Germany Squad

Michael Ballack is the only real star among Germany's outfield players but has had an up-and-down season for Bayern Munich. His leadership qualities have been attacked on all sides, he tortured himself playing injured and his team failed to win any titles. Now, there is talk of selling him to another European club. Ballack will have to prove himself at the European Championships.

Fredi Bobic, already active at the European Championships in 1996, has had a catastrophic year. After a much-hyped transfer to Hertha Berlin at the beginning of the season, Bobic failed to live up to his reputation as a goal-scoring threat and was relegated to the bench. He did find his form towards the end of the season - but is it enough to see the proven goal scorer make a claim in the European Championships?

His toughness and will once made Jens Jeremies one of the best players at his position in the world. But the Bayern Munich midfielder isn't getting any younger. Following a few injuries, Jeremies has had difficulty finding regular playing time as a starter both for Bayern and the national team. Whether he will play an important role at the European Championships remains to be seen.

At the tender age of 22, Andreas Hinkel had already played five games as the national team's right winger before injuring himself. Rather than replace him completely, coach Rudi Völler said Hinkel would regain his place in the starting team when he was ready to return. Some saw it as the justified reward for the professional attitude and fearless play of the Vfb Stuttgart star against teams like Manchester United in the Champion's League.

Thomas Brdaric's nomination was the biggest surprise on a German team with so few of them. The Hanover 96 striker raised eyebrows after being the second highest-scoring German striker in the Bundesliga after 35-year-old Martin Max, deemed too old for the team. His 12 goals nevertheless made him only 12th in the goal-scoring rankings. Is this the guy opposing defenses are supposed to fear? At the very least, Thomas Brdaric will earn the appreciation of female fans for his well-trained upper body, which he loves to show after scoring a goal. But will that happen often enough?

Is Oliver Kahn the world's best goalie? In recent months, there have been moments that put that title seriously in doubt. "King Kahn" has made some crucial mistakes in crucial games and the unthinkable has begun to occur: Kahn's reign as Germany's number one has been put into question. Will it push him to a star performance at Euro 2004? Given his steely determination, it seems quite possible - especially since Kahn has yet to win a major title with the national team.

In the World Cup final against Brazil, one player played in a particularly Brazilian way: Bernd Schneider. Since then, things haven't been going well for one of German football's best technicians. His work for club team Bayer Leverkusen this season was well below his average. Should Schneider find his form, then he will prove a vital, and creative, extension to Germany's midfield.

That a German striker, who hasn't scored a goal all season, still gets a chance at playing in the national team seems to be becoming a tradition. Carsten Jancker was allowed to travel to the World Cup with this baggage in 2002. Now, the not-as-talented Bochum striker Paul Freier looks to continue in the same vein. Maybe Völler figured that if Germany came in second at the World Cup with Jancker, they could repeat the success at Euro 2004 with Freier.

Germany's offensive hopes rest on the shoulders of the team's most cosmopolitan players. Born in Brazil to a Panamanian mother and a French-born German father, Kevin Kuranyi grew up partly in Panama and could actually play for Brazil, Panama or Germany. After his glorious initial appearances in German football's top tier, the youngster suffered a loss of form before regaining it partly towards the end of the season, just in time to position himself as the goal-scoring hope of the nation.

Rudi Völler was named to great surprise as head coach following Germany's disastrous performance at the Euro 2000. Völler himself couldn't quite believe it, having no coach's license himself. But Germany's former striker star struck the right tone with both his players and the public and surprised everyone by leading the German national team to a second-place finish at the 2002 World Cup. Though "Aunt Kaethe" -- as he is lovingly known because of his premature gray hair and penchant for the poodle perm -- might not be the world's best tactician, he has won respect for protecting his team through thick and thin. Will his players show their appreciation by winning the European Championships?

His teammates call him "the mirror" because he apparently can't just walk past one without looking. Timo Hildebrand looked just as good on the field, keeping a clean sheet for 885 minutes, thereby breaking Oliver Kahn's record. But the Brad Pitt wannabe isn't likely to break "King Kahn's" hold on the top goalie position - even though Germany would have pretty good chances at the European Championship if they kept their opponents goalless for 885 minutes.

Frank Baumann is one of those players that seldom stands out on the pitch, but has become one of the team's most vital players. He's the type of player that every coach wants for the defensive position: quick, strong in the air, intelligent and not afraid to challenge players. His only problem is his lack of intensity. That's why, even after 22 games with the national team and his part in Bremen's Bundesliga title this season, Baumann is viewed with skepticism.

Soccer fans can't think of many positive things to say about Christian Wörns. Accusations that he doesn't possess good enough technique will nag probably as much as the red card awarded him in the 1998 World Cup quarterfinal against Croatia. But the tough defender with the quiet voice is consistently one of the best German outfield players. This past season, he has been one of Borussia Dortmund's consistent highlights -- one of his accomplishments including shutting out Bayern Munich and Dutch national team striker Roy Makaay. If he can repeat the feat at the Euro 2004, his critics might also be silenced.

Jens Lehmann plays at club that everyone in Europe is swooning over, and won the English Premiership title with Arsenal London without losing a single game, breaking a 100-year-old record. At the beginning of 2004, he looked like he was going to make a serious challenge to unseating Kahn as Germany's top goalie. But his methods - by verbally attacking Kahn's play in an interview - displeased the German sporting elite and some crucial mistakes for his team in Champion's League games stifled his coup attempts. Lehmann is now firmly on the bench again, and promises to support Kahn.

Fabian Ernst was part of the magical Werder Bremen team that won the German Bundesliga title this season. In the national team, however, Ernst is still waiting for his break-through, maybe because he's missing his talented Bremen colleagues. He certainly failed to impress in Germany's humiliating 1:5 loss in an exhibition friendly against Romania.

Dietmar Hamann continues to be consistently, at least in Germany, undervalued, and this after 50 games in the national team. Apparently nobody in his home country is aware that Hamann's position as defensive midfielder is the point at which everything starts and stops in modern soccer. At least his English club, FC Liverpool, seems to know what it has in "Didi": His passing game is excellent, his technique unusually good, his attitude professional and his shots on goal feared by any keeper. No wonder that Hamann is the only German player with regular playing time for a top European club.

When Sebastian Kehl was still playing for SC Freiburg, Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich were falling over themselves trying to sign the young talent. Both thought they were getting their hands on the next great German midfielder. Since signing with Dortmund, Kehl has stagnated and picked up a nasty habit of picking up a lot of red cards. As a result, he's carved himself an image problem and is far removed from the leadership role his talent should have earned him on the field.

Michael Skibbe is Völler's man for the coaching details. The former Schalke 04 player failed in his try as a coach for Borussia Dortmund, but has built his reputation back up working admirably behind Völler.

Jens Nowotny should actually be one of the German players who can perform at the highest European level. Unfortunately, the defender suffered the worst injury a soccer player can endure -- a torn cruciate ligament -- twice. After sitting out half a year each time, Nowotny made himself a laughing stock on his return by being out-played by players below his talent level. Nowotny has since come close to top form once again and the knee seems to be holding. Will his self-confidence return as well? The Euro 2004 promises to be a test.

Philipp Lahm is quite certainly the discovery of the past year. The diminutive 20-year-old has been dismantling his opponents with a superiority that doesn't match his youth or experience level. With the guts to play the ball forward, his flexibility and speed, he could be considered Europe's greatest talent at his position and has already become indispensable in the national team.

Arne Friedrich was the wonderboy last season. In the most recent Bundesliga season, Friedrich was not stable enough to keep his team, Hertha Berlin, from near-relegation into the second league. The right side defender's game was off, only beginning to find its groove again after Hertha scraped enough points together to stay in the Bundesliga. Maybe the newly-won stability will help Friedrich back to his old form in Euro 2004.

Miroslav Klose, the team's top goal-threat in recent years, has put a difficult year behind him. The sensitive striker suffered in the chaos that surrounded his club, FC Kaiserslautern, and after his transfer to Werder Bremen was made official, the ligament in his left knee began hurting. Will he be fit enough for the Euro 2004 to regain his brilliant World Cup form?

He was part of the highly-valued German midfield in the last World Cup. Goal-hungry and dynamic, Torsten Frings became a major player again for his club team Borussia Dortmund following an injury - so major that rumors now have him transferring to Bayern Munich at the end of the season.

Just when it looked like the German national squad was going to be down by one midfielder, the call went out to Christian Ziege who answered in the positive without flinching. The battling Berliner, who has collected silverware all over Europe in his career, will relish the limelight after suffering in an underperforming Tottenham Hotspur this season. Ziege's combative style will add steel to a German midfield which could free up more expressive players to bring the team alive. Ziege could also add his awesome dead-ball abilities to Germany's firepower and with a European Championship win under his belt, his experience will also be invaluable.