Ballack worried by Germany trainer spat

BERLIN - Germany captain Michael Ballack said Wednesday that friction over prolonging trainer Joachim Loew’s contract was unsettling for the team as the clock ticks down to the World Cup in four months.

By (AFP)

Published: Wed 10 Feb 2010, 7:00 PM

Last updated: Mon 6 Apr 2015, 4:06 AM

‘The situation is not ideal. I definitely think that this issue is going to rumble on,’ the Chelsea midfielder was quoted as saying in the Bild daily.

As a result, the 33-year-old said it was ‘particularly important’ for Germany to put in a ‘good game’ in its friendly with Argentina on March 3, ‘so that this discussion doesn’t go on for ever.’

The German Football Federation (DFB) has put off talks on a two-year extension to Loew’s and general manager Oliver Bierhoff’s contracts until after the World Cup, which runs in South Africa from June 11 to July 11.

Loew had been expected to agree to stay on until the 2012 European Championship and on Sunday declared himself ‘very angry’ with the DFB’s decision to publicise details of their negotiations.

But Loew and Bierhoff appeared in front of the press on Tuesday alongside DFB head Theo Zwanziger, promising to bury the hatchet and to devote all their efforts into preparing for South Africa.

‘The team needs this coach,’ Zwanziger said. ‘We want success and I say it here and now, such success at the World Cup is only possible with this coach.’

Loew, 40, took over the reins in 2006 after two years as an assistant to Jurgen Klinsmann, winning 31 out of his 45 games in charge and taking Germany to the final of the 2008 European Championships.

Other players though were confident that the spat would not take the team’s eye off the ball.

‘Obviously it would be better if there could be an agreement soon,’ defender Philipp Lahm said. ‘But basically the team has been together long enough to handle the situation.

‘It doesn’t pose a danger for the World Cup and it won’t cut as an excuse.’