Hrubesch's Germany 'in a class of their own'

Germany have high hopes in the UEFA European Under-21 Championship in June and are full of confidence that coach Horst Hrubesch can secure continental success at the only level where his nation have previously drawn a blank.

U21 bid
Last year Hrubesch was in charge as Germany won the UEFA European U19 Championship, one of only two UEFA titles missing from their roll of honour since unification. The U21 trophy has been the one that has got away, even in the days of West and East Germany, but that could change in the summer in Sweden and Hrubesch has a talented side at his disposal having replaced Dieter Eilts after qualification.

Talent
Hrubesch will revert to his previous youth role after the finals having extended his contract until June 2012, with his next task to take his European champions to the autumn's FIFA U-20 World Cup in Egypt. Until then he is relishing the opportunity given to him in leading a squad containing the likes of FC Schalke 04 goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, VfB Stuttgart midfielder Sami Khedira – tipped as a successor to Michael Ballack – and FC St. Pauli striker Rouwen Hennings, who has 13 goals in 20 U21 outings. Also worthy of mention are Andreas Beck, Serdar Tasci, Marko Marin and Mesut Özil, who are all in Joachim Löw's senior squad to face Norway on Wednesday but are young enough to play in Sweden.

High class
"After the senior team, the U21s are our most important team," Hrubesch said. "The boys are often regular starters in the Bundesliga, have had their share of international experience and can recommend themselves for Joachim Löw's team. When it comes to playing football, this team is in a class of their own and it's huge fun to coach a team with such potential. It is my advantage that I have coached these guys from U18s to U20s, so I know their individual development, their strengths and weaknesses. Having been amongst the staff for the play-offs against France and having been in charge for [November's friendly] 1-0 win against Italy, I have a clear picture of the dynamics within that group."

Settled squad
The scorer of both goals in the 1980 UEFA European Championship final, Hrubesch works closely with Löw and the pair will shortly discuss which players are likely to feature in June's senior internationals, which take place just before the U21 competition. Hrubesch is keen to settle his selection early and, after Tuesday's friendly in the Republic of Ireland, the matches at the end of next month at home to the Netherlands and Belarus will allow the coach to clarify his thoughts. "For the two games in March, I want to have my squad mostly settled," he said.

Omen
Germany have been handed a tough opener in the finals when they face Spain on 15 June in Gothenburg, with Finland and England also in their group. But the identity of the first opponents could be a good omen for Hrubesch, whose U19 team began their successful 2008 campaign in the Czech Republic with a 2-1 victory against Spain, who had won the previous two tournaments. "Of course it is a difficult group," Hrubesch said. "But we will definitely compete for the title in Sweden. With the U19s last year, no one fancied us in the opener against Spain. We want to go all the way in Sweden and confirm the good development over recent years."