The Euros Team
In the European Football Championship to be held in France, the German national coach Jogi Löw is relying on a mixture of world champions and newcomers.
Ready to go. The German national football team is well-prepared as it enters the group matches of the European Football Championship in France against Ukraine, Poland and Northern Ireland. The backbone of the team consists of the reigning world champions Manuel Neuer as goalkeeper and Jérôme Boateng and Mats Hummels in defense. Mesut Özil, Thomas Müller and the Champions League victor Toni Kroos (with Real Madrid) are also slotted for the centrefield. In the offense, there is Mario Götze, the victory scorer of the World Cup finale. Bastian Schweinsteiger and Lukas Podolski are also on board. This will be their seventh major tournament in a row and they are a token of the successful development of German football in recent years.
Forward line with the national coach
But the German national coach Jogi Löw also regularly gives younger players a chance. A good example is Leroy Sané. Although his international debut in November 2015 was overshadowed by the terrorist attacks in Paris, in the Bundesliga the twenty-year-old Schalker soon played his way into the hearts of the fans with his cunning offensive football. He has evidently inherited his talent from his father, Souleyman “Samy” Sané, who came to Germany from Senegal via France in 1982 and was also a forward in the Bundesliga. In 1987/88 he even played together with the current national coach Jogi Löw as a forward for FC Freiburg. Asked about the difference between father and son, Samy replied: “Technically, he’s stronger. I was a sprinter – I’m still better there!”
By the way, nine players of the current Euros squad have an immigrant background. Ten professionals are under contract to foreign clubs – more than ever before.
The European Football Championship, 10 June to 10 July 2016 in France
