Klinsmann promises good show in 3rd place play-off
5/7/2006 15:26
Germany head coach Juergen Klinsmann said yesterday that his team will
overcome the disappointment about the semifinal loss to Italy and try their best
to put up a good performance in the World Cup third place play-off on
Saturday.
The hosts' dream of winning the world title on home soil was
smashed as Klinsmann's side were eliminated 2-0 by Italy in the last two minutes
of the extra time.
Klinsmann, who won the World Cup in 1990 as a player, said
it was a bitter pill for them to swallow to lose the game.
He told reporters
at a press conference: "We are disappointed. No doubt. That's bitter, but we
will have to swallow the bitter pill.
"But we will give supporters a good
performance in the game for the third place on Saturday. We will give the
supporters something to cheer about."
Despite the defeat, Klinsmann was full
of praise for his players.
"They had remarkable performance in the
tournament," he said. " They played very positive and attacking football. They
should be proud of that.
"They all have big dreams and have been waiting for
the final in Berlin on July 9. Unfortunately, the dream didnot come true. The
whole country has expected us to make the final but we narrowly missed it. It
takes time for every one of us to swallow the bitter pill."
He said the
German players are very young and have great potential and the country should
have every reason to keep optimistic about Germany's football.
"The most
important issue is that in the last two years, they have showed enormous
potential, so this is the reason to make us optimistic and confident.
"We
have to go on and we should not be afraid of the future. Some the players have
made their name in this World Cup and will sure attract the interest from major
clubs around the world."
Germany edged past Argentina in the quarterfinals
after a thrilling penalty shootout, but Klinsmann said that he did not think of
another penalty shootout in the game.
"No, not at all," he said. "We tried
our best to win the match in regular time and we were close to that. I never
think of the penalties coming into a game."
Germany will vie for the third
place against loser of another semifinal match between Portugal and France in
Munich on Wednesday.
Xinhua By sportswriter Wang Zijiang
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