German Soccer Team Told No Sex Before Games

Libidos should be kept in check just before hitting the soccer pitch, Germany's team doctor Tim Meyer has been telling players who are in Portugal preparing to face the Netherlands on Tuesday in the Euro 2004 championships.

It might be tough advice to follow, especially since many of the players' wives and partners are staying just next door at a hotel near the Algarve resort of Almancil.

But according to Meyer, lovemaking involves too much physical and emotional strain, and that could drain players, preventing them from giving their all on the field.

"I regard sex a few hours before a game as a problem," he told the German sports news agency SID.

Alcohol and cigarettes could also be problematic, he said, but there are no official controls over players' behavior and it's up to them to do what's right -- in this case, he said, the right choice would be water, and lots of it.

Temperatures in Portugal are much higher than in Germany and players need to keep their bodies hydrated and cool by imbibing plenty of the clear stuff.

"Drink, drink, drink" is his advice -- simple, but not as enjoyable as the erotic alternative.

Russian strategy

While the Germans are preaching abstinence, the Russians think a little eroticism could propel their players to victory in Portugal. Nine wives and girlfriends of the players stripped for the camera in order to encourage their men to go all out and win one for Mother Russia.

Only a strategically placed photograph of their soccer-playing partners gave the women any kind of cover.

"The wives have done their part," said freelance photographer Svetlana Yeriklintseva, who took the pictures, "now it's the men's turn."