Out of the shadows to centre stage

The form of defender Arne Friedrich has surprised many in his native Germany, writes EMMET MALONE

THE EMERGENCE of this new generation of stars may have delighted German supporters over the last couple of weeks. What has probably surprised the people back home most since this tournament kicked off on June 11th has been the form of the team’s oldest player, Arne Friedrich. He bounced back from a nightmarish season with Hertha Berlin to emerge here as Joachim Loew’s best defender over the course of the team’s first five games.

If you wanted to be charitable about it, you might argue that Hertha’s greatest problems during the season just finished were at the other end of the pitch, particularly at home where they scored just 10 goals in 17 league games. Friedrich hasn’t made any bones about his own part in the club’s relegation with injuries and poor form before Christmas setting the tone for what was to be a very difficult year.

In the circumstances, the 31-year-old’s prospects of retaining his place in Leow’s team looked highly dubious but with the team undergoing such radical change in midfield, the coach was aiming for stability across the back and Friedrich has rewarded the confidence shown in him with a series of solid displays even before the fairly inspired one that helped the Germans to a crushing victory over Argentina during which the versatile defender bagged his first international goal.

That form has helped rescue Friedrich’s club career at what looked to be a difficult time.

After eight years in Berlin, it was far from clear who would come in for the defender who still had another two years remaining on his contract. Several clubs were mentioned with Wolfsburg always looking to be the front runners but his employers were looking for a €2 million fee and talks stalled until the 2009 Bundesliga champions lost their nerve in the face of the player’s dramatically improved form and decided to close the deal before others stole in ahead of them.

It’s a far cry from the speculation that constantly seemed to surround a player who generally plays at full back and who earned almost all of his international caps in that position until Loew shifted him into the centre a couple of years back.

Strong, good in the air and composed under pressure, the former Arminia Bielefeld player was repeatedly linked with big-money moves after moving to Berlin and, within a month, being promoted to the national team.

Almost inevitably, Bayern Munich were said to have been interested but the move never materialised and Friedrich twice renewed his contract with Hertha, helping them to two top-four finishes before the team ran out of steam this year and went down.

Now, he will be handed the task of fortifying a Wolfsburg defence that looked shaky this year as former England manager Steve McLaren arrives at the club with the aim of continuing his own renaissance. McLaren will, at least, be entirely familiar with the style of player he has acquired.

On the strength of what Freidrich has done here, the player looks to be a steal for the €2 million, all the more so after a British tabloid suggested Arsenal had offered six times as much to Werder Bremen for Per Mertesacker whose confidence had taken something of a hammering in the wake of the group stage defeat by Serbia.

Used to being on the wrong end of a hammering from the press, it was the generally understated Friedrich who provided support for his defensive partner at a potentially critical moment.

“I spoke to him briefly after he came in for the criticism and I told him that I could write a novel about criticism and that I would always be standing beside him on the pitch,” he said, before going on to suggest that his own form had benefited from the absence of stress that came with captaining his club side through such a traumatic year.

“I had a very difficult year and played badly in the first half of the season,” he acknowledged. “Then I performed better but we still went down.

“As the captain, I was under extreme pressure and I made mistakes. (But after joining up with the international squad) the pressure that I had on me the whole year completely fell away, and I became very relaxed.

“Unfortunately, I couldn’t do anything to change the facts and keep Hertha in the first division,” he said, “and, in the circumstances, joining up again with the national team was like a liberation.”

It has certainly looked that way on the pitch with Friedrich in commanding form but the defender has shown little interest in assuming any sort of leadership role within the national team and he has been careful to steer clear of the developing awkwardness with regard to the national team captaincy.

While injured Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Michael Ballack technically remains the team skipper, the likes of Miroslav Klose, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Philipp Lahm have all sought to assume more responsibility for driving the team on with the latter handed the captaincy for the tournament.

On Monday, the Bayern Munich defender appeared to upset the general sense of harmony around the camp by telling that he wouldn’t “willingly” return the armband, a comment that team manager Oliver Bierhoff described as “unfortunate”.

Schweinstiger, whose tremendous form here looks to be the real barrier to Ballack’s return, has been more diplomatic, observing that it is impossible tell if the team might have been even better if the injured midfielder had been fit and available.

It’s hard to imagine, though, and Loew’s observation: “One lesson from this World Cup is that the average age of a team must be very low,” scarcely augurs well for the long-time captain. It would tend to suggest too that, impressive as he has been, South Africa might also be Friedrich’s last international hurrah.

Head-to-head: Some Classic Matches

West Germany 2 Spain 1

(Madrid, July 2nd, 1982)

THE two sides met in the second group phase of the 1982 World Cup in Spain. However, the hosts failed to make home advantage count as the West Germans secured a 2-1 win, meaning they advanced to the semi-final, whilst Spain were eliminated. Pierre Littbarski opened the scoring in the 50th minute for the Germans before Klaus Fischer doubled their advantage 22 minutes later. Jesus Maria Zamora pulled one back for Spain in the 81st minute but it was too little, too late as the loss meant they finished bottom of the group.

West Germany 0 Spain 1

(Paris, June 20th, 1984)

WEST GERMANY were amongst the pre-tournament favourites to lift the European Championship trophy in 1984 in France but were in for a shock as outsiders Spain, with a squad made up mainly of veterans from previous World Cup and European campaigns, secured a 1-0 win in Paris to knock the Germans, who boasted the talents of Lothar Matthaus, Rudi Voller and Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, out at the group stage. Antonio Maceda got the only goal of the game at the death to send the West Germans packing.

Germany 1 Spain 1

(Chicago, June 21st, 1994)

IN THE 1994 World Cup, Germany and Spain were drawn in the same opening group. The sides met in the second game and could only manage a 1-1 draw in the blistering heat of Chicago. Spain took the lead after just 14 minutes through Juan Antonio Goicoechea, although Germany equalised in the 48th minute through Jurgen Klinsmann. Both teams progressed to the next stage and then to the quarter-finals before being eliminated.

Germany 0 Spain 1

(Vienna, June 19th, 2008)

IN this game, the most recent competitive meeting between the sides, Spain managed to secure a narrow victory in the final of Euro 2008. Liverpool's Fernando Torres was the star man, netting the only goal of the game after 33 minutes. Barcelona playmaker Xavi played the ball through the German defence before Torres calmly lifted the ball over the advancing Jens Lehman to clinch Spain's first major trophy in 44 years. The Spanish could have added to the scoreline as the Germans looked for the equaliser but David Silva and Marcos Senna both missed good chances to add to the solitary goal.

World rankings

2– Spain

6– Germany

Routes to the semi-final

Spain

Quarter-finals(July 3rd)

Paraguay 0 Spain 1

Second round(June 29th)

Spain 1 Portugal 0

Group H

June 25th:– Chile 1 Spain 2

June 21st: Spain 2 Honduras 0

June 16th: Spain 0 Switzerland 1

Germany

Quarter-finals(July 3rd)

Argentina 0 Germany 4

Second round(June 27th)

Germany 4 England 1

Group D

June 23rd: Ghana 0 Germany 1

June 18th: Germany 0 Serbia 1

June 13th: Germany 4 Australia 0

Betting(90 minutes)

8/5 – Spain

9/5 – Germany

11/5 – Draw