Ballack confident German players can rediscover form

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By Mark Ledsom

BASEL, Switzerland (Reuters) - Germany have to quickly rediscover their form to challenge for the Euro 2008 title, captain Michael Ballack said on Tuesday.

Injuries and poor form have left several of Germany's regular starters short of match practice going into the friendly against tournament co-hosts Switzerland on Wednesday.

First choice goalkeeper Jens Lehmann has been kept on the bench at his English club Arsenal while Bayern Munich striker Lukas Podolski has been sidelined by Italy's Luca Toni.

Podolski's Bayern team-mate Miroslav Klose has been far below his best while midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger and defenders Philipp Lahm, Marcell Jansen and Per Mertesacker have also struggled in 2008.

Ballack acknowledged there were concerns but said there was no need to panic.

"I was asked about this back in January when it seemed almost all the team had some problem or other," the midfielder told a news conference.

"Back then I said they would all get fitter as the tournament got closer but we're two months on now and the situation is not actually that different.

"We still have two and a half months to go though and a lot can happen in football. We need a fit and in-form team to achieve our aims and that is not what we have at the moment.

"But we were in a similar situation before the last World Cup and I am optimistic that things will change."

At the same stage of their preparations for the World Cup two years ago, Germany were outclassed 4-1 in a friendly against eventual world champions Italy.

Coach Juergen Klinsmann turned things around dramatically however, steering his young German team to a surprise third place finish.

Results under Klinsmann's successor Joachim Loew have been positive with just two defeats in 19 matches since the World Cup, although they had to settle for second place in their Euro qualifying group behind the Czech Republic and have not impressed in recent displays.

"I have pointed out to the rest of the team that the World Cup is long since over," added Ballack.

"There is certainly this impression that we have not been playing as majestically as we did in our first few qualifying games, so I made it clear that we have to work that much harder now.

"I remember after the World Cup warm-up against Italy there were a lot of questions and everyone's expectations were in the basement. It's the same thing before every big tournament though and it's important that we speak about it now that we're in that phase again."

Germany's self-confidence has not completely taken a battering. On Monday the team unveiled a new campaign with its main sponsors entitled "Together to the Title."

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