ACBerb
Dec 3 2004, 08:48 PM
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) - Germany will prepare for its home bid for the 2006 World Cup title with matches against previous champions France, Italy, and Argentina.
The busy schedule also includes games against Asia champion Japan and China, and traditional rival the Netherlands, the German soccer federation said. But a December 2005 tour of the United States and Mexico was canceled, as expected.
During the World Cup, Germany will be based in the capital Berlin, the venue for the final, the federation said.
"We think that the national team has to be present in the capital, we want to be part of the soccer fever there." said national team general manager Oliver Bierhoff.
As host, Germany is the only team that doesn't have to qualify. It was runner-up in 2002.
Germany is also hosting next year's Confederations Cup, a dress rehearsal for the World Cup.
Coach Juergen Klinsmann wanted a series of tough matches to prepare for Germany's attempt to win its fourth World Cup title, and the team will undertake an Asian tour this month for games against Japan, South Korea and Thailand.
Germany opens 2005 by hosting Argentina in Duesseldorf on Feb. 9.
It also plays Slovenia, Northern Ireland and Russia ahead of the June 15-26 Confederations Cup.
Germany's opponents in the group stage of the Confederations Cup were Argentina, Tunisia and Australia. A game against World Cup champion Brazil was possible if both teams advance.
In the second half of 2005, Germany will play the Netherlands, Slovakia, Japan and France.
To start the World Cup year, Germany will meet China at home, before traveling to Italy. Three more games will follow before the World Cup, with opponents to be determined.
A game between the national team and Bayern Munich was set for next May 30 to inaugurate the Munich arena, which will host the opening match of the World Cup on June 9, 2006. Germany will kick off the tournament.
Germany's other World Cup group matches are in Dortmund and Berlin. The final is on July 9 in Berlin's renovated Olympic Stadium.
The team's base will be about 10 minutes away by car, in a the wooded Berlin suburb of Grunewald, in a hotel renovated according to plans by fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld.
Klinsmann's team will practice at Hertha Berlin's training ground, near the Olympic Stadium.
Klinsmann, who lives in California, did not attend the announcement, made in the southern German town of Rust.
By settling on Berlin, Klinsmann prevailed over federation chiefs, who wanted to keep an earlier promise to the Bundelsiga club Bayer Leverkusen to practice at its stadium and stay in the area.
Leverkusen's corporate sponsor was a strong financial backer of Germany's bid to stage the World Cup.
The city's stadium in western Germany is too small for World Cup matches with a capacity of 22,500 and federation officials promised that the national team would make its headquarters in a hotel in the area, and practice at the stadium.
But Klinsmann, who took over the team four months ago after Germany's dismal Euro 2004 campaign, rejected Leverkusen, saying the team would travel too long between the hotel and the stadium.
Leverkusen's officials bitterly opposed Klinsmann's move, but in the end accepted the decision.
Leverkusen was likely to receive one or two national team games in return.
The busy schedule also includes games against Asia champion Japan and China, and traditional rival the Netherlands, the German soccer federation said. But a December 2005 tour of the United States and Mexico was canceled, as expected.
During the World Cup, Germany will be based in the capital Berlin, the venue for the final, the federation said.
"We think that the national team has to be present in the capital, we want to be part of the soccer fever there." said national team general manager Oliver Bierhoff.
As host, Germany is the only team that doesn't have to qualify. It was runner-up in 2002.
Germany is also hosting next year's Confederations Cup, a dress rehearsal for the World Cup.
Coach Juergen Klinsmann wanted a series of tough matches to prepare for Germany's attempt to win its fourth World Cup title, and the team will undertake an Asian tour this month for games against Japan, South Korea and Thailand.
Germany opens 2005 by hosting Argentina in Duesseldorf on Feb. 9.
It also plays Slovenia, Northern Ireland and Russia ahead of the June 15-26 Confederations Cup.
Germany's opponents in the group stage of the Confederations Cup were Argentina, Tunisia and Australia. A game against World Cup champion Brazil was possible if both teams advance.
In the second half of 2005, Germany will play the Netherlands, Slovakia, Japan and France.
To start the World Cup year, Germany will meet China at home, before traveling to Italy. Three more games will follow before the World Cup, with opponents to be determined.
A game between the national team and Bayern Munich was set for next May 30 to inaugurate the Munich arena, which will host the opening match of the World Cup on June 9, 2006. Germany will kick off the tournament.
Germany's other World Cup group matches are in Dortmund and Berlin. The final is on July 9 in Berlin's renovated Olympic Stadium.
The team's base will be about 10 minutes away by car, in a the wooded Berlin suburb of Grunewald, in a hotel renovated according to plans by fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld.
Klinsmann's team will practice at Hertha Berlin's training ground, near the Olympic Stadium.
Klinsmann, who lives in California, did not attend the announcement, made in the southern German town of Rust.
By settling on Berlin, Klinsmann prevailed over federation chiefs, who wanted to keep an earlier promise to the Bundelsiga club Bayer Leverkusen to practice at its stadium and stay in the area.
Leverkusen's corporate sponsor was a strong financial backer of Germany's bid to stage the World Cup.
The city's stadium in western Germany is too small for World Cup matches with a capacity of 22,500 and federation officials promised that the national team would make its headquarters in a hotel in the area, and practice at the stadium.
But Klinsmann, who took over the team four months ago after Germany's dismal Euro 2004 campaign, rejected Leverkusen, saying the team would travel too long between the hotel and the stadium.
Leverkusen's officials bitterly opposed Klinsmann's move, but in the end accepted the decision.
Leverkusen was likely to receive one or two national team games in return.