightness before a match, that’s just a fact. So now we can be happy and confident and take the next step.”

  Socceroos coach Pim Verbeek accepted responsibility for some curious selections and tactics.

  Verbeek played several players out of position, left out some regular starters and went into the match without a recognized striker.

  Seemingly intent on grinding out a draw, Verbeek left out target-man forward Josh Kennedy and regular attacking midfielder Mark Bresciano despite both being regulars in lead-up games, while star forward Harry Kewell never came off the bench.

  “If you lose 4-0 you can always say it didn’t help, but nobody can prove we would have won if we had those players on the field,” Verbeek said.

  “They [Kennedy and Bresciano] didn’t do well in the last two games. They didn’t do well in training — not well enough. The players who were on the field were the better players — that’s the reality,” he said.

  Verbeek said he had intended to bring Kewell on, but abandoned that plan after midfielder Cahill was sent off early in the second half.

  The defensive formation and unusual selections — including regular central midfielder Jason Culina being played on the left wing and midfielder Richard Garcia being played in an advanced position — brought stinging criticism in Australia.

  The Sydney Morning Herald newspaper headlined its story “Utter Disaster,” and castigated the coach for making selection gambles in his first World Cup match.
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