When in doubt, the Germans can always turn to captain
Michael Ballack.
Their big-time player came through against Austria, scoring on a thunderous
second-half free kick Monday for a 1-0 win and a place in the quarterfinals of
the European Championship.
In a game marked by the ejection of both coaches before halftime, Ballack
sent in a 25-yard shot in the 49th minute to advance Germany and end the hopes
of its smaller neighbor.
Germany finished Group B as runner-up to Croatia and will face 2004
runner-up Portugal in the quarterfinals on Thursday.
“While we didn’t play as well as we would have wanted, I’m convinced this
victory gave us the necessary push to play even better against Portugal,”
Ballack said.
The goal ensured there was no repeat of “The Miracle of Cordoba,” when
Austria shocked Germany 3-2 to knock the defending champions out of the 1978
World Cup in Argentina. Ballack said just the talk of a possible repeat made his
team determined to prevail.
“A lot was said before the match and maybe the Austrians bit off a little
more than they could chew,” Ballack said. “To listen to them, you’d think we
never managed to hit the ball and they were the world champions three times
over.”
The game had a bizarre first-half incident in which both coaches were
ejected.
Having been irked by several decisions against his team, including a yellow
card to striker Erwin Hoffer for a late but minor challenge on Ballack,
Austria’s Josef Hickersberger was the first coach expelled, in the 41st minute.
Germany’s Joachim Loew then stood toe-to-toe with a UEFA official before being
sent from the field as well.
“The coaches should be free to do whatever they want in the coaching
zone,” Loew said in an interview with German television. “I said the fourth
official that Hickersberger and me have to be allowed to do our coaching …
inside the coaching zone.”
With both coaches banished, it was left to Austria’s Andreas Herzog and
Loew’s assistant, Hansi Flick, to handle their teams.
“Whatever happened had to do with the fact that things were becoming too
chaotic and hectic,” Flick said. “Both of the coaches simply tried to explain
to the fourth official that they wanted to keep coaching and they were sent
off.”
The coaches shook hands before trudging away, with whistles and jeers
echoing around the stadium from bemused fans. But the jeers, at least those of
the German fans, soon turned to cheers.
Ballack had often dropped deep to help the defense rather than lead from the
front as he did so convincingly at Chelsea last season. But a foul by Andreas
Ivanschitz gave Germany a free kick and Ballack rocketed it into the top corner,
far beyond goalkeeper Juergen Macho’s reach.
Needing victory to edge its rival for a place in the next round, Austria
created several chances in front of a sold-out crowd of 51,428 at Ernst Happel
Stadium, but—as in its 1-0 loss to Croatia and 1-1 draw with Poland—could
not convert them.
The lack of a world-class player to finish off moves was the main reason a
spirited and energetic team failed to make it to the next round.
“We have a very young team and they’re all depressed in the dressing room
right now,” team manager Herzog said. “With two years of hard work we’ve been
able to show that people can play good football in Austria.” (***)
