Coming just before Germany's 1 - 0 defeat to Argentina in an international friendly, Germany's football federation (DFB) has announced that it has reached an agreement with the players on a bonus plan for the upcoming World Cup in South Africa.

Bonuses will start with payments of 50,000 Euros to each player for reaching the quarterfinals. The players would get 100,000 Euros if Germany progresses to the seminals and 150,000 Euros for reaching the final.

If the team brings the trophy home from South Africa, bonus payouts will top 250,000 Euros per player.

Considering Germany's disappointing performance today, it might be premature to speak to players about bonuses at the World Cup.

The German National Team have lost their first match in 2010, the year of the World Cup. In Munich the team of coach Joachim Löw were defeated 0-1 (0-1) by Argentina. Real Madrid striker Gonzalo Higuain scored a nice goal in the 45th minute to give Diego Maradona's side the win.

Higuain clipped the ball over Rene Adler when the German goalkeeper rushed out of his goal and then scored from 30 metres to give Maradona arguably the most impressive win in his turbulent 18 months as coach.

Germany came to life after Cacau replaced Mesut Özil in the 67th minute.

The Brazilian-born forward tested Argentina's goalkeeper Sergio Romero with a powerful drive after being set up by a backheel from captain Michael Ballack and volleyed over from a similar position after a one-two with Mario Gomez.


[DFB.de]

The German national team meet Argentina this Wednesday in one of the classic rivalries of modern-day football (Wednesday, 8.45 P.M.). The German coaching staff, represented by assistant coach Andreas Köpke, announced at a media conference on Monday, that Bayer Leverkusen’s Rene Adler is nominated as the starting goalkeeper.

“In the race for the number one spot, Rene Adler currently has the edge”, said Köpke. “He had excellent performances in every game we put him in the goal. To have him play against Argentina, was not a difficult decision.”

Following the team’s breakfast, Joachim Löw had informed Adler during a brief meeting in the head coach’s office. Adler’s nomination can be interpreted as more than a hint for things to come. If he continues to play convincingly, he’ll be the starter in South Africa.

Köpke emphasized, however, that this nomination is not a final veto against Manuel Neuer (Schalke 04) and Tim Wiese (Werder Bremen). But he also said: “Playing time is a precious opportunity, that the others don’t have right now.”

Rene Adler said: “I feel good about this nomination, especially considering the magnitude of the game. It’s great to play against some of the best players in the world.”

Köpke said, that the entire team looks forward to the game against the two-time World Champions. “It’s a great challenge, and everybody on the team would like to play.”


[Source: DFB.de]

Image: Toni Kroos (right) and Thomas Müller. GES-Sportfoto

German coach Joachim Löw has nominated 26 players for the upcoming international match against Argentina (Wednesday, March 3). Leverkusen’s Toni Kroos and Thomas Müller from Bayern München have been called up for the first time.

Müller had been on the list for last year’s A-team game against the Ivory Coast, but had then played for the U 21-juniors. Löw said: “Both Kroos and Müller have shown solid performances in the Bundesliga for months, so they deserve this chance in the national team. We had invited them for our physical performance screening in Stuttgart last month, and now they have another opportunity to make an impression.”

As for the game against the two-time World Champions Argentina, Löw said: “On Wednesday, we’ll play our final game before we nominate the World Cup roster. With Argentina, we face a strong opponent, which demands our very best effort. We look forward to one of the classic matchups in modern-day football.” Löw went on to say: “We have decided to appoint more players than usual. Especially in a ‘World Cup season’, it’s vital to take a close look at all potential tournament players, and to have many personal talks, which is our emphasis for these next few days.”

Bremen’s goalkeeper Tim Wiese had to pull out because of a ruptured muscle fiber. Whether Hamburg’s Marcell Jansen, who has fallen ill, joins the team, has not yet been decided.

Squad: M Neuer (Schalke), R Adler (Bayer Leverkusen); A Friedrich (Hertha Berlin), P Lahm (Bayern Munich), P Mertesacker (Werder Bremen), M Schafer (Wolfsburg), S Tasci (Stuttgart), J Boateng (Hamburg); M Ballack (Chelsea), C Gentner (Wolfsburg), T Hitzlsperger (Lazio), A Hunt, M Marin, M Ozil (all Werder Bremen), M Jansen, P Trochowski (both Hamburg), S Khedira, C Trasch (both Stuttgart), T Kroos (Bayer Leverkusen), T Muller, B Schweinsteiger (both Bayern Munich); Cacau (Stuttgart), M Gomez, M Klose (both Bayern Munich), S Kiessling (Bayer Leverkusen), L Podolski (Cologne).


[Source: DFB.de]

Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images Europe

The German national team coached by Joachim Löw have drawn Turkey, the team they beat 3-2 in the semi-final at Euro 2008, for their Euro 2012 qualification campaign. The other opponents are 1980 European Championships finalists Belgium, neighbours Austria plus Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan in Group A. The qualifiers are set to begin this September and finish in November 2011.

Fabio Capello's England will face old rivals Wales. England have drawn John Toshack's Wales side in Group G as well as Montenegro, Bulgaria and Switzerland for a place at Euro 2012.

Euro 2008 winners Spain, who beat Germany 1-0 to claim the Henri Delauney trophy in Vienna on June 29, 2008, face arguably their biggest test against the Czech Republic as well as Scotland, Lithuania and Liechtenstein in Group I.

Current World Cup holders Italy, who had a poor Euro 2008 campaign by their own standards, have drawn World Cup qualifiers Serbia, as well as Slovenia, Estonia, the Faroe Islands and Northern Ireland in Group C.

World Cup runners-up France, who had drawn the Republic of Ireland in Saturday's practice draw, are up against Romania, Belarus, Albania, Luxembourg and Bosnia-Herzegovina in Group D.


[DFB.de]

Image: AFP

There were some strong words from Germany legend Franz Beckenbauer this week as the contract negotiation row continues to drag on.

German Football Federation (DFB) boss Theo Zwanziger insisted on Saturday he wants Joachim Löw to remain as coach of the national team, despite contract negotiations being suspended until after the World Cup this summer.

The extending of Löw's contract, which is set to expire after the South Africa World Cup, had been declared a formality by both parties late last year before the surprise announcement this week that negotiations had been postponed.

But Zwanziger has made it clear he wants to keep Löw in charge after the World Cup and into the qualifiers for Euro 2012. "I will speak to Löw whether we have a successful World Cup campaign or not, he would always be my first point of contact."

Löw will find out on Sunday who his side will meet in the qualifying for Euro 2012, which will be held in Poland and the Ukraine, but his main concern is still the World Cup finals in South Africa.

Löw's coaching team, which includes team manager Oliver Bierhoff, are all in the negotiations, but Zwanziger says the fact the matter will be unresolved before Germany bid to win their fourth world title is irrelevant.

"The nation's World Cup fate does not depend on whether the coach of the national team's contract is running out going into the tournament," said Zwanziger.

The DFB president revealed the negotiations had broken down because Bierhoff wanted both more money and influence, making the team manager responsible for the hiring and firing of the coach.

"That was not feasible, I would have had to submit several proposals to change the federation's constitution," said Zwanziger. "This extensive expansion of the constitution could not be merged with the DFB's principals. The national team as a corporation with the DFB as an advisory council - that idea doesn't work."

Zwanziger said he will speak to Löw and Bierhoff in Warsaw this weekend as the DFB representatives attend the Euro 2012 draw and sees the issue being resolved amicably.

And Löw said he was hoping for a face-to-face conversation with Zwanziger to help resolve the issue.

"We have known each other for six years and we have always worked well together," said Loew about Zwanziger. "We can always count on his support personally and also from the DFB. In the coming weeks, our combined goal is to create a positive atmosphere and to put all our strength into creating the best possible preparation for the World Cup."

And Bierhoff's attempt to bring more power to the team manager position was criticised by Beckenbauer who has both coached and captained the national side to World Cup success.

"It was absolutely right to reject the demands of Bierhoff," Beckenbauer told German daily Bild. "Also in the future, the DFB's executive committee must be allowed to decide about who the national coach is, not the team manager. The ability to veto the decision was not acceptable. My opinion is the attempt to take over has failed."

Ouch!

(Photo: Bongarts/Getty Images)

Germany will have to contend with uncertainty in the lead up to the 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa this summer after negotiations over the extension of Joachim Löw's contract fell apart.

The negotiations over the German team coach's contract extension have been postponed until after the World Cup finals, the German Football Federation (DFB) announced on Thursday.

The news comes as a surprise as both Löw and DFB president Theo Zwanziger had previously said the contract, which expires after the World Cup, was almost certain to be extended in the early months of 2010.

It had seemed certain that Löw would lead Germany all the way to the Euro 2012 qualification matches, with the draw set to be held in Warsaw on Sunday, but the stalled talks means his role is no longer assured. It seems Löw and Bierhoff complicated the talks at a late stage by introducing new demands for bonuses and asking that Bierhoff be given a veto over the choice of any future team coach.

"Fundamentally both sides want to continue working together, but over a few aspects we could not agree," said Zwanziger in a statement after an emergency meeting of the DFB board on Thursday. "A compromise proposal was not accepted by the sporting leadership and that's why we are not continuing the talks," he said. "We don't want to jeopardize preparations for the World Cup."

Bierhoff, who as a player reached the World Cup final against Brazil in 2002, admitted the news was a blow. "We would like to have cleared up the contract extensions quickly with the World Cup fast approaching, but we accept the president's decision," he said.

Löw succeeded Jurgen Klinsmann as Germany coach after the 2006 World Cup, when Germany finished third, and he steered his side to the Euro 2008 final where they lost to Spain. Under his guidance, in 45 games Germany have recorded 31 victories, eight draws and six defeats.

Bierhoff and Löw had most likely assumed that Germany's recent performances would make their position unassailable. However, the DFB board chose to rein in the self-confident duo. According to some reports, the DFB had been concerned that a "state within a state" was developing in the national team and sought to reassert control.

The uncertainty is now likely to continue until the summer and threatens to overshadow Germany's preparations for the 2010 World Cup.