GERMANY took third place at the World Cup for the second tournament in a row Saturday with an exciting 3-2 victory over Uruguay, a result which will earn both coach Joachim Loew and his squad Germany’s top honours after winning ‘the hearts and minds’ of fans at the World Cup, it was revealed yesterday.
Newly elected German president Christian Wulff visited the team, just before they left their World Cup base to fly home on Sunday night after they beat Uruguay 3-2 in Saturday’s third place playoff, to announce the news.
Loew is to receive Germany’s Federal Cross of Merit, while the team will receive the Silver Bay Laurel Leaf, Germany’s top sport award, in recognition of their roles as ambassadors by scoring 16 goals at the World Cup.
‘The team has deserved this distinction, they have won the hearts and minds of people not just in Germany, but across the world.
‘The Cross of Merit for Joachim Loew is in recognition of his work as a coach, we all know how important he has been.’
In an action-packed match, Uruguay, driven by striker Diego Forlan, almost forced extra time. Forlan’s free kick crashed against the crossbar in injury time, the last kick of the match.
The match was heading for extra time at 2-2 when Sami Khedira scored a late header. The goal ended Uruguay’s hopes of beating Germany for the first time in 82 years, while the Germans finished in the top three for the 11th time.
Forlan said after the game that Uruguay had surpassed expectations. ‘Obviously it’s spectacular to be among the top four,’ he said. ‘If anyone had asked us at the beginning, we would’ve liked it. It’s positive.’
Germany coach Joachim Loew, his voice hoarse from flu, said that his team was going home ‘with a very good feeling.’
‘We achieved more than we perhaps expected,’ Loew said. ‘Immediately after this match there is no reason to be disappointed. After the match against Spain everyone was disappointed. But champions rise again.’
‘We have every reason to be fully satisfied with our tournament. There is no room for disappointment.’
Uruguay had come from behind to lead 2-1 when Forlan volleyed in Egidio Arevalo’s 51st-minute cross for his fifth goal of the tournament. Germany defender Marcell Jansen levelled five minutes later with a header after goalkeeper Fernando Muslera misjudged a cross.
‘I think the match was a real match. They staged a great show,’ Uruguay coach Oscar Tabarez said.
Loew also thought both teams played with passion. Man-of-the match Thomas Mueller, coming back from suspension in the semi-final, gave Germany the lead in the 18th minute, his fifth goal at the World Cup, sweeping the ball home after Bastian Schweinsteiger’s swerving shot had been blocked but not collected by Muslera, who was at fault in Germany’s first two goals. Edinson Cavani equalized for Uruguay in the 28th when he slid a shot past goalkeeper Hans-Joerg Butt.
Uruguay has beaten Germany only once in 10 matches, in 1928. Germany beat Uruguay in the third-place match in 1970 – the last time Uruguay reached the semi-finals.
Mueller and Forlan are now even at five goals with David Villa of Spain and Wesley Sneijder of the Netherlands, both of whom can increase their total in Sunday’s final. Germany’s young team was missing five regulars through injury and illness, including striker Miroslav Klose.
Klose, with a painful back, missed a chance to match or beat the World Cup scoring record of 15 goals, held by Brazil striker Ronaldo.
‘Luckily, we won, because the disappointment over the semi-final was still there,’ Schweinsteiger said.
‘We were behind and we rallied, that shows the character if this team. I am very proud of this team although I have tears in one eye because we did not reach the final.’
In its last three World Cup tournaments, Germany was runner-up in 2002 and third in 2006 at home.
Both coaches’ contracts ended with the match. While Loew would not discuss his future, Tabarez said he might continue.
‘I could go on … That is a possibility but this is not the right time to talk about that,’ he said. – Nampa-AFP-AP
