Champs Germany eye bigger things

11/03/2002

AS the dawn after the World Cup final arrived, there was pin-drop silence
at the official hotel as players and officials slept soundly after a night
of merry-making.
Amid the celebrations, which saw all the banners and posters along the
road leading to the hotel being ripped off by players to be kept as
souvenirs, German coach Bernhard Peters and Australian coach Barry Dancer
have already started to formulate plans for their teams.
The coach of the world champions proudly stated that his plan now is to
lift the Olympic gold in Athens two years from now.
Whatever Peters says, cannot be taken lightly because after taking over
the team which had a disastrous Sydney 2000 Olympics outing, he has a
phenomenal record of winning 45 out of 48 international matches. The three
defeats were in the hands of India, Holland and Spain.
"The Olympic gold is our next main target, but we've got several other
titles to win on the way," said Peters.
"Right now we're the world champions, but we'll soon have to defend our
Champions Trophy title in August. Then there will be the European Cup
before we head for the Olympic Games in 2004," he said.
The Champions Trophy is an annual event for the world's top-six
countries, as ranked by their performance in the World Cup and Olympics.
Germany are also the European Cup defending champions which is held
every four years and the next one is scheduled for next year.
Dancer said they will work to defend their Commonwealth Games title
which they last won in 1998 in Kuala Lumpur.
"We have good players in this team and I don't see why any of them
should retire from the game after the World Cup. They will feature
prominently in my plans to defend the Commonwalth Games gold," said
Dancer.
On money, the Aussies seem to be getting little help back home and their
silver medal will only keep them floating for another year.
"Yes, we have some trouble getting the money. We could do with more,
much, much more. That is why we put every effort to lift the trophy for
better funding.
"The silver we won will keep us going for another year, but we must win
another tournament soon if we want the money to keep coming in and support
our deveopment plans," said Dancer.
Peters, on the other hand, feels he must make some drastic changes in
the team to stay ahead of the rest of the world.
"There may be some drastic changes in this team, as some players could
retire after winning the World Cup, but there is a bright side as we have
several new talents available," Peters said.
"We'll have to build a new team, but I'm confident we will have a strong
side again the next time," he said.
German skipper Florian Kunz, who was voted the final's Man-of-the-Match,
said he would remain with the team as long as the coach needed his
services.
Kunz almost retired after the Sydney Olympics but is now expected to
stretch his career until the Athens Olympics.
"The Olympics is certainly a great target to work for, but I'll speak to
my brother, who is my business partner, and see if I can play for two more
years," Kunz said.
"I'll also have to ask my girlfriend if she will allow me to continue
playing."
With or without their World Cup skipper Kunz, Germany look set to
dominate hockey for another five years because they not only have a clever
coach, but also brilliant players.
jugjet@nstp.com.my
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