Positive vibes the key for Jansen
Sunday, June 8, 2008
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Marcell Jansen believes the "euphoria" and positivity sweeping through a confident Germany camp can help them to get off to a flying start against Poland tonight.
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Marcell Jansen believes the "euphoria and positivity" sweeping through a confident Germany camp can help them get off to a flying start by overcoming Poland in their Group B opener in Klagenfurt tonight.
Positive atmosphere
The 22-year-old FC Bayern München defender was in positive mood ahead of Sunday's encounter at the Wörthersee Stadion and stressed the need to come out of blocks as quickly as possible. "It is important for us to achieve the objective of our preparations and the first match is always very important," said Jansen. "Over the past few days we have tried to fine-tune our tactics in order to make sure that we will get off to a good start. There is a lot of euphoria and the overall atmosphere is positive."
'Anyone can win'
Jansen was eager to dismiss the idea of Germany being under pressure after being installed by many as one of the tournament favourites, saying: "I think it's a positive thing [to have pressure] but at the same time I have to admit that I don't attribute much weight to it. There are a number of great teams in this tournament and history has shown that anyone can win it. We just have to focus on our game and make sure to radiate a positive vibe and continue with the good results we were able to achieve in the qualifiers."
Polish improvement
Germany were narrow 1-0 victors against Poland in the World Cup two years ago, and although Jansen did not play in that game, the former VfL Borussia Mönchengladbach player believes that Leo Beenhakker's men have improved greatly and will provide an even tougher test. "We know that the Polish team have evolved since 2006 when we managed to win even though they were fierce opponents," Jansen added, also citing the more offensive approach Beenhakker has brought into the Polish game. "Since 2006, we have seen them improve thanks to the new coach and they play very attacking football, they take risks and they have shown very impressively just what they can do. But obviously we know not only about their strengths but also about their weaknesses."
