Where have all the German stars gone?

‘‘It’s to do with the number of good German players. There were more before, certainly in the 1980s’’, Magath told Reuters after Wednesday’s match.

His comments echo those of Germany coach Rudi Voeller. Germany reached the 2002 World Cup final but have not beaten a major footballing nation since their 1-0 victory over England at Wembley in October 2000.

Germans, whose country will host the 2006 World Cup, proudly refer to their nation as ‘‘vice world champions’’ but have only one outfield player, Michael Ballack, of true world class.

While Germany’s economy is the largest in Europe, the German league appears second class, Magath conceded. ‘‘We in Germany are at a disadvantage. They pay more in England, Italy and Spain so the best players go there. But it is being partially corrected’’, Magath said. At Stuttgart, Magath is fighting to keep together his group of young players and has already persuaded defender Andreas Hinkel and striker Kevin Kuranyi, both German internationals, to sign contract extensions.

‘‘We are one of the best 16 teams in Europe and I think we rightly belong to that group, but it’s harder to reach the very top. We have to rely on passion as we lack a little quality. But the young players are getting more experienced’’, he said.

Magath recently boosted his squad with Swiss players Hakan Yakin and Marco Streller. One thing Magath cannot account for is luck. The Germans seemed to have a habit of taking matches at the death and are fabled for winning penalty shootouts.

However, Bayern allowed Real a draw they scarcely deserved after a blunder from keeper Oliver Kahn, while Chelsea’s winner was scored by Stuttgart’s Fernando Meira who put through his own net. (Reuters)