Jack of all trades

Gritty Jens Jeremies has done a fantastic job for Germany stepping into the huge void left by Lothar Matthaus, providing qualiy performances as both a sweeper and defensive midfielder.

The Bayern Munich stalwart has grown into a natural leader for Germany and is a prize asset due to his ability to play in a number of positions, something that became apparent when he exploded onto the scene while playing at the "other" Munich club in 1997.

Much time has passed, and progress has been made since the boy from Gorlitz near Dresden made his professional debut with home town side Dynamo, the team he joined as an enthusiastic 12 year old.

"Big mouth"

In the national side current coach Rudi Voller has gone against previous German tradition that tended to rely on experience by drafting in younger talent such as the gifted Jeremies.

For a while he was the baby of the national side and media pressure has occasionally been intense, especially following Germany's disappointing display at France 98.

Also, his physically-engaging style of play has attracted a flurry of yellow and red cards, while a propensity to voice his opinions at the least appropriate of times has led to warnings off the pitch.

This led to a recent reprimand from former national team coach Erich Ribbeck for having dared to say that, prior to the Euro 2000, the German team was "pitiful".

His comments were not far from the mark as Germany embarked on a disastrous Euro campaign, exiting meekly at the first round group phase after picking up just one point from three games.

After a humiliating 5-1 home defeat to arch rivals England in a qualifying match for the 2002 World Cup, Jeremies and his German counterparts got their act together in brilliant fashion when the big event kicked-off in Asia and surprised the form book by reaching the final.

Just 90 minutes from the biggest prize in football and their fourth crown, they ran into a gifted Brazilian side and were beaten 2-0 courtesy of two strikes from Ronaldo.