Carsten Ramelow is red-carded (Allsport).
RED CARD HELPED US - METZELDER
Germany defender Christoph Metzelder admitted the dismissal of Carsten Ramelow
acted as a spur in the 2-0 win over Cameroon which clinched their place in the
last 16.
Marco Bode and Miroslav Klose got the goals, while Ramelow and Cameroon's
Patrick Suffo were sent off in separate incidents.
Metzelder said: "It was a shock to lose Carsten but our first reaction among
the players was 'Let's show them'.
"We did that and we proved people wrong. There were a lot of sceptics but we
have shown them too.
"It was a matter of honour and anything is possible now. The last 16 was our
minimum goal."
Germany coach Rudi Voller revealed his
surprise at the rise in level of his side's performance following Ramelow's red card.
"At the start of the match we had some serious problems and the pressure was
really on," said Voller.
"We went into the match as favourites and we couldn't really deal with that
pressure. I was surprised that it was only when we were one man down that we
began to play good football."
He also paid tribute to Germany's opponents, after the two sides had slogged
it out in a sometimes ill-tempered affair.
"Cameroon were the dominant team by far in the first half," Voller
admitted.
"Their forwards have great pace and play the ball very well and they were
creating many chances.
"That made us nervous, but after we were leading things got better and better
for us and we then dominated."
Cameroon coach Winfried Schaefer also believed the 40th-minute dismissal of
Ramelow, with the score at 0-0, had a direct impact on the outcome of the
match.
"I told my players they had to work more because 10 players on the field
instead of 11 tend to grow wings, as they say," said German-born Schaefer.
"It had to be visible to everyone that we were one player up, but they didn't
heed my advice.
"We were playing through the middle too much and lost possession."
Schaefer admitted he was not angry with his players despite their first round
exit.
"I thanked them for their great work," he said.
"They didn't deserve to go out in this way but it was not to be. I told them
to keep their chins up."
|
