Rudi Völler angrily pulled his gray curls, tournament newcomer Bastian Schweinsteiger lowered his hydrogen-blonde head in deep disappointment.
The shocking 0-0 win against Latvia was the beginning of the end for the German selection at EURO 2004 – for the football dwarf it is still “the high point in the history of our national team”, as Dainis Kazakevics says.
For the 100th anniversary of the association, the national coach of the Latvians is hoping for a repeat of this great moment: The number 138 in the world rankings should be a stumbling block for the three-time European champion on the way to the EM on Monday in Düsseldorf. However, it gave way in the run-up to the game SPORT1-Information about a corona case in the Latvian team, the game should take place as planned. (EM test match: Germany – Latvia, from 8.45 pm in LIVETICKER)
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Latvians want coup: “We did it once, so it’s possible”
“Nobody can tell us that we are dreamers,” said Kazakevics in an interview with DFB-Aktuell and emphasized confidently: “We did it once, so it is possible.” (All news & information about the EM 2021)
But the times in which storm idol Maris Verpakovskis terrified the opposing defenses are long gone – and the highlight of 2004 is not entirely innocent of that.
The success 17 years ago “blinded” some Latvians, says Kazakevics: “There are still people who live in this era and do not understand that many things have changed in football and in our country since then.” Instead of gilding the only point gained in the only tournament participation to date, “we lost time,” he complains.
Kazakevics is under no illusions
Since the 40-year-old took over his post in January 2020, he has been trying the arduous race to catch up. He has rebuilt the squad and developed a new game philosophy, but has reached its limits. “We don’t have an inexhaustible resource of quality players,” he says. (Schedule & results of the EM 2021)
There are “some promising youngsters” like Daniels Ontuzans (21) from Bayern Munich II or Hoffenheim’s Rolands Bocs (17), but neither are in the line-up for the DFB test – and no player with a seven-figure market value.
In the Nations League there was only one victory against the Faroe Islands, Malta and Andorra, but at the beginning of the World Cup qualification the “11 vilki” (eleven wolves) won a respectable 3: 3 in Turkey. Neighbor Lithuania was defeated 3-1 on Friday. (All teams of the EM 2021)
But Kazakevics is under no illusions. “We know that Germany are one of the best teams in the world. Such games are tough challenges for us,” he says. But the Latvians have already proven that they can grow from it.
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