After GermanyÆs 4-1 win over the USA in a friendly in Dortmund March 22, coaches and players had this to say:
Germany coach Juergen Klinsmann:
''We started well, then lost our rhythm, because the Americans reacted. We needed to force the issue today. It was a fight of attrition. That the goal came right after halftime made it much more comfortable for us. … We had our fun today. ItÆs not pleasant getting criticized from all sides. ItÆs not nice, but one learns from it.''
USA coach Bruce Arena:
''Certainly, the better team won today. I thought our first 45 minutes were pretty good, but it was just a huge mental mistake to start the second half with our kickoff to give the German team a restart and a goal. After 45 minutes of good concentration and smart football, we started the second half very poorly. ''In all honesty, in a game like tonight, we were pretty undermanned, obviously, not having our full complement of players. The game served the purpose of evaluating players. IÆd never come again to Germany to play the host country in their last tune-up before the World Cup with a second team, but this team is wearing USA. We got beat, and we deserved to get beat.''
Germany goalkeeper Oliver Kahn:
''It wasnÆt bad, but thereÆs a lot of work to do. In the first half one could see that the 4-1 loss to Italy [three weeks ago] hurt our confidence. When you take a loss like that, it takes a while to find your rhythm. In the second half, we exploded.''
German captain Michael Ballack:
''WeÆre happy with the result. Of course we made it hard on ourselves because the goals just didnÆt want to come at first. But when the time came, the floodgates opened.''