Samba beat in shape of German Rink

He has tough competition for the strikers’ positions with Ulf Kirsten, Olivier Bierhoff and Carsten Jancker but he sees it as something positive rather than a setback.

“We have four very good strikers and that’s a good problem to have although it makes it difficult for me to get in the side,” Rink told reporters at the Roda Kerkrade pitch moments after Friday’s training. “But we must accept the team has an aim and we cannot all play.”

He agreed that Ulf Kirsten in theory would be the best strike partner for him because they both play at Leverkusen.

Rink’s career at Leverkusen mirrors that of his International activities. Originally called up by Berti Vogts, he was then cast aside until his good showings for Leverkusen this year caught the eye of coach Erich Ribbeck. Leverkusen originally bought Rink from Brazilian club Paranaense in 1997 but he disappointed.

However, after his stint back with Santos, Rink was a different player. He scored twice in Germany’s recent 4-0 win over Mallorca, covering half the length of the pitch before scoring his first goal and then showing his all-round talent by heading home his second.

Looking forward to Euro 2000, Rink said: “My performance hopefully will be very good but if not I will still hold my head up high.

“The mood in the camp is very good because we had a superb training period in Mallorca followed by three victories in follow-up friendlies. We hope we can continue that success in our first match.

“It’s true Germany are not a really great team at the moment but if we beat Romania we can show everybody we have become a good side again. There’s always pressure in Germany from the newspapers, television and the people because football is very important to them. We just hope for their sakes we have a good championship and we will do the best we can.”