Germany - Czech Republic 0:3 (0:2)



Match Number: 	796
Date:		17-October-2007
Location:	München
Competition:	Euro 2008 Qualifying


GERMANY:
Hildebrand
A. Friedrich, Metzelder (46. Fritz), Mertesacker, Jansen
Odonkor, Frings, Trochowski (46. Rolfes)
Schweinsteiger (65. Gomez)
Kuranyi, Podolski

CZECH REPUBLIC:
Cech
Pospech, Kovac, Rozehnal, Ujfalusi
Galasek, Plasil, Sionko (58. Vlcek), Matejovsky, Pudil (73. Kulic)
Koller (79. Fenin)

Scoring:
0:1 Sionko (2.)
0:2 Matejovsky (23.)
0:3 Plasil (64.)


Referee: Webb (England)
Yellow cards: Podolski


Attendance: 66,400 (sold out)

Germany bitch-slapped!! Euro 2008 Qualifier: Germany - Czech Republic 0:3

The earlier news that Germany became the first nation to qualify for the Euro 2008 finals has been replaced by the dire performance as they got their asses ripped by rampant Czechs. And this after Franz Beckenbauer heralded the DFB squad as Europe's best. Well, welcome back to earth, Herr Kaiser.

Of course, with qualification in the bag, one might have expected a let down. But they were ripped wide open by a clever Czech team that wanted to assure their qualification as well.

Things started horribly, as after less than 2 minutes, ex-Dortmunder Jan Koller laid off the ball to Libor Sionko, who calmly slotted home. A "hospital pass" by Bastian Schweinsteiger initiated the whole mess. So Hildebrand's first touch was to take the ball out of the net. The Germans were stunned, but at least launched some fierce attacks. Then Frings and Metzelder were napping, and Marek Matejovski snuck in after 23 minutes for the killer. After this, the DFB basically started to phone it in, with a few lackadasical attacks and crap defending. The Czechs got a 3rd goal from Plasil, but the players didn't seem to mind too much, as the boos and whistling had subsided - most of the fans had already left the stadium.

After the match, coach Joachim Löw defended his team, stating "The players didn't deserve the boos." And Torsten Frings merely commented wryly "Well, they cheer us when we win, and boo us when we lose." However, most fans beg to differ. They boo when it seems like the team should be arrested for impersonating footballers, or indicted on charges of "refusal to work". (Arbeitsverweigerung. Germans love words like that!). Losing isn't the problem, but listless effort certainly deserves some response from the fans? You can't take anything away from the Czechs, but Germany clearly attempted to phone it in, and it backfired.

This lame performance will hopefully serve as a wakeup call.


Abseits Guide to German Soccer