GERMANY 2-1 SPAIN
Germany coach Horst Hrubesch hailed his side's powers of concentration after goals from Richard Sukuta-Pasu and Ömer Toprak ended Spain's 23-match unbeaten run in the first round of matches in the UEFA European Under-19 Championship Group A. The defeat also severely dented the holders' hopes of claiming a fifth title at this level in seven seasons although coach Ginés Meléndez believes the experience could prove valuable for his side.
Horst Hrubesch, Germany coach
We've won and I think we deserved to. That was our first aim at this tournament. We had to use a lot of energy against a Spain team who were very strong, as we expected them to be. We showed good concentration against a team who have been successful for a long time. In the second half we should have made more of our chances on the counterattack, but overall of course I have to be happy with the result.
http://www.uefa.com/competitions/under1 ... 32325.html
Good game yesterday. This squad has been hailed as Germanys Golden Generation since they started playing together in the U17 two years ago. Now they've beaten the juggernaut of youth tournaments, Spain, pretty convincingly while missing guys like Toni Kroos and Marko Marin, who already play U21 or A level. Manuel Fischer from Stuttgart, one of the Bender twins and Bastian Oczipka from Leverkusen, who are all regulars of that squad, also missed the game against Spain, so this squad could play even better than they did yesterday it.
Timo Gebhart had a heckuva game, as did Nsereko, Toprak and Diekmeier. If at least a few of those guys can fulfil their potential Germanys young core around Podolski, Mertesacker, Schweinsteiger looks really good.
Judging from the few games I've seen from these kids, I'd say that Gebhart, Marin and Kroos are all ready for big minutes in the Bundesliga. Gebhart&Marin should be regulars in their clubs and Kroos will also see time under Klinsmann. A midfield of:
------------------Gebhart------------------
Marin-----------Kroos----------Schweini
is potentially the best I can remember since I watch soccer.
BTW: Jürgen Kohler on my man Toprak from the Breisgaubrasilianer:
Kohler: Ömer Toprak, 18-years old, plays at Freiburg. For me he's the man of the future, the best junior player that I have seen in the last few years. He has all the tools and is very good for his age already.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rQFXztRuIY for those who want to see what I'm talkin about and go here for discussions about the game.
