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Ronaldo |
Gdansk: Germany’s experienced centre-back Per Mertesacker sounded a warning to his teammates on Wednesday, saying his team’s defence must be on guard against Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo in their opening Euro 2012 match on Saturday.
Germany open their Group B campaign against Portugal in Lviv, with Ronaldo in outstanding form having scored 46 Spanish league goals for Real Madrid last season.
Despite missing three months of competitive football at the end of last season due to an ijured ankle, Arsenal defender Mertesacker looks set to anchor the German back four and says only good teamwork can subdue Ronaldo’s silky skills.
“We are wary of Ronaldo… Whenever Portugal played against us, I think we have managed to spoil Ronaldo’s efforts,” said the centre-back at Wednesday’s press conference here referring to Germany beating Portugal at both Euro 2008 and the 2006 World Cup.
“He always poses a threat. It will not be any different this time… We must try to avoid one-on-one situations with him because Ronaldo is extremely dangerous in such positions. He will play a key role and we have to stop him… That is something we will work on in the next few days.”
Goalkeeper Manuel Neuer said Germany’s Mesut Oezil is just as dangerous as his Real Madrid teammate Ronaldo, but admits the responsibility to subdue Portugal’s impressive attackers falls on the whole team to deny them possession.
“Oezil has just as good a shot as his Real Madrid teammate,” said Neuer.
“I think all of Portugal’s forwards are dangerous and a force to be reckoned with, so we have to place the responsibility on all the players to defend well against them.”
As one of the favourites to win the final in Kiev on July 1, Neuer says it is imperative the Germans leave Lviv with a victory as it would help them to build a momentum in their next match against Holland in Kharkiv.
“I think it is vital to get off to a good start,” he said.
“Like at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, it was important we opened with a good win against Australia in Durban.
“If we get a good result some pressure will come off us, because it is always good to start with three points in the pocket.”
Meanwhile, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who is an avid football fan, will visit the team on Wednesday and both Mertesacker and Neuer said they were looking forward to meeting their country's leader again.
“When I heard she was coming, I was very happy about that,” said Mertesacker.
“She can be very funny and witty and she has a way of addressing us in five or six sentences to convey her message.
“Hosting her shows the status the national team has in German society and we hope to pay that back with good results at the Euro.”
Neuer is of the view that Germany are a better team with more depth and maturity than they had at the 2010 World Cup where they finished third.
“We are better than in 2010 because we can fill each position twice and that was not the case at the World Cup,” said Neuer.
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