Philipp Lahm skipper of German team
The 26-year old Philipp Lahm will captain the German team in South Africa. One day before a friendly match against Hungary in Budapest (Saturday, 8 P.M., live on ZDF), German coach Joachim Löw made the announcement during a press conference at the team’s training camp in Eppan, Tyrol. Lahm is a defender of FC Bayern München, which had reached the Champions League final against Inter Milano recently.
“Phillip Lahm will be our skipper, and Bastian Schweinsteiger his standby. Both are able to take responsibility”, said Löw. Lahm replaces Michael Ballack, who cannot compete at the 2010 FIFA World Cup due to an ankle injury.
Neuer named goalkeeper for World Cup
German assistant coach Andreas Köpke announced today, that the 24-year old Manuel Neuer is the team’s goalkeeper in South Africa. Neuer is under contract at Schalke 04, which finished in second place in the Bundesliga.
“Manuel Neuer received the nod, and he’ll guard our goal on Saturday against Hungary. It was a close call. Tim Wiese is our number two goalkeeper, Jörg Butt our third option”, said Köpke. The change became a necessity, when designated German goalkeeper Rene Adler sustained a rib-injury.
dfb.de