Once more, Germany are in the final of a European Championship, their sixth.
Yet despite the country s impeccable record there is one piece of the jigsaw which Die Mannschaft has been trying in vain to fit for more than 30 years.
A true, dyed-in-the-wool number nine who can call himself the new Gerd Muller.
With 10 goals in five games the German strikeforce, ably backed up by midfielders Michael Ballack and Bastian Schweinsteiger, are hardly impotent yet comprises, in Lukas Podolski and Miroslav Klose, two men who hail from the Silesia region of Poland.
The pair s credentials are not in question as they have now scored 69 international goals between them.
That s just one more than Der Bomber netted in only 62 outings for the Germans in an in…
Borussia Dortmund have confirmed striker Erling Haaland has suffered a hamstring injury.
The Norway star was left out of the squad for Wednesday s Champions League clash with Lazio at Signal Iduna Park.
Dortmund tweeted to confirm the 20-year-old has a muscle problem, which he reportedly sustained in training.
The news is a blow for Lucien Favre s side, who will secure qualification for the last 16 by avoiding defeat to lazio.
Haaland has scored 16 goals in the competition at a rate of one every 56 minutes, which is the best average of any player with at least 10 goals in the competition. He is just three short of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer s record of 19 for a Norwegian player.
Former Salzburg striker Haaland also has 10 goals in eight Bundesliga appea…
French striker David Trezeguet has announced his retirement from international football following news that Raymond Domenech is to stay on as national coach, the Gazzetta dello sport reported on their website Wednesday.
The bad Euro situation and the confirmation of coach have forced me to make this irreversible decision, the Juventus striker said at the club s training ground.
Trezeguet had a successful international career, winning the 1998 World Cup and the 2000 European Championships, where he scored a spectacular golden goal to secure a dramatic late win over Italy.
But Trezeguet and the national coach have had strained relations, with the player recently claiming that Domenech had no confidence in his abilities.
The striker who scored 20 goals …
Mario Gotze has backed Peter Stoger to revive Borussia Dortmund s season after impressing the playmaker since replacing Peter Bosz last month.
Bosz was sacked by Dortmund after their positive start to the Bundesliga campaign spiralled downwards, while they also exited the Champions League.
After throwing away a four-goal lead against rivals Schalke to draw 4-4, a 2-1 defeat to Werder Bremen signalled the end for Bosz, with Stoger appointed until the end of the season.
The former Cologne boss picked up back-to-back victories over Mainz and Hoffenheim before the mid-season break and Gotze is convinced Stoger can be the difference in the second half of the 2017-18 season.
Peter Stoger is very, very inspirational, communicating a lot, being open, and approac…