Germany squad at Euro 2004

Germany

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The Germans have had some mixed results of late. They qualified for the finals easily enough but then suffered a 5-1 reverse away at Romania. Pride was restored slightly with a 7-0 win over minnows Malta but it's hard to see the Germans managing to emulate thier World Cup 2002 run to the final. Everything rides on the outcome of their opening game against Holland - win it and they should go through, lose it and they should go out. The goalkeeping position has given coach Rudi Voller a few headaches. His two senior custodians had a public spat and young Timo Hildebrand has made a strong claim to oust them both. The only world class player is still Michael Ballack. He scored four against Malta and will have to carry the rest of the squad, which is still top-heavy with veterans.

Squad

Coach: Rudi Voller

Goalkeepers:
Oliver Kahn (Bayern Munich),
Jens Lehmann (Arsenal London),
Timo Hildebrand (Stuttgart).
Defenders:
Arne Friedrich (Hertha Berlin),
Christian Woerns (Borussia Dortmund),
Jens Nowotny (Bayer Leverkusen),
Andreas Hinkel (Stuttgart),
Philipp Lahm (Stuttgart),
Frank Baumann (Werder Bremen),
Christian Ziege.
Midfielders:
Dietmar Hamann (FC Liverpool),
Michael Ballack (Bayern Munich),
Jens Jeremies (Bayern Munich),
Bernd Schneider (Bayer Leverkusen),
Torsten Frings (Borussia Dortmund),
Sebastian Kehl (Borussia Dortmund),
Bastian Schweinsteiger (Bayern Munich),
Fabian Ernst (Werder Bremen).
Forwards:
Kevin Kuranyi (Stuttgart),
Miroslav Klose (Kaiserslautern),
Fredi Bobic (Hertha Berlin),
Thomas Brdaric (Hannover),
Lukas Podolski (Cologne).

Star Player

Once again, Michael Ballack carries Germany's best hopes upon his shoulders. At twenty-seven, he's approaching his peak and will be keen to prove that Germany's performance at the last World Cup was no fluke. He'd also like to make up for missing out on the final through suspension, and for a disastrous season at Beyern Munich.

Ballack is an attacking midfield player who scores more than his fair share of goals and will be his country's main threat this summer. He possesses dazzling ball skills, a fierce shot and a great football brain. Dangerous from outside the box as well as in it, he'll be at the centre of almost everything Germany create. However, he won't be allowed much space to operate in Portugal as most teams realise: stop Ballack and you have a good chance of stopping Germany.

Key Man

Miroslav Klose was a name few people knew before the last World Cup. That all changed when he scored a hat full of goals in the far east and led Germany to the final. He's unlikely to repeat the performance this time around. For a start, the opposition will be tougher, and he'll be a marked man.

Klose, who has had to battle all season in a poor Kaiserslautern team, still has a great international strike rate and may partner Kevin Kuranyi. If he does manage to score a few goals, that might make the difference between Germany going home at the earliest opportunity and reaching the later stages of the competition.

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