Come on, quick! Now’s the time to get rid of players you don’t need and then go and get some new ones! Why? Because after the qualifying games for the Champions League and the European Cup, it’s clear that all the German teams involved have made it into the group phase of the continental competitions. There’s new money available, the first games are out of the way and decisions about location have been made: so now it’s a game of musical chairs, with Bremen hoping Silvestre will set down on their seat, Hannover wanting to tempt Hajnal from Dortmund, Wolfsburg grabbing Diego and Demichelis looking to sit down anywhere except at Munich – he doesn’t get along well with the trainer. Really, any team with ambitions to take the Champions’ League should be looking to sign him: after all, ex-Bayern defenders are as close as you can get to guaranteed title success (see Lucio at Inter Milan last season).

Germany fans are hoping for another win in Saturday's game against Argentina. © ATP Yoshihiro KOIKE / dpa

So-called experts are notorious for getting it wrong. As soon as they open their mouths, a curse is cast on whoever has the misfortune to be spoken about.

“Ronaldo’s in great form. He’ll bring Portugal far.” Cue Portugal’s exit.

“Franck Ribéry will take the competition by storm.” Cue France’s ignominious exit.

“Wayne Rooney will explode into action at any time.” Cue England’s exit following Rooney’s perplexing lack of combustion.

There’s one thing my coach never tired of saying to me: “Hau den Ball ins Tor hinein!” – best translated with: “Just slam it into the back of the net!” What did yours used to say to you? What about this one: “I’m taking you with me to South Africa”? If he did, he was probably just offering to take you on holiday.
But we’re talking World Cup, and Germany is going mad for it – with still two months to go. The media are making things worse, speculating constantly on the make-up of the team – e.g. whether the national coach Löw will cap Kuranyi or not. Everyone in Germany has an opinion on who he should take, especially Franz Beckenbauer.

German team prior to kick-off in Moscow Photo: picture-alliance

German shouts and celebrations punctuated the night in the frigid Moscow air. A close 1-0 victory had just seen Germany beat Russia in this crucial World Cup qualifier. While the German players exchanged high-fives, Russian heads drooped and the players withdrew into the bowels of the Luzhniki stadium to rue their missed opportunities.

Swiss referee Massimo Busacca denied the Russians a clear cut penalty in the dying minutes of a hard-fought match. In the 88 minute, substitute Arne Friedrich slid into a tackle, taking Bystrov down while the ball bobbled out of play. The referee, despite being only a few meters from the incident, failed to award the spot-kick for the Russians.