GERMANY-POLAND: Players' Quotes

14 June 2006

Philipp LAHM (GER), Budweiser Man of the Match
We put in a really good performance. We made a number of chances, but unfortunately we just couldn’t put them away, which obviously made things that bit tougher. We really had a hard job on our hands tonight. The atmosphere in Dortmund was great. It was clear for all to see that our fitness was what made the difference in the end. We kept the pressure up throughout and managed to get the goal that we fully deserved right at the death. I style myself on Paolo Maldini – he’s an inspiration in every aspect of the game.

Oliver NEUVILLE (GER)
I know I've scored the goal, but I don't feel like the hero of the night. We deserved the victory and could have won by more. The coach told me to get in behind their defence, and I had one decent chance ten minutes before the goal. Then I scored the only goal and obviously it was an important one.

Michael BALLACK (GER)
We were very, very good tonight. We kept our shape and applied a lot of pressure throughout. We were in charge in the first half and we had one or two decent chances. We upped our game after the interval, made the most of our physical strength, and created chance after chance. We thoroughly deserved to win, even if the goal came right at the end. We defended well, and our man-markers won most of their challenges.

Tim BOROWSKI (GER)
This win will really get all the fans together. Watching a match like this from the bench as opposed to being on the pitch really is different.

Lukas PODOLSKI (GER)
I'm not having much luck in front of goal, but I’m sure that’ll change in the next few matches.

Miroslav KLOSE (GER)
The Poles played as we expected they would. They were very positive, but they were clinging on for dear life by the end. Ultimately, we deserved our victory since we made plenty of chances and made sure our luck changed after I had hit the bar. The game against Ecuador will be another tough one, but we want to win all three group matches.

Bernd SCHNEIDER (GER)
The atmosphere in the stadium was absolutely electric. We never gave up and when we finally got the ball in the back of the net, we were over the moon.

David ODONKOR (GER)
We really stuck at it and proved ourselves as a team. It was such a great feeling and we’re all so happy. We never stopped believing that we would win it; we kept ourselves solid at the back and got our reward in the end.

Arne FRIEDRICH (GER)
We looked very good in defence and our forwards always seem to be able to score. The fans were right behind us all the way. It was tough on the nerves, but we got the win in the end, thank goodness.

Ebi SMOLAREK (POL)
This was a game where you had to fight for the whole 90 minutes. I think we did that, but in the end we lost. We gave everything we had in a desperate fight and I think overall we played OK. We don’t have the quality in our team that the Germans have, but we played a tough game and we have nothing to ashamed of. Every man gave everything he had on the pitch today.

Arkadiusz RADOMSKI (POL)
By the time the German goal went in we are all pretty dead and exhausted. It was a real tough fight for us today and we gave everything we had. In the end we lost, but we were not afraid and pushed them all the way.

Mariusz JOP (POL)
All of the players played their hearts out tonight. We gave our all until the very end and when we conceded that late goal it was a real heart-breaker. We have nothing to be ashamed of and we will come out and do it all over again in our last game against Costa Rica.

Maciej ZURAWSKI (POL)
It just wasn't our game today but we gave everything we had and really we have every reason to be proud. Of course we are disappointed, but this is football and sometimes things don’t go your way. Overall, I think we played very well and should be proud.