Germany always manage to fluke their way through tournaments undeservingly. Or not, says Uli Hesse-Lichtenberger
Oliver Neuville, the speedy Leverkusen winger who was so desperately out of form, pulled the ball back and Christian Ziege hit it first time. It was the Germans’ first serious shot at the Dutch goal, in fact their first half way ambitious foray into the opponents’ box. It also levelled the game at 1-1, as Edwin van der Sar failed to narrow the angle properly.
Dear WSC
Why is Juninho (and any other Brazilian for that matter) referred to as a “samba star”? We don’t call Spanish players “tango stars” or Italians “tarantella stars”. Dennis Bergkamp has never been a “clog dance star” and I haven’t heard Everton fans heralding Joe-Max Moore as their new “hoedown star”. I wonder what foreign journalists call English players. “Morris dance stars” perhaps?
Nigel Ball, Middlesbrough
England peaked in 1966, not four years later, as is often believed, says David Montrose
It’s the view put forward in the official history of the England team. It’s what Geoff Hurst thinks. Sir Alf himself supposedly believed it, though I’ve never discovered when and where he said so. And, of course, it’s been the opinion of assorted scribblers. Joe Lovejoy of the Sunday Times, for one, whose contribution to the pre-millennial surfeit of list-making was his assessment of the Greatest Football Teams. Occupying the top five slots, a genuine celebrity parade: Brazil 1970; Real Madrid 1960; Ajax 1972; Brazil 1958; Hungary 1953. Then, England 1970 – outranking the boys of ’66 as well as every team produced by Germany, the Netherlands, Argentina, Italy and France. Praise indeed for a side that lost two out of four.
Everyone agrees top footballers are playing too many games, except Roger Titford, who can remember when they endured far more without whining. Phil Ball and Neil McCarthy sum up the situation in Spain and France
England
Once again, the top clubs are calling for a reduction in the number of fixtures. Arsène Wenger (31 players used already this season) is to the fore of the complaints, while Alex Ferguson’s strategy for managing his club’s 60-game workload is plain to see. “The recovery time is too short,” Wenger said after Arsenal’s defeat at Middlesbrough in March, which followed a midweek UEFA Cup match. “It is nonsense to have only two and a half days of preparation.”
Wednesday 1 Man Utd beat Bordeaux 2-0. “You’ve got to win your home games,” advises Sir Alex. Mark Bosnich, dropped after his leaden-footed display against Wimbledon the previous Saturday, is said to be “fuming”, the poppet.