Time for an umlaut party?

February 3rd, 2011 | by: Anne | Comments Off

We have a few juicy tidbits about what we can expect from Jogi’s call-up list against Italy. Certainties include BVB darlings Mario Götze and Mats Hummels, as well as old favorites in the form of Lahm, Podolski, Özil, Klose, and Badstuber. These five were mentioned specifically because they were not called upon for Sweden, so I wouldn’t read anything into the absence of names like Schweinsteiger and Khedira. It’ll be great to see the WC squad reassembled and get an idea of how some of the new faces might integrate. I can’t say enough about the genius of Mario Götze – if you’re not familiar with his particularly brilliant brand of attacking football, hie thee to this highlight reel. Think Özil, in some ways, except maybe even a smidge better – and we have both of them. I may do a happy dance if Götze and Özil start side by side, but you can’t prove anything! Throw Müller in the mix, then the umlaut party in midfield is truly hopping. I don’t know about you, but I want it to go on all night long.

An absentee at this particular party will be Michael Ballack. No matter what your opinion of the man, this is unsurprising because he hasn’t even played two full games for his club yet after returning from a long spell of injury. It’s smart of Jogi not to cave to public pressure and to leave Ballack home for what is, after all, a friendly. Meanwhile, Lahm has recently said that Ballack is still the NT captain and that he (Lahm) is just the replacement. Whether that truly reflects his personal opinion – well, you be the judge.

Other likely omissions include Holtby and Schürrle (I guess not all umlauts are cool enough to be invited), which is also rather unsurprising given both their recent form and Mainz’s slipslide down the standings. Schürrle hasn’t scored since the Bundesliga resumed (and has even showed a worrisome lack of composure in front of goal), and while Holtby scored the lone goal in Mainz’s 1-0 victory over Kaiserslautern at the weekend, he hasn’t been able to impose enough authority on games to save Mainz from two consecutive 0-1 defeats prior. There’s no doubt that they’re both quality players, but they both show their youth more than their compatriots at BVB. Whether that’s due to intrinsic quality or a consequence of environment, it’s tough to say. While I personally am somewhat disappointed as a big fan of both players, this means they will be available for the U-21 match against Greece (also February 9th), where Holtby will wear the armband for his country again, and they’re both almost guaranteed a full 90 minutes.

One more definite absence is Ilkay Gündogan. It’s uncertain if he would have been called up anyway, but the decision has been taken out of Jogi’s hands by the revelation that the young player’s foot injury is worse than originally suspected and in fact includes a hairline fracture.

Jogi announces the full call-up list in a press conference tomorrow morning, 8 AM EST/2 PM CET. Then we can really get this party started! (One too many party quips? Probably. Sue me!)