Captain BALLACK writes off Germany's chances of victory

On the eve of the World Cup Germany's captain Michael Ballack yesterday gave a remarkably bleak assessment of their prospects in the tournament, describing his team as "deficient". In an interview with the German newspaper Der Tages-spiegel Ballack admitted his side, who take on Costa Rica tomorrow in the opening match in Munich, lacked the experience of previous squads.

Ballack, who is almost certain to play tomorrow after being cleared by doctors to resume training after a calf strain, said: "In comparison with some of the big teams we have deficiencies. Perhaps I'm wrong. I very much hope I'm wrong."

The midfielder missed two training sessions this week, prompting fears that Germany would be without their talismanic captain tomorrow, but he said: "It's not so bad. I'm sure I can play against Costa Rica. It's a hangover of the game against Colombia. I noticed on Sunday evening that there was still a stubborn twinge in my calf. But I'm optimistic it can be completely treated."

However Ballack, who will move from Bayern Munich to Chelsea after the World Cup, was surprisingly pessimistic about Germany's chances of winning on home soil. He said: "We have a team that is still in development. We don't have the choice [of players] we had during the 1990 World Cup, or in my opinion we had during the 1996 European Championships. There were many, many more tested and experienced international players back then. That isn't the case with this team."

He continued: "The team lives from its enthusiasm and from its lack of anxiety. Of course it makes a few mistakes, too. That's why I'm going into the tournament with a bit of uncertainty." Ballack also admitted that Germany had played too few competitive games since Jürgen Klinsmann took over as coach two years ago. "We've had virtually only friendly matches," Ballack said. "The only tough test was during the Confederations' Cup. It was the only opportunity to measure ourselves in comparable conditions."

The mood in the German camp, now based at their headquarters in Berlin, appears to have lightened since the defeat of Colombia last weekend. But the Bayern midfielder yesterday conceded that the German squad still had problems, most notably with its defence. This was most recently exposed during Germany's friendly last week against Japan. At one point in the second half Germany were 2-0 down, recovering to draw 2-2. "Our results in the run-up to the World Cup show that this team wobbles. It isn't always stable," Ballack said.

Germany were not assuming easy victories in the group stage and would take their first-round opponents - Costa Rica, Poland and Ecuador - "very seriously", he said. German commentators, meanwhile, have been full of criticism of Klinsmann's attempts to transform Germany's playing style to the offensive rapid game now commonplace in the Premier League and elsewhere.

Ballack was cautiously supportive of Klinsmann's aims but warned yesterday that the team needed to avoid costly mistakes. He told Der Tagesspiegel: "Our weakness is when defending. In the past two years we have never really got it right. We want to play forward and quickly. That's right, fundamentally, but sometimes we play forward too quickly and lose the ball. We have to be clear that we can't just think about attacking."

Ballack said he had a good relationship with Klinsmann but admitted they had disagreed over the team's playing style - with the captain last week publicly criticising Germany's inadequate defence. "We exchange views about the team's latest condition and what sort of shape it's in, both mentally and physically," he said. "The trainer is the decisive figure and wants us to play offensively. He also knows my opinion, though."

Asked whether the current Germany squad was now "his" team, Ballack said. "What do you mean my team? I became captain of a very young team two years ago. I've given my best to bring it on. But it's been a hard piece of work."

Source: Luke Harding - The Guardian