His much publicised move away from the Weserstadion looks to be ever nearer, with Juventus seemingly on the verge of securing his services. There is, however, reported interest in the mercurial talent from both Inter and Bayern Munich. So what is it that makes Werder Bremen's Diego so sought after?
When Diego Ribas da Cunha signed for Werder Bremen in 2006, the fans at the north German side were in raptures. The diminutive Brazilian had started his career as a 17-year-old at Santos in his homeland, and led the team as captain to two national titles, quickly earning the reputation as one of the best young talents in world football.
Shortly after his €6 million move to Werder was announced, Bremen midfielder Johan Micoud left the club for Bordeaux, meaning that Diego had to step into some big boots as the Frenchman had led the Green and Whites to the double in 2004.
Doubters Silenced
There were, of course, those who doubted that Diego would be able to live up to the expectations. At the time he was the club’s most expensive purchase ever and while at Porto he had spent plenty of time on the bench. However, on his debut he quickly blew the cynics away, scoring one goal and setting up a further two as Werder beat Hannover.
The Complete Playmaker
Diego quickly developed into the key point around which the entire Werder team turned. Werder Bremen soon became synonymous with quick, attacking football, providing a great spectacle for the fans. And much of that was down to the Brazilian.
He was seen as the complete playmaker in the traditional style – an extremely strong dribbling with the ball and always capable of delivering the killer pass. He was also a regular scorer and not just from his deadly free kicks (he has 37 goals in 82 Bundesliga matches so far).
Spectacular Goals Flow
It wasn’t just the quantity of the goals from the boot of the No. 10, but the supreme quality of many of them. Many of Diego’s goals had the fans’ jaws dropping in amazement. His unbelievable strike against Alemannia Aachen from inside his own half in April 2007 was quite rightly voted the Goal of the Season.
Against Bayern Munich he beat Oliver Kahn with a cracking shot in October 2006, which was the Goal of the Month. In the same season, he scored another brilliant goal against Hertha Berlin in a 5-1 win, where he took the ball on the turn and hit a first-time lob over the keeper. Spectacular free kicks have also become a common sight.
Suspect Temperament
There can be no doubts about the technical abilities possessed by the Brazilian, but the one weakness that does need addressing is his temper. His South American temperament often lets him down, especially when he has been provoked. Take for example his head-butt on Frankfurt’s Sotirios Kyrgiakos last season or his attack on Karlsruhe’s Christian Eichner this season, both of which led to bans.
More recently, his stupid yellow card against Hamburg in the semi-final of the UEFA Cup has seen him ruled out of the final. Accused of diving by compatriot Alex Silva he reacted unnecessarily and, thanks to his third caution in the competition, he will miss the final that he has done so much to get Werder into. In order to become truly world-class, that is an area that needs work.
Werder Fans Understand
That one day he would leave the Weserstadion for a ‘bigger club’ was always clear and Werder fans are quite understanding of the fact that he needs to move on to pastures new. In order to become a true great and take on a leading role for Brazil in the Selecao he needs to enjoy success at the highest level. Whether he will experience the same sort of success away from the Weserstadion remains to be seen and it also remains to be seen whether Juventus, for example, will allow him to be the focal point of their team as he is at Werder.
Nobody in Bremen has any animosity towards him regarding his imminent move as he has always given his all for the club. But many will have tear in the eye as they see him play his last game for the club as they remember all the good times. Although he will miss the UEFA Cup final, victory over Shakhtar Donetsk would be in a large part down to his sublime performances in the earlier games.
His last game for Werder should be the DFB Pokal in Berlin against Bayer Leverkusen. A match-winning, cup-winning performance would be the perfect end to his time at Werder Bremen.
[Goal.com]
Born in Poland but raised in Germany, Lukas Podolski certainly started early, playing for the youth club of FC Bergheim at 6, and moving to FC Cologne (FC Köln) when he was 10. It was at FC Cologne that he first emerged into the limelight, scoring 10 goals in his first 19 senior appearances, the best tally by an 18 year old in the history of the Bundesliga. While this garnered interest from other top clubs, Podolski chose to stay at Cologne. Eventually however, he moved to FC Bayern Munich in 2006.
Having been born in Poland, Podolski was initially eligible to play for Poland, but then-Polish national coach Pawal Janas refused the call to consider him, claiming that Poland had "much better strikers" and there was no need for Podolski. Eventually, Podolski was won over by the German side, and since his inclusion in the starting line-up for the German Euro 2004 team, he has proven himself to be an indispensable player.
Paired with Miroslav Klose for the 2006 World Cup, Podolski netted 3 goals in his first World Cup appearance, his impressive tally tying with football greats such as Ronaldo and Thierry Henry. Although Podolski has shown himself to be a brilliant attacker, it seems that his position as striker is likely to change, as German coach Joachim Loew faces a burgeoning demand for Mario Gomez to be featured instead. Podolski may instead find himself in the position of left midfielder, a position he played in the Germany - Cyprus Euro Qualifier in November 2007 as well as the recent friendly against Serbia.
However, there have been doubts expressed in placing Podolski as a left winger, mainly because it would leave the central midfield with a great deal of defensive work. Concerns have been expressed that midfielder Michael Ballack has been overstretched by placing too many responsibilities on him, including a lot of the defensive work. Additionally, it is no secret that Germany's defence, once impenetrable, is now their weakest link. As such, Loew may be taking a big risk in placing Podolski in the left midfield.
The Gillette Best Young Player of 2006 has always shown himself to be an excellent player; Will coach Löw be willing to take the risk of playing him as a left winger or will he be placed in his traditional position of striker up front? If he is placed in midfield, how will he adapt to this new role and how would that affect the team as a whole? All these questions will be answered once the Euro kicks off and we're sure all German football fans will be interested in the answers. Whatever it is, we're sure this young German star will shine brightly in Austria and Switzerland this month.
Philip Lahm entered the 2006 World Cup a relative unknown, but burst onto the international scene with a spectacular opening goal, scored against Costa Rica in the 6th minute. The only German player to play all 690 minutes of the 2006 World Cup, his outstanding performance also earned him a nomination for the FIFA World Player of the Year 2006.
Known for his unique role as a right-footed left back, the versatile Lahm has been efficiently deployed on both sides. An effective support, he delivers pinpoint passes into the penalty box for his strikers; however, he is also quick to slip through holes in opposing defense, functioning as an opportunistic striker.
Standing at 170cm (approximately 5'7"), he is dwarfed by most of his teammates, yet the agile and quick-thinking Lahm clearly manages to hold his own, both internationally and league-wise. He was chosen as the left back for the UEFA Team of the Year 2006, and included in the Mastercard All Star Team.
Hailed by critics as one of the best left backs currently playing today, Lahm's renowned pace, dribbling and crossing abilities are sure to make him a pillar of the German soccer team in the upcoming Euro.
We'll leave you with some videos of his skills as well as the incredible opening goal he scored in the 2006 World Cup.
What else needs to be said about one of Germany's most experienced players in the current squad? You've seen his heroics in the past two World Cups, scoring 5 goals in 2002 and winning the Golden Boot in 2006. He now has a total tally of 10 World Cup goals. With 39 goals out of 75 appearances for the team, he's currently ranked 6th in Germany's all time top scorer's list, joining the ranks of past greats like Uwe Seeler and Karl-Heinz Rummenigge. He still has someway to go to beat his former coach, Jürgen Klinsmann. With his place on the squad almost guaranteed for Euro 2008, it seems like he has a good chance of bettering his goalscoring tally.
Klose is known for his goalscoring instincts, aerial ability, and unselfish play. His consistency as a goal-scorer in his first season at Kaiserslautern earned him his first international cap and he made his debut against Albania on March 24, 2001. Germany won the match 2–1, with Klose scoring Germany's second goal. He continued to impress and was chosen for the 2002 World Cup. He scored a hat-trick against Saudi Arabia in the opening game and performed his trademark goal celebration of a front-flip five times during the 2002 World Cup.
Klose was named to his second successive World Cup team for the 2006 World Cup. In the opening match against Costa Rica, coinciding with his 28th birthday, Klose scored two goals for Germany, in the 17th and 61st minutes, helping them to a 4-2 win. He scored another two goals against Ecuador on June 20, putting him on top of the tournament top scorer list with four goals. Klose also played a major part in Germany's 2–0 win over Sweden in the first knockout round, demonstrating his ability to provide assists as he set up strike partner Lukas Podolski for both goals.
Probably one of the most important goals Klose scored was against Argentina in the quarterfinals, where he scored the equalizing goal when Germany were down 1-0. Germany than went on to win the game on a penalty shootout. Klose is the first German since Gerd Müller in the 1970s to become the top scorer at a World Cup, and the first World Cup finals top scorer from unified Germany.
If his current form is anything to go by, we expect to be seeing more of him during Euro 2008. But for now, we will just enjoy watching some of the highlights of the goals he's scored.
Top 10 Klose goals in the Bundesliga.
Top 10 Klose goals for country.
As the countdown to Euro 2008 heats up, we're starting a column here on GFT (German Football Team) that features a national team player each day. Today, we're starting with Marko Marin, a player that was only yesterday taken off the final Euro squad.
Although he will not be taking part in the Euro 2008 tournament, this is definitely not going to be the last time that we'll see the talented 19 year old winger. Born in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Marin began his footballing career as a youth player, first with SG 01 Hoechst and then with Eintracht Frankfurt. In 2006, he moved to the youth academy of Borussia Mönchengladbach. After a year in the academy, he signed a 3-year contract with the team, making his professional debut in the Bundesliga late in the 2006/2007 season. He came on as a substitute in a game against Eintracht Frankfurt and crowned his cameo with an assist, which helped Gladbach to a last minute 1-1 draw. He was also called up to the under-21 national squad and made 4 appearances for them.
In a surprising move, coach Joachim Löw included him in the provisional 26-man squad for Euro 2008. Löw had said he only needed to watch Marin play for 10 minutes to make up his mind. Marin earned his first cap for the national team on May 27, 2008 against Belarus, which ended in a 2-2 draw. Although he was eventually cut from the final 23-man squad, Löw said: "(He has a) good chance to be back in the national team after the Euro and play a good role in it."
Marin is known for his outstanding ball handling skills and creativity on the ball. Although he has been playing in the 2nd Bundesliga for the past season, it has not stopped him from putting on a display of his skills on a weekly basis. In the last 13 2nd Bundesliga matches, Marin scored four goals and provided 8 assists.
Here are a few videos of his skills on display, proving his strong potential as a future national team player. We are sure this is only the first of many more times that Marko Marin will be featured on GFT!
