Klose has Jogi’s trust, but Gustavo needs a passport

January 30th, 2011 | by: Anne | Comments Off

Jogi has dropped a few tidbits of information regarding potential call-ups for the friendly against Italy, and broader futures with the national team. FIFA reports:

Germany coach Joachim Low today told Bayern Munich’s Brazil-born midfielder Luiz Gustavo he should get a German passport first if he wants to play his way into the national team.

“If a player has a German passport, he can possibly be a candidate for the national side,” Low told German newspaper TZ. ”But I don’t think anyone should use the national team to get a German passport.”

Having joined Bayern from Hoffenheim earlier this month, Gustavo, 23, has said he would like to play for Germany and team manager Oliver Bierhoff has said the case of the defensive midfielder will be discussed by the national coaching team.

Sounds like we won’t be seeing Gustavo any time soon. His interest in playing for Germany is good to know though, and we’ll see if he persists and gets that passport. Meanwhile, Jogi has reemphasized his faith in Klose, stating “There is no need for a discussion as far as we are concerned. We have a high opinion of him, whether or not he plays for Bayern. Everyone saw at the World Cup how important he was for us.” This is pretty unsurprising – Klose’s oddly divergent form for club and country is well-known. Jogi also praised Mario Gomez for his recent performances, saying “Mario is only 25 and will have a place with us for many years to come.” It seems likely he too will get a call-up for Italy. Can he replace Klose in Jogi’s hierarchy of strikers? What about Helmes, Kießling? I believe that Klose will be one of the few true veterans to hang on to his spot, but I may be proven wrong.

Ballack remains a question mark. He played the full 90 minutes for Leverkusen in their 2-0 victory over Hannover on Friday, putting in a solid shift. It remains to be seen though if Jogi will consider him fit enough for a call-up so soon after his return from injury. I still have many questions about where Ballack can possibly fit into this new team, but I suppose we’ll see what Jogi does with him. Maybe Khedira will have to sit the bench (or stay in Madrid) a couple times. RM isn’t having the greatest time of it and would probably appreciate retaining the services of their reliable midfielder.