Germany embrace their future

Germany's young team were taught a lesson by Spain and still have much to learn, according to Hansi Flick, the assistant coach.

Thomas Muller, the Germany midfielder, was one of several youngsters picked to play in the World Cup. And the fact that Germany fielded one of their youngest side in their history only proves that the future is indeed in their hands.Show less

ERASMIA // Germany's great run to the World Cup semi-finals ended in a 1-0 defeat by Spain, the European champions, on Wednesday, but the future is bright for their youngest team at the finals in three quarters of a century. Germany's young team were taught a lesson by Spain and still have much to learn, Hansi Flick, the assistant coach, said yesterday.

"We have learned a lesson or two from this match. We are on the right road but it was evident we haven't reached the end of this learning curve," said Flick, who was full of praise for the Spanish. "We wanted to deny them the space they needed and force them into mistakes," he said. "But you have to admit that they are one of the best teams in the world. They are technically gifted and are great at keeping possession."

Joachim Loew's assistant suggested that Germany had left a good impression on the tournament before coming up against the very best on Wednesday in Durban. "If you look at the other games, the team was in the best fighting spirit and I think it wouldn't be wrong to say that the whole world was realising, 'Hey, these Germans can play.' We were very solid, well-organised, but the team we met, Spain, were in a class of their own," he said.

Flick said plenty of work remains to be done with what is clearly a highly promising generation of young German players. "I think we will carry on as we have been doing for the past months. We have a lot of young players who need to be schooled and educated in all disciplines. "The team has tremendous potential. It will be a labour of love and I really have to applaud their team spirit and their professional mindset. They set the bar themselves and that was admirable."

Philipp Lahm, the captain, agreed they had lots of work ahead. He said: "We're disillusioned and disappointed. Reaching the final is not something you can experience every day, it's just every four years. We had a good tournament. We have quality but we have to continue working hard to be competing for trophies in the coming years." Lahm reiterated he would be happy to continue as captain but would have no problem giving up the honour if Michael Ballack returned to his usual role when he recovers from injury.

"When it's fun you want to continue and I am having fun," Lahm said. "It's not a power struggle. The power is with the coach. I have no problem whatsoever if Ballack comes back and wants the captaincy. It's not my job to say who gets it. I am not going to give him back my armband voluntarily but I have no problem if the coach gives it back to him." Lahm was sure there were good times ahead despite the pain of losing a second successive World Cup semi-final after being beaten as hosts in extra-time by Italy in the last tournament. "The good thing is that I have many years left in me. I'm 26, so there will be more semi-finals. The world is our oyster for the future."

* Reuters