| 02.11.2008 |
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| After burying the hatchet with captain Michael Ballack, Germany coach Joachim Loew said Sunday that he's also ready to make peace with midfielder Torsten Frings. Grab a box of tissues and picture this: Frings walks into the coach's office and Loew, wearing his best black turtleneck, asks the German national team stalwart to have a seat on the couch, make himself comfortable and talk about his feelings. While I'm not sure exactly what I feel about coach Jogi's touchy-feely side -- part of me wants the drama that comes with a public player-coach throw down while my rational side knows that's exactly what the team doesn't need -- Loew's his methods, which he said he'll repeat with Frings, seem to have worked last week with Ballack. The captain left his session of soul searching with his head hung appropriately low and saying: "I realize it was not okay to go public. I apologized to Joachim Loew. He is the coach, he makes the decisions and we have to respect them." All Ballack had done was be a bit critical -- in an interview -- of Loew's decision to drop veteran Frings from the lineup for a pair of World Cup qualifiers. While I think Loew didn't have a choice but to hug it out with Ballack, I don't think Frings' negotiation position is as strong and that there's a good chance this row could spell the end of Frings' national team career. Still, if Frings can swallow enough humble pie, he may end up back on the roster for a little while at least. That a lot more than Kevin Kuranyi can say. Even after apologizing for leaving the stadium during the middle of a game, Loew said he won't consider nominating the Schalke striker to the national team. |
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| 1 Comment |
| I love Ballack and Frings (have u ever heard a cooler name than Torsten Frings?) but I thought Jogi should've benched them both at the Euro: Ballack in the final because of a leg injury and Frings because of his broken rib. We needed 100% physically fit fellas, not crippled 30-something midfielders... Anyway, Ballack and Frings were wrong to go public with their concerns. |
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| David | Homepage | E-Mail | 05.11.2008, 03:33 | ||