A delighted Rudi Voller was full of praise for his much-maligned strikers Carsten Jancker and Oliver Bierhoff after the 8-0 thrashing of Saudia Arabia.
“I have been a striker myselfand I have continually told them that I know all about their qualities,” he said.
“I started with Jancker, but I want to stressagain that every player is important for us and I am sure that Bierhoff will prove during the tournament how vital he is with all his experience.
Of hat-trick hero Klose, Voller said: “Miro is a fighter and works hard for his success.
‘He is very strong in the air – which he proved – but he is also confident with his feet and he has this instinct to be there when it matters.” But it was not just the frontmen who impressed Voller, he also singled out midfielder Dietmar
Voller singled out Liverpool midfielder Dietmar Hamman for special praise. “I have topick out Dietmar for extra praise,” he said.
“He didn’t score, but he had an outstanding game in defensive midfield, but I am not happy about the stupid booking he conceded. That really hurt us.”
“I was very happy with the way we started the match. We were fully motivated and wanted to show them right from the start that they would have no chance against us,” he added.
“I believe that we have showed that we can play attractive football and scoring eight goals isn’t too easy. We are now in a very attractive position as another win would put us through, but we have to stay focused.”
Meanwhile, a dejected Saudi coach, Nasser Al-Johar, accepted responsibility for his team’s woeful performance.
“The defeat is my responsibility. It was a total catastrophe, a terrible game by my team” said the first Saudi-born coach to lead the national side to the World Cup.
“We still have a chance to reach the next round, however, as we still have two games left. I promise that we will give our absolute all to salvage Saudi pride by reaching the next round.”
