The Euro
Where they'll crown the 14th champion, Kiev's Olympic Stadium
The championship begins June 8 and will end July 1. In a total of 31
matches, 16 countries will compete for the biannual throne awarded
Europe's soccer kings. This year's hosts are Poland and Ukraine. The
German national team, led by captain Philipp Lahm, has their navigation
systems set on Kiev, site of the final.
Beginning in
Warsaw, matches will be played in eight stadiums and broadcast live to
more than 200 countries around the world. UEFA is expecting more than
1.4 million spectators.
“Our aim has to be to win the
European Cup. We know what we are capable of,” said Germany's star
forward Mesut Özil after his side qualified for the European
Championship in September. Unfortunately for Germany and Mesut, however,
they landed in the afore-mentioned “Group of Death,” with the teams
ranked number 4 (the Dutch), 9 (the Danish) and 10 (Portugal).
So
Germany has quite the task ahead of them to merely survive the gauntlet
of their opening group, much less reach the final, at which they may
very well, once again, stare down reigning world and European champions
Spain. In the last major tournaments in 2008 and 2010, Germany failed to
get past the veritable all-star Iberian squad. The Spanish are right at
form this year as well. Ranked tops in the world, Vicente del Bosque’s
team is the odds-on favorite to win the title.
(© picture alliance / dpa)
But don't count out Germany. The third-ranked national squad qualified
with ease, and is led by an experienced core from Bayern, including
captain Philipp Lahm, midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger and goalkeeper
Manuel Neuer. The Bayern core is complemented by Sami Khedira and Özil
from Real Madrid and young members like Mario Götze and André Schürrle.
In
the end though, the niftiest skills of the body succumb to the
intangible gridlock that can sometimes sully the mind. Could a team with
so much talent stumble over their afore-mentioned, twisted-up emotions?
In the practices and run-up to the event they've not exhibited anything
but confidence and, following their coach, optimism. But what about
motivation? All are coming off long seasons, some with lengthy title
runs on international teams, and the eight guys from Bavaria have to get
themselves back up after three big games in a row – all of which they
lost.
One of them, though, sees no reason to lack spirit: “When you cannot get motivated anymore,” Schweinsteiger, who missed the penalty kick in the Champions League final, said, “then you shouldn't do it anymore.” Guess athletes need short memories, too.
source : germany.info
