Back-biting breaks out in German camp
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Your support makes all the difference.The team spirit that binds the Republic of Ireland players together has been taken for granted for so long that its strength sometimes becomes apparent only in a crisis like that engendered by Roy Keane, or when contrasted with a less united squad. As Mick McCarthy's So Solid Crew celebrated yesterday following Robbie Keane's dramatic late equalising goal against Germany, their deflated opponents could not resist the sort of public debate and finger-pointing that the best British and Irish teams find anathema.
Franz Beckenbauer, part of the German delegation in his role as the local organising committee chairman of World Cup 2006, offered the opinion that the the team lacked a real leader, because a goalkeeper-captain like Oliver Kahn is too far away. Beckenbauer, a revered figure who often has too much to say about his successors, added that neither Dietmar Hamann nor Michael Ballack are yet capable of taking on the sort of role he once held as the coach's voice and right-hand man on the pitch.
Kahn declined to blame the defenders for allowing Keane to latch onto Niall Quinn's headed flick that created the goal. But he criticised Oliver Bierhoff for losing the ball earlier in the move, and his team-mates for allowing Ireland to come at them so strongly. "They fight and fight and fight. By letting them put us under pressure, we almost asked for the draw. But there's no need to put our heads down. A draw against Cameroon should be enough."
Liverpool's Hamann said: "It's a bitter blow, but everyone is convinced we'll get to the second round. Anything less than the quarter-final would be a disappointment and, if it goes well, we'll go further."
The Irish, in contrast, were their usual positive selves. On a rare day off, which most spent at Tokyo's Disneyland, Wednesday's outstanding performer, Damien Duff, said: "We certainly won't take Saudi Arabia for granted. We're not the type of players to do that because we're all good, down-to-earth lads. The spirit is always good in the Irish camp, but this will send confidence soaring."
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