Neid satisfied, Germany players thrilled
Thursday, April 23, 2009
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Silvia Neid said Germany's UEFA WOMEN'S EURO 2009™ preparations are on course following Wednesday's 1-1 draw with Brazil in front of 44,825 fans, an experience Kerstin Garefrekes said was "hard to put into words".
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Germany coach Silvia Neid said the reigning world and European champions are "quite far along" in their preparations for UEFA WOMEN'S EURO 2009™ after last night's 1-1 draw with Brazil in Frankfurt in front of 44,825 fans, a modern record crowd for a women's game in Europe. Brazil, meanwhile, now face Germany's fellow EURO contenders Sweden in Gothenburg on Saturday. uefa.com rounds up the reaction from the Frankfurt Arena.
Silvia Neid, Germany coach
At the beginning, both teams went for a careful approach and a compact defence. We did not give Brazil any space. I was especially pleased with our tactical play in defence. We did not allow Brazil a chance from open play in the entire game. We too have a young team, with which I was pleased, although we did not get the winning goal we deserved. Bianca Schmidt and Kim Kulig had good games. It was a great crowd and the players as well as the rest of the squad immensely enjoyed it.
Looking at our preparations for [EURO], I would say we are quite far along. Our defence is well set up, we have several players who can play in different positions and have found a solution for the holding role in Kim Kulig and Linda Bresonik. Now we have to work on the finer points like creating open space or the way we are running into that space. We wanted to win that game and we did not manage to do so. During the EURO, you have to win all the games.
Kerstin Garefrekes, Germany midfielder
We had them well under control and deserved the win. With two teams this strong, no one wants to hand out presents, and then some rather hard challenges are normal. Of course, we noticed the ticket sales in advance. It has been a great experience even for the more experienced players. It's hard to put this into words.
Martina Müller, Germany striker
We were able to play the way we had intended to and now we hope we can continue to do so. It was a unique feeling to play in front of so many spectators. You are carried on a wave; you do not feel your tired legs any more. This makes you long for more.
