Germany captain Philipp Lahm has said winning the next World Cup must be his team’s sole aim when they start their Brazil 2014 qualifying campaign against minnows Faroe Islands on Friday.
Germany play host in Hanover, but having suffered the disappointment of losing the Euro 2012 semi-final to Italy in June, Bayern Munich’s Lahm says winning the World Cup can be his country’s only goal. “After what has happened in the past, our goal can only be to become world champions in 2014,” said Lahm, who will play at right-back for Germany against Faroe Islands with Dortmund’s Marcel Schmelzer on the left. “We can’t stand here and say we want to reach the quarter-finals. No. We want to win the World Cup.”
Lahm admitted he was still bitter about his team’s 2-1 defeat to the Azzurri which ended their bid to lift their first major title since 1996. “We were missing something. This was a really bitter defeat,” he said. “I still believe that we had a great shot at the title.” Lahm admitted Germany’s biggest obstacle to winning the next World Cup, presuming they qualify from Group C, is to break Spain’s stranglehold having won both Euro 2008 and Euro 2012 on top of their 2010 World Cup triumph.
“We also have some bad luck that we currently have Spain, who are a team of the century, ahead of us,” admitted Lahm. Germany host Faroe Island on Friday without Bayern midfielder Toni Kroos, who has a bruised hip, then face Austria in Vienna on Tuesday. “(Kroos) will not be available on Friday night,” confirmed Germany’s assistant coach Hansi Flick on Thursday with Kroos expected to train with the team on Saturday. Germany are without Bayern pair striker Mario Gomez and midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger, who are recovering from injuries. Lazio’s veteran Miroslav Klose is expected to start as the lone striker and is just four short of Gerd Mueller’s 38-year-old record of 68 goals for his country.
Mourinho refuses to comment on glum Ronaldo
Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho says he won’t make any comment on forward Cristiano Ronaldo’s surprise declaration that he’s unhappy at the club. “I am not going to say anything about that”, the Portuguese coach said when asked about his compatriot and star striker’s troubles during an interview with sports daily AS published Thursday. “I am ready to talk about everything. I have answered in depth and sincerely. But don’t ask me about Cristiano. You have to understand. Please don’t insist,” Mourinho said. The 27-year-old Ronaldo confessed to being “sad” when asked why he had not celebrated either of two goals he scored in Real Madrid’s 3-0 win over Granada on Sunday. Ronaldo has still not explained why he is unhappy, saying only on Sunday that it was professional, not personal. “People know why,” he was quoted as saying. The striker took to his Facebook page and Twitter on Tuesday to deny financial motives for his misery. “That I am feeling sad and have expressed this sadness has created a huge stir,” Ronaldo said. “I am accused of wanting more money, but one day it will be shown that this is not the case.”
