TM history
The European Championship in their own country is getting closer: This Thursday, the national coach Hansi Flick, who has come under criticism, nominates his squad for the start of the new international season with friendlies against Japan (Sat. at 8:45 p.m.) in Wolfsburg and against France (Tuesday at 8:45 p.m.). at 9 p.m.) in Dortmund. Two good results are mandatory so that the former triple coach of FC Bayern can calmly prepare the German national team for the highlight in the summer of 2024.
A similar thing happened 18 years ago: With the 2006 World Cup, the DFB-Elf had a football festival on their doorstep – and after the summer break, then as now, a top opponent to prepare for the tournament. On 17 August 2005, Jürgen Klinsmann and his team scored a flattering 2-2 against the Netherlands at Rotterdam’s De Kuip. Arjen Robben set up a brace for the dominant Elftal before Michael Ballack and Gerald Asamoah ensured a lucky draw in the second half.
The DFB squad for the friendly against the Netherlands on August 17, 2005
The young hopefuls Lukas Podolski and Bastian Schweinsteiger were given a breather under Klinsmann, who announced his team in writing from his adopted home of California. Nine months later, six players from the 19-man squad did not make it into the 23-man squad for the World Cup and missed out on the acclaimed “summer fairy tale”.
As the only professionals to stand out against the Netherlands in August 2005 and miss out on the World Cup, Fabian Ernst and Kevin Kuranyi should be on call. However, there was no subsequent nomination.
German national team before the 2006 World Cup: a row between Wörns and Klinsmann
Before the tournament, there was a lot of noise about one person: Christian Wörns. The defensive veteran fought for months with coach Klinsmann, which culminated in the end of February 2006 in the DFB giving up his services from now on. “The sports management of the national team has decided that Christian Wörns is no longer part of the squad for the 2006 World Cup in Germany.”
Wörns had sharply criticized the selection criteria when putting together the German team. With his reaction to not being nominated for the international match in Italy at the beginning of March 2006, the BVB professional “deprived himself of the basis for further cooperation”, it was said. Wörns, 66 times DFB kicker, was in September 2005 for the last time part of the selection. “I don’t want to be a stopgap at the World Cup and only be taken along because someone gets injured. I need to be able to look in the mirror,” he said.
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