Young Stars Win Plaudits as New German Generation Shines

When Jürgen Klinsmann was still around as a player -- not the 1990 World Cup-winning incarnation but the striker who was part of an aging 1998 squad which earned infamy back home for a quarter-final loss to Croatia -- the talk was of a German team of has-beens.

Not any more. Under the reforming guidance of the former Stuttgart, Inter Milan, Tottenham and Bayern Munich star, there has been a generational shift in the German squad.

The going hasn't been easy. Teething troubles included a disastrous 4-1 loss earlier this year to Italy, which saw abuse heaped on the side amid acrimonious media claims that a California-based Klinsmann was possibly not the man to bring the World Cup home after a 16-year void.

Critics silenced by victory

But Klinsmann's decision to field youngsters such as Per Mertesacker, David Odonkor and Lukas Podolski has been vindicated by the team's two group wins in the World Cup so far, which have galvanized an entire nation. Suddenly, the fans believe in the team again and, increasingly, so do the players.

Germany's media -- and in particular the mass-selling tabloid Bild -- which have launched savage attacks on Klinsmann and his tactics in the past, suddenly seemed to change their tune after the team's impressive performance in the tournament.

"Klinsi's already jubilating like a world champion again," Bild headlined, while others commented that the win had silenced even the most persistent of critics.

"Overpowering emotion"

Odonkor was still taking in his dream of appearing in the World Cup on his Dortmund home turf as a substitute in the win over Poland, which essentially ensured entry into the last 16. It was a dipping cross by Odonkor that allowed another substitute, striker Oliver Neuville, to slide in and convert it into a goal in the dying minutes of the game.

"When the goal went in I just didn't know where to run -- the emotion of the moment was overpowering," said the 22-year-old whose father is Ghanaian and whose mother is German.

The attacking midfielder was a surprise call-up into the German squad and saw his development hampered by a serious knee injury after making his Bundesliga debut in 2002.

Odonkor says the atmosphere at the World Cup in the German camp could not be better and the young players are being well looked after.

"The whole team have taken me under their wing -- it's really like a family," Odonkor said Thursday at the German team's Berlin media headquarters. "My family came (to the Poland game). It was so important to me they were in the stadium."

Germans quietly confident

The Germans looked rocky at the back in conceding two goals against plucky Costa Rica, but Odonkor and Mertesacker insisted the problems had largely been ironed out after the squad sat down and analyzed where they were going wrong in defense.

"We showed we are a good team and we can be proud of our performance," Odonkor said, echoing Klinsmann's assessment after the final whistle.

Mertesacker, of Hannover 96, who already has 25 caps to his name at 21 as a cultured defender, has kept his place since a 2004 debut win over Iran, holding off claims to bring back one of the veterans of 1998, Christian Worns.

He said Thursday that the Germans were feeling quietly confident after their winning showings.

"We went over the first game with a fine tooth comb. We decided what needed fixing and worked to iron out those weak points which had emerged in defense."

With Klinsmann having fielded a clutch of other young stars, such as Lukas Podolski of Cologne and Bayern's Bastian Schweinsteiger, the future, at least in the mid-term, is suddenly looking quite bright for the hosts. But it is asking a lot of them to conquer the world in the next three weeks.

"It's a steep learning curve -- many people laughed when I was first called up after just 20 league games. Things are going very quickly," said Mertesacker.

Klinsmann has said that critics had been too hasty in criticizing the team line-up.

"Some didn't know how to assess the strengths (of the team)," Klinsmann said. "We didn't have any qualification games and some positive and negative results. But we knew that the real test would come at the World Cup. We believe in this team."

"We can play even better"

Separately, England and Ecuador too qualified for the knock-out stage on Thursday, while Sweden boosted their chances of joining them in the last 16 with a late win over Paraguay.

"We have now seen everyone and we haven't really seen anyone we can't deal with," team assistant and Euro-96 champion Oliver Bierhoff said as he looked forward to a likely second-round meeting with England or Sweden.

"I think I could live better with the winner of Sweden versus Paraguay," conceded the man who helped knock England out in the Euro-96 semi-finals.

Whatever the group situation, there is unlikely to be any let-up in the furious pace the hosts have shown at the start of their bid for a fourth World Cup triumph.

"It was unbelievable to see us score in the final minute," winger Bastian Schweinsteiger told reporters.

"I think we can play even better, and we'll try and prove it in the next game."