Torsten Frings: “Trainer, I would have made the same decision”

German national team coach Joachim Löwgives Torsten Frings some final instructions before his introduction.
First Team
Friday, 27.06.2008 / 12:11

Will Werder Bremen’s midfield engine play from the start or not? There was much rumour and contrasting interpretation in the days before the EURO 2008 semi-final on Wednesday between Germany and Turkey.

Will Werder Bremen’s midfield engine play from the start or not? There was much rumour and contrasting interpretation in the days before the EURO 2008 semi-final on Wednesday between Germany and Turkey.

 

Ultimately, the national team coach Joachim Löw decided against using Frings in his starting formation. At the official German Football Federation (DFB) press conference in Tenero on Thursday, Löw again explained the reasoning behind his decision: “A broken rib is not something to be taken lightly and whether he would have been able to last 90 minutes was simply not clear initially,” remarked the 48 year old.

 

The injured Frings had spent the week battling for fitness and even had a carbon protector constructed to guard his stomach and chest area. Löw: Yesterday, as I spoke to him before the game, he was naturally very disappointed and those who know Torsten Frings are aware of that. You must remember that he missed out on the 2006 World Cup semi-final through suspension.

 

Then Löw went on to describe a situation which developed shortly after he had given Frings the bad news: “Following our discussion, Torsten then came knocking on my door and said ‘Trainer, I would have made the same decision. At the moment I am only 90-95% fit and will maybe be even better if I only come on in the second half to help the team in the decisive phase of the game, and not over the fully 90 minutes,” admitted Löw and added some praise: “The fact that he reacted in that manner shows how unbelievably strong a character he possesses, it shows true greatness and the sort of leader that Torsten Frings is. I consider that a display of his class.”

 

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