Germany Opens World Cup Without Ballack
June 9, 2006
German coach Jürgen Klinsmann dashed Germany's hopes on Friday when he ruled out captain Michael Ballack, suffering from a calf strain, in the opener against Costa Rica on Friday.
Tim Borowski will take Ballack's place instead in the all-important curtain raiser.
Earlier on Friday, Ballack declared himself fit and eager to play. He was quoted by a German paper as saying he feels fine and wants to play.
"I've had intensive treatment," he told mass-circulation Bild. "I feel fit, I'm pain-free. I want to play."
"I want to play," screamed the headline on the top selling
Bild newspaper and television and radio seized on the story,
filling their programmes with renewed speculation on the state
of "the country's calf".
Wait over
The waiting is finally over, as Germany kick off the 2006 soccer World Cup finals against Costa Rica in Munich. Fans from around the globe have descended on the country to cheer on their national teams.
Ballack had missed the final training session in Munich because of an injury to a calf muscle he picked up against Colombia a week ago and appeared to be ruled out of the opener.
World Cup organizer Franz Beckenbauer, meanwhile, had warned against Ballack playing too soon, and insisted his injury is simply too risky.
"A calf injury is dangerous," he said. "It's important to be careful. If something were to happen to him then he would be completely out of the running," he said on morning television.
Challengers
Costa Rica fans seem to be free of the problems dogging their opponents at the moment, and spent Thursday fine-tuning their game.
Klinsmann says the Central Americans shouldn't be underestimated.
"We have a lot of respect for Costa Rica like all our opponents," said the coach. "They are a strong side, with four or five very good players."
"We want to play at full pace from the first minute onwards and try and get the crowd behind us," he said.
And if that works, Germany hope they can make their mark on the World Cup from the very first game.