Old guard come to Germany's defence

EURO '96™ winners Christian Ziege and Markus Babbel told uefa.com they like the look of Horst Hrubesch's Germany, with centre-backs Jerome Boateng and Benedikt Höwedes coming in for special praise.

'Central spine'
"The team has a strong central spine," said the 37-year-old Ziege, capped 72 times during his own Germany career. "Jerome Boateng has always impressed me at club level but he has really grown into a giant at the back at international level. He is strong, a natural leader and shows great composure on the ball. He's a vital part of this team. I like seeing him at centre-half because for Hamburger SV he generally plays at right-back but this gives him the chance to make more of an impact on the game. It must help having Benedikt Höwedes alongside him and, of course, Manuel Neuer behind."

Typical fashion
It was a viewpoint echoed by former FC Bayern München, Liverpool FC and Germany team-mate Babbel who, like Ziege, is coincidentally in Sweden on a UEFA Pro Licence course. The VfB Stuttgart coach, 36, said: "The key to this German side are Jerome Boateng and Benedikt Höwedes at the back. Not only are they the perfect backbone, but they are also full with confidence thanks to the incredibly talented goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, who I expect to play for Germany at the World Cup next year if he continues this form." He added of Hrubesch's side: "It is clear they have not clicked perfectly but in typical German fashion we have got the results we have needed and progressed to the last four."

Different roles
Babbel is yet to be convinced Germany have the ability to get past Italy in the last four and go all the way, but Ziege is more optimistic. "They are a good, solid team who have shown signs that they could win this tournament but need to develop more consistency," he explained. "I thought they were superb for 20 minutes against Spain in the opening game. One major problem they have with the squad is the fact that their strikeforce features two attacking midfielders – Mesut Özil and Ashkan Dejagah. At club level both of these players are midfielders so they have had to adapt to these new positions."

Important experience
Whether they win or lose, Ziege is sure that – like himself and Babbel – the class of 2009 will take a lot from their U21 experience. "This tournament is a great way of helping a player to develop," he said. "They get to play against different styles of football and it's the perfect stepping stone to becoming a full international. It also helps a player adapt to a tournament environment, being away from home in a new country and learning how to survive in a hotel with all your team-mates day after day, working on tactical aspects of the game rather than just training hard and going home."