Germany call on old soldiers

Veteran TSV 1860 Munich midfielder Thomas Haessler was given a Euro 2000 recall by Germany coach Erich Ribbeck yesterday. Haessler, 33, who last represented his country in the 1998 World Cup, rejoined 1990 World Cup-winning team-mate Lothar Matthaeus in a squad of 22 dominated by Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen players.

Matthaeus, now 39 and playing US Major League Soccer, will be hoping to add to his world-record 146 caps and finish his international career with the defending champions on a high note in the tournament in Belgium and Holland from June 10th to July 2nd.

Ribbeck said of his decision to nominate Haessler, who has 97 international caps: "This wasn't a case of the others weren't doing the job. This is a player with a lot of experience who can help make the team successful with his knowledge and attitude."

Ribbeck had come under intense media pressure to pick Haessler after indicating earlier he would probably not be in the reckoning.

Defensive midfielder Jens Jeremies was included in a strong contingent from champions Bayern despite suffering a fractured collarbone in the German Cup final on May 9th and describing squad morale under Ribbeck as "miserable" after a string of poor performances.

Strong late-season showings by Leverkusen midfielder Carsten Ramelow and striker Paolo Rink and Bayern target-man Carsten Jancker also won them places.

Germany's Group A opponents England yesterday lost Jason Wilcox, the player most likely to give Kevin Keegan's team natural width on the left, from their squad, forced out of the tournament with damaged cruciate knee ligaments.

Wilcox was the only left-footed player virtually guaranteed a place in the final party of 22 that Keegan will announce after the friendly against Ukraine at Wembley tomorrow week.

To compensate in part for the loss of Wilcox, Keegan has called up Gareth Barry, the 19-year-old Aston Villa central defender, from the England Under-21 squad. It is unlikely that, when Keegan comes to pick his team for England's opening game against Portugal in Eindhoven in three weeks' time, Barry will be first choice in any position. If Keegan opts for four at the back Phil Neville is more likely to play on the left even if he is right-footed. And while Barry would be a more natural selection in a back three, he would still only be a cover for Sol Campbell.

The principal effect of Wilcox's withdrawal has been to make it even more likely that Steve McManaman, whose form for Real Madrid has left Keegan mightily impressed, will be on the left wing in Eindhoven. McManaman, who plays for Real Madrid against Valencia tomorrow night in the European Cup final in Paris, will be rested for Saturday's Brazil friendly but will probably appear against Ukraine.

Spanish national coach Jose Antonio Camacho announced the first 12 members of his 22-man squad. Camacho is waiting until after tomorrow's Champions League final and Saturday's Spanish Cup final between Atletico Madrid and Espanyol before completing the list.

Kaiserslautern's Youri Djorkaeff is fit again in time to turn out for France in the finals. The French forward, who injured his thigh in early April, played for the first time in seven weeks on Sunday.

Meanwhile, one of Belgium's police unions said yesterday it was considering strike action during next month's tournament. The police wing of the SLFP public sector union, which represents about 6,000 officers around the country, has given Interior Minister Antoine Duquesne two days to agree to talks about police reforms, or it will recommend strike action.

GERMAN SQUAD: Goalkeepers - Kahn (Bayern Munich), Lehmann (Borussia Dortmund), Butt (Hamburg SV). Defenders - Babbel, Linke (both Bayern Munich), Matthaeus (New York-New Jersey Metrostars), Nowotny (Bayer Leverkusen), Rehmer (Hertha Berlin). Midfielders - Ballack (Bayer Leverkusen), Deisler (Hertha Berlin), Haessler (TSV 1860 Munich), Hamann (Liverpool), Jeremies (Bayern Munich), Ramelow (Bayer Leverkusen), Scholl (Bayern Munich), Wosz (Hertha Berlin), Ziege (Middlesbrough). Strikers - Bierhoff (AC Milan), Bode (Werder Bremen), Jancker (Bayern Munich), Kirsten, Rink (Bayer Leverkusen).

TURKEY: Preliminary squad: Goalkeepers - Rustu Recber (Fenerbahce), Fevzi Tuncay (Besiktas), Omer Catkic (Gaziantepsor); Defend- ers - Fatih Akyel, Bulent Korkmaz, Hakan Unsal (all Galatasaray), Alpay Ozalan, Ogun Temizkanoglu (both Fenerbahce), Mert Korkmaz (Gaziantepspor), Emre Asik (Istanbulspor), Osman Ozkoylu (Trabzonspor); Midfielders - Okan Buruk, Emre Belozoglu, Suat Kaya, Sergen Yalcin, Ergun Penbe, Umit Davala (all Galatasaray), Tugay Kerimoglu (Glasgow Rangers), Tayfur Havutcu, Ayhan Akman (both Besiktas), Tayfun Korkut, Abdullah Ercan (both Fenerbahce), Umit Bozkurt (Denizlispor), Mustafa Izzet (Leicester City); Strikers - Hakan Sukur, Arif Erdem (both Galatasaray), Oktay Derelioglu (Gaziantepspor)

SPAIN: Preliminary 12: Defenders - Aranzabal (Real Sociedad), Barjuan (Barcelona), Jemez (Real Zaragoza), Velasco (Celta Vigo), Fernandez (Barcelona); Midfielders - Guardiola (Barcelona), Engonga (Real Mallorca), Gonzalez (Deportivo Coruna); Forwards - Etxeberria (Athletic Bilbao), Munitis (Racing Santander), Urzaiz (Athletic Bilbao), Perez (Real Betis).