Joachim Löw’s side rightly come into the tournament as one of the favourites following a superb qualification process and Germany will no doubt be looking to get themselves off to a winning start against Poland in Klagenfurt in their opener.   

The Germans cruised through their qualifying group that included the Czech Republic and many believe they finished second on purpose as to avoid a ‘Group of Death’ like the one that Italy, France and Holland find themselves in.   

The two teams met in the group stage at the World Cup 2006 in Dortmund and it took a 91st minute goal from substitute Oliver Neville to secure a narrow 1-0 win for the host nation. The occasion was huge then and the rivalry is such that the forthcoming clash is likely to be just as massive.  

The German team that took to the field two years ago against Poland remains pretty much intact with just one or two changes expected. Co-trainer Hansi Flick has even joked that the Germans will be using exactly the same team talk they used last time out.   

The one worry concerning the Germans going into the tournament is surprisingly their defence. Keeper Jens Lehmann has not had a lot of football this season at Arsenal and has not looked on top of his game during recent warm-up games.  

Christophe Metzelder, a Löw favourite, will partner Per Mertesacker in the centre of the defence, but he too has missed a lot of games this season for Real Madrid through injury. The one positive thing is that the same concerns were being raised prior to the World Cup in 2006 and they proved unfounded as the Germans reached the semi-final.

After breaking new ground in qualifying for their first European Championship finals, Poland will enter their opening Group B match against Germany looking for another first in the form of a long-awaited win over their neighbours. The Poles have failed to register a win in the previous 15 meetings between the two sides.

Poland will look to the experience of their coach Leo Beenhakker to see them through against the Germans.  After losing his opening game in the qualifying group, the Dutch coach led the country to the top of the group ahead of Portugal and qualified the Poles for the European Championships for the first time.

The Polish tabloid press have certainly been stoking up the fires in recent days with a series of inflammatory front pages which haven’t gone down to well in the German camp. The have been images of Beenhakker holding the severed heads of both Ballack and Löw and plenty of jingoistic references.   

Coach Leo Beenhakker has described the publicity stunt as “mad, dirty and sick” and will be hoping the incident doesn’t impact too much upon his side’s preparations for the vital opening clash with the Germans.

The label of underdogs will suit the Poles. The pressure will be very much on the Germans and to even gain a point will be seen as a success. A win however would surely cause national jubilation.

TEAM NEWS  

Germany

Joachim Löw has intimated that he may play Bayern Munich striker Lukas Podolski on the left hand side of midfield in what will be the only real surprise in his line-up. Mario Gomez looks to have won the battle to partner Miroslav Klose up front with Marcell Jansen to play at left back with Bayern team mate Philipp Lahm on the other flank.

Poland

Poland’s preparations have been hit after Dortmund midfielder Jakub Blaszczykowski suffered a hamstring injury which means he will miss the finals. 

However, there is better news regarding defender Michal Zewlakow, who has recovered from a leg injury and will be ready for his country’s opening game in Group B. The other late injury news concerns third-choice keeper Tomasz Kuszczak, who has suffered a back injury and is also out of the tournament.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Germany - Michael Ballack: The Chelsea midfielder will want to lead his country to Euro 2008 glory and end a barren run which has seen the Germans not win the tournament since 1996. A win in Austria/ Switzerland will also go a long way to dampen Ballacks’s personal disappointment of losing out on this season’s Champions League. He has hit form at just the right time towards the end of the season and should be Germany’s key-man in the coming weeks.  

Poland- Mariusz Lewandowski: Poland face an uphill task if they are to cause an upset and beat the Germans in this Group B opener. The midfield area will be key and if enforcer Lewandowski can shackle Ballack then part of the battle will have been won. The Shakhtar Donetsk midfielder will also look to get forward at set-pieces to provide a goal threat.

PREDICTION

Germany are a real tournament side and will be looking to top the group despite three matches to come against Poland, Croatia and Austria. They haven’t looked to be on top form in their last two friendly matches against Belarus and Serbia, but should be good enough to secure a win over rivals Poland in this Group B opener.  

Germany 2-0 Poland

Arrivati a fine maggio, ci sono novità importante sotto il profilo del calciomercato; qualche giocatore importante si sta muovendo, ma le novità più importanti avvengono da parte degli allenatori..

Roberto Mancini dopo un incontro di circa 20 minuti è stato “esonerato” da Moratti che ha scelto il tecnico portoghese Mourinho, che sembra potersi portare all’Inter: Lampard e Drogba; se fosse così la squadra milanese sarebbe molto rafforzata..

Ballardini che quest’anno ha ottenuto una salvezza fantastica con il Cagliari, lascia la squadra sarda perché non si è accordato con Cellino sulla durata del contratto..

Beretta dopo aver ottenuto una salvezza tranquilla in anticipo con il Siena ed aver raggiunto risultati importanti come il 3-0 contro la Roma, se ne va dai senesi che già si sono accordati con Giampaolo..

Sono stati fino all’ultimo in bilico e ancora non è detta l’ultima parola: Zenga autore di una salvezza all’ultimo respiro col Catania, Orlandi che ha salvato la Reggina trovando in Brienza e Cozza gli uomini più importanti, Reja autore di un ottimo campionato con il Napoli considerato che era una neopromossa, Mazzarri che ha lottato fino all’ultimo con la Samp per un posto Champions, Delio Rossi che dopo un campionato di incomprensioni con il presidente Lotito ha portato la Lazio ad una salvezza che sembra ampia ma che si è concretizzata solo per il valore pessimo delle retrocesse..

Sul fronte società, si è parlato molto di un passaggio di mano della famiglia Sensi a favore di Soros o di altri investitori, ma sembra che la vendita sia ormai tramontata, visto che il magnate ungherese ha dato ordine ai suoi rappresentanti di interrompere i dialoghi che l’AS Roma ha sempre seccamente smentito con comunicati stampa.

Per quanto riguarda i giocatori che fanno parte del vero calciomercato, le operazioni più importanti sono il passaggio di Amauri dal Palermo alla Juve, (il giocatore ha fatto le visite mediche, ma non ha firmato il contratto perché vorrebbe qualche soldino in più!), Gilardino passa dal Milan alla Fiorentina per 14 milioni di euro, finalmente i gigliati trovano una punta in grado di non far rimpiangere Luca Toni; Liverani sembra in procinto di trasferirsi a Palermo perché dice di non aver trovato l’accordo economico con i viola, mentre Barzagli che era accostato alla Fiorentina se ne va al Worsburg dove ritrova il suo compagno rosanero Zaccardo; l’attaccante Moreno del Cruzeiro a cui era molto interessata la Roma, firma per lo Shakhtar Donetsk, mentre gli emissari della Samp sono a Madrid per chiudere l’affare Cassano, sembra che il Real non voglia soldi, ma solo un compenso del 70% in caso di vendita del giocatore nei prossimi 2 anni; la Samp cerca di convincere l’Inter a farsi prestare Adriano che farebbe coppia con Cassano il prossimo anno..

La Lazio cerca Pablo Aimar, ma non credo possa comprarlo per il tetto ingaggi della società, restituirà al Manchester City Rolando Bianchi, e riscatterà Radu che ben si è comportato in questa stagione; il Milan ha concluso l’acquisto di Flaminì dall’Arsenal, e prepara l’assalto per Zambrotta, Ronaldinho, Eto’o; sembra che il Barcellona sia interessato a Hleb, Mancini e Juan della Roma..

28/05/2008

Two Carling Cup Quarterfinals today: Manchester City vs. Tottenham; Arsenal vs. Blackburn (Tottenham is already up 1-0, in the 20th minute as of 3:00pm est).

Bunch of Negative Headlines:

Liverpool downgrades stadium plan.

Manchester United party to be investigated after rape claims.

John Terry injured. Leon Osman injured.