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**Vargas_4** · 10-01-2008, 02:49 PM

Former World Cup winning captain Lothar Matthaus has thrown doubt on Germany’s ability to win the 2008 European Championship.

The Germans will go into this summer’s tournament as one of the clear favourites after a very strong qualification campaign. Indeed trainer Joachim Löw recently claimed that his side had to rank among the favourites for the Euro crown.

However, Matthaus doesn’t share this optimism and has played down Germany’s chances of glory.

"To be honest, is the national team really so successful?” he asked.

"To start with, we may have started the European Championships qualifying well, but as far as I know, we only finished second in the end.

"Then you look at the vote for FIFA World Footballer of the Year and see that we had only two Germans among the 30 nominations.

"And we only managed to finish third at a World Cup in our own country, coming behind two other European nations.

"With this in mind, nobody can seriously claim that we are a big favourite for the European Championships" he added.

Matthaus was captain of the side which lifted the 1990 World Cup and was part of the team which won the European Championships in 1980.

The outspoken former Bayern midfielder believes that the current crop of players cannot be compared to the likes of Andreas Brehme, Jurgen Klinsmann and Rudi Voller.

"You have only got to look at the results" the 46 year old added.

"We were the last golden generation in Germany. We won the World Cup and, although the national team today has improved, certain characters are still lacking."

10-01-2008, 02:49 PM	#1 (permalink)
Vargas_4 #4 Phenomenon Favourite Team: Bayern München Vargas_4 is Offline Mood: Join Date: May 2007 Location: Managua Posts: 2,725 vCash: 385 Rep: Rep Points: 934 Country:	Matthaus rubbishes German Euro hopes Former World Cup winning captain Lothar Matthaus has thrown doubt on Germany’s ability to win the 2008 European Championship. The Germans will go into this summer’s tournament as one of the clear favourites after a very strong qualification campaign. Indeed trainer Joachim Löw recently claimed that his side had to rank among the favourites for the Euro crown. However, Matthaus doesn’t share this optimism and has played down Germany’s chances of glory. "To be honest, is the national team really so successful?” he asked. "To start with, we may have started the European Championships qualifying well, but as far as I know, we only finished second in the end. "Then you look at the vote for FIFA World Footballer of the Year and see that we had only two Germans among the 30 nominations. "And we only managed to finish third at a World Cup in our own country, coming behind two other European nations. "With this in mind, nobody can seriously claim that we are a big favourite for the European Championships" he added. Matthaus was captain of the side which lifted the 1990 World Cup and was part of the team which won the European Championships in 1980. The outspoken former Bayern midfielder believes that the current crop of players cannot be compared to the likes of Andreas Brehme, Jurgen Klinsmann and Rudi Voller. "You have only got to look at the results" the 46 year old added. "We were the last golden generation in Germany. We won the World Cup and, although the national team today has improved, certain characters are still lacking." __________________ Thanks a lot Oliver_Kahn!