Low proud as Germany fight back again
Reuters - Saturday 10 July 2010, 21:48
PORT ELIZABETH - Germany coach Joachim
Low praised the way his "champion team" overcame illness in the
camp and fought back from adversity again to beat Uruguay 3-2 in
a third-place World Cup playoff thriller on Saturday.
Trailing 2-1 early in the second half and with their two
first-choice strikers and captain watching from the bench after
being struck by flu, Germany levelled through Marcell Jansen and
won it eight minutes from time with a Sami Khedira header.
"Both sides wanted the victory, both had great chances but
when we were trailing we could see the strength of this team,"
Low told a news conference.
"I'm so happy to see them turn it around, they thoroughly
deserved to win.
"We knew it was important to finish off with a win, but
champions rise again, we rose to the occasion again and my
players are satisfied. Our objective was to travel to Soccer
City (for the final), but tonight we saw so much joy."
Having seen his young team come of age with four-goal
thrashings of Australia, England and Argentina before bowing out
to Spain in the semi-finals Low said there was no reason for
dejection.
"This World Cup was truly remarkable," he said. "We worked
really hard, we invested really hard, many players had no
tournament experience whatsoever.
INCREDIBLY PROUD
"What I'm incredibly proud of is that the team were great on
and off the pitch, they were wonderful, they showed great
character and identity and knew the importance of being great
off the pitch, brave, respect for each other.
"They played for each other, we proved that in every match.
The day after Spain, everyone was struggling but there's no need
to be disappointed. We will travel home feeling great."
Uruguay too will travel with their heads held high after
their best tournament performance for 40 years and after giving
their all on Saturday.
"They put on a great show, possession went from side to
side, the team who were better in the area and made fewer
mistakes won and it was our turn to lose this time," said coach
Oscar Tabarez.
"We showed our purpose and intentions, on a level playing
field against a great opponent. We showed we can play any team
in the world, there's nothing beyond this. We lost, but we could
have won.
"We had chances we didn't take. This is what football is all
about. The second German goal for us was like a bucket of cold
water."
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