Germany News

• Nickname:Die Mannschaft
• Founded:1908
• Manager:Joachim Löw

• Ground:-
• Capacity:

Flick voices German delight

20 Jun 2008 - 08:34:54

Click To Enlarge

Germany's assistant coach Hans-Dieter Flick was full of pride in his players after they secured a place in the semi-finals of Euro 2008 with a 3-2 victory over Portugal.

The classy Portuguese had been expected to see off the previously unimpressive Germans in Basel, but goals from Bastian Schweinsteiger, Miroslav Klose and Michael Ballack were enough to send Luiz Felipe Scolari's side packing.

Flick told UEFA's official website: "We are very proud of the way we played from the first minute to the last.

"We fought hard, we had excellent attacks and we should feel very happy. Germany are a real tournament team and can be very focused when it comes to the crunch.

"We had problems on the flanks against Austria and it was important for us, whether it was Simao or Cristiano Ronaldo, to get them under control.

"We also wanted a solid centre, so we had Simon Rolfes and Thomas Hitzlsperger in the middle.

"We wanted to form triangles with the two central midfielders and the wingers. It helps give you solidity in defence and we left Portugal little space."