Germany return to spotlight

By Kevin Ashby

After 13 million people watched their 2003 FIFA Women's Cup final victory against Sweden on television last month, Germany will again be under the spotlight on Saturday when their UEFA European Women's Championship qualifying campaign resumes against Portugal.

European dominance
The winners of the last three European Championships, Germany finally transferred their dominance on to the global stage by claiming their first world crown in the United States. Nia Künzer scored the winning goal in extra time after Maren Meinert had cancelled out Hanna Ljungberg's opener for Sweden in Los Angeles.

'Phenomenal' crowd
A "phenomenal" crowd was in attendance in Frankfurt to welcome Tina Theune-Meyer's victorious side back to Germany, and the team continue to bask in the glory of their success. The players are now household names - their fame fuelled by numerous appearances on the country's leading chat shows - and can expect another significant audience when they play their first match since the World Cup against the Portuguese.

'Wider audience'
The game was switched to Saturday with an 18.00CET kick-off at the behest of ARD, who will screen the Group 4 fixture immediately prior to the German men's team's match against France. "I like the idea," coach Theune-Meyer told uefa.com. "In the past our games kicked off earlier but now a much wider audience will be able to see the game and that is part of the World Cup-winning euphoria."

Retired duo
The Kreuzeichestadion in Reutlingen is also expected to be full, with the majority of the 15,000 tickets already sold. Fifteen of the squad which triumphed in the US have been selected, with Meinert and captain Bettina Wiegmann the notable exceptions after both retired with gold medals in hand. "There is no way I can replace these two as both were such impressive personalities," Theune-Meyer continued. "They were so important to our style with their experience."

Emerging talent
None the less, Theune-Meyer feels the future is bright: "I have been forced to refigure my team now but there are many talented players keen to get their chance in the national team and I am not worried. For example, our Under-19 team were European champions three times in a row." Continuity flows through the German set-up, with Theune-Meyer's assistant Silvia Neid also acting as Under-19 coach to closely monitor emerging talent.

'Good work'
Theune-Meyer believes the success of European nations in the US was "reward for the good work of the associations". The Scandinavians have long invested in women's football, while Germany are prospering from the continent's finest development programme. "In our youth system we aim to start players off at Under-15 level then guide them step-by-step through the Under-17 and Under-19 teams," said the coach.

Football thriving
European teams have also been aided by the establishment of the UEFA Women's Cup, with Germany's 1. FFC Frankfurt and Umeå IK of Sweden setting the standards to which others aspire. While club football thrives on this side of the Atlantic, though, US preparations for the 2004 Athens Olympics will no doubt suffer from the collapse of the Women's United Soccer Association - a professional league in which Germany striker Birgit Prinz further honed her skills to become the world's most valuable player.

Professional option
Theune-Meyer called a professional Bundesliga in Germany "an option for the future", yet for now is solely focused on priming her side for their fourth game in Group 4 after three previous wins. She concluded: "The players are really looking forward to the match and they won't underestimate the challenge provided by Portugal."