Germany, Uruguay battle for third place

PORT ELIZABETH: Two-time winners Uruguay and three-time champions Germany clash in a match that neither side wanted to be contesting - the playoff to decide third place.

Both coaches, Oscar Tabarez of Uruguay and Germany’s Joachim Loew will have a job on their hands to rouse their players for one last effort after losing their semi-finals to the Netherlands and Spain respectively.

The Uruguayans have an advantage in that they will have had an extra day to absorb their disappointment and Tabarez is known to be a shrewd motivator of men. He has already been firm in his resolve following the 3-2 defeat by the Dutch that they would put aside the loss and aim to finish third going one better than their performance in 1970.

“To use a term that is common in the team - we have to bury this match and get over our sorrow,” said Tabarez, in his second spell in charge having guided Uruguay to the last-16 in 1990.

He will definitely have Ajax hitman Luis Suarez back after he served his one match suspension having been sent off for punching the ball off the line in the quarter-final against Ghana.

And it looks likely he will be reunited with his inspirational strike partner Diego Forlan, who had been in danger of missing the match through injury after playing through the pain barrier in the semi-final.

The 31-year-old Atletico Madrid star - scorer of four goals in the tournament - carried the unspecified injury throughout the loss to the Dutch but Tabarez is confident he can play some sort of role in the match

Meanwhile, Germany face a troubling situation after being hit by flu that gives serious concerns over the fitness of their star striker Miroslav Klose, who is one goal off Ronaldo?s all-time World Cup scoring record of 15 goals.

Captain Philipp Lahm and striker Lukas Podolski have also caught the flu, along with Loew who will want his side to bow out of this tournament on a high and give him another boost after being granted a new two year contract after initial talks broke down earlier this year.

Lahm, who was in tears after the 1-0 loss to Spain, said a night’s sleep had allowed him to digest the defeat a little bit more and had reflected on his initial decision that it was not worth playing in the consolation match.

“Four years ago, we thought it was fantastic to play for third place,” said Lahm, referring to their defeat of Portugal in the third place match in Germany in 2006.

“Before, like a lot of people, I didn’t even want to watch this match on television. But now, I believe that winning this match is important, that it can provide us with some consolation.”

The ‘oracle’ speaks

Paul, the famous “psychic” octopus has predicted that Germany will beat Uruguay in the third-place play-off today, who has an unblemished record in picking winners.

The eight-legged oracle, who has become a World Cup sensation by correctly predicting all six Germany games, plumped for his country of residence carried live on national television.

Predicting matches outcomes has become dangerous for Paul with some bitter German fans giving him death threats after he predicted a semi-final defeat for their national team.

Spanish Industry Minister Miguel Sebastian has called for the creature to be given an “immediate” free transfer to Spain to “ensure his protection.”

Germany manager Oliver Bierhoff

“This World Cup is anything but over, we will be 100 per cent focused. We want to play with the same fresh, free-flowing football we have shown so far in the tournament.”

Uruguay coach Oscar Tabarez

“To use a term that is common in the team - we have to bury this match and get over our sorrow. Fourth position is not the same as others, but we’ll go in like we did against Holland.”

Germany captain Phillip Lahm

“Before, like a lot of people, I didn’t even want to watch this match on television. But now, I believe that winning this match is important, that it can provide us with some consolation.”

Uruguay captain Diego Forlan

“I think it will be an attractive game - Germany play very good football. But we also have our style. I hope it will be a good game - but our goal is to go out there and win this third place.”

Published in The Express Tribune, July 10^th, 2010.