Ballack strike puts Germany into last eight

Published on Tuesday 17 June 2008 01:21

MICHAEL Ballack booked Germany's place in the quarter- finals of Euro 2008 last night after his thunderbolt free-kick earned victory in a hot-tempered clash against co-hosts Austria.

The Chelsea midfielder has been unhappy with his performances in the tournament so far but returned to the form of the last six months of the domestic season, lashing into the top corner just after the break at Vienna's Ernst Happel Stadium.

The win sets up a last-eight clash against his new club manager Luiz Felipe Scolari, who will fulfil his Portugal duties before being unveiled at Stamford Bridge later this summer.

Ballack's national coach, however, may not be in the dressing room at Basel's St Jakob-Park on Thursday.

Joachim Low, along with Austria counterpart Josef Hickersberger, were sent to the stands four minutes before the break after bickering between themselves and with the fourth official. Uefa will review the incident, with dismissals normally carrying a touchline ban.

It was one flashpoint in a match full of needle, with confrontations dotted around the pitch to produce another clash to add to the rich history in the fixture between the neighbouring countries.

Meeting Germany has sparked the country's interest in the tournament they are co-hosting, not long after an online petition from Austrians objecting to such a poor national team taking part.

Around Vienna there were supporters in "Cordoba" t-shirts, urging Austria to repeat what they managed in Argentina at the 1978 World Cup by upsetting the odds and sending Germany home early.

After pushing Croatia all the way and earning a point against Poland, there was genuine hope of Austria getting the win they needed – this was never going to be a repeat of the farce of 1982 when these two countries strolled around to "conveniently" knock Algeria out of the World Cup.

Such was the belief in Austria, one newspaper's front page super-imposed Ballack's head onto a naked body, with the headline urging Hickersberger's men to "rip their trousers off".

Over the page there was a plane ticket home for Ballack to get back to Germany – but he will be staying for at least another few days.

Their path to the last eight would have been clearer had Mario Gomez not wasted an open goal earlier on.

Gomez's blunder came in the fifth minute after Miroslav Klose had composed himself in the area and crossed to present the chance to his strike partner.

The Stuttgart forward would not have been given an easier opportunity in his career but he spooned his finish, allowing just enough time for Gyorgy Garics to get back and head off his own line.

After weathering the storm from Germany, Austria created danger of their own. Erwin "Jimmy" Hoffer, an unused substitute in Austria's first two games, had a penalty appeal turned down when Christoph Metzelder wrestled with him in the area.

Then Hoffer's touch betrayed him when Martin Harnik crossed to find him beyond Germany's defence.

The game was always close to boiling over, and Lukas Podolski went down after an off-the-ball clash with Rene Aufhauser, then went eyeball to eyeball with Emanuel Pogatetz.

The constant bickering on the sidelines got the coaches dismissed just before the break, with Low picking up his blazer and heading for the stands as if sent out of class.

From his seat with the German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the other VIPs, Low watched Ballack open the scoring four minutes after the break, after Andreas Ivanschitz had fouled Philipp Lahm 25 yards from goal.

Goalkeepers have complained about balls moving in the air too much but Ballack's free-kick was pure power and was still rising as it hit the top corner.

Despite belying their position of 92nd in the FIFA world rankings, Austria's campaign then ran out of steam, but Germany still had to survive a couple of late scares to progress.

After setting up the quarter-final with Portugal, Ballack said he was looking forward to knocking his incoming coach at Chelsea, Scolari, out of Euro 2008.

"We played against them in the World Cup and from that point of view I'm looking forward to winning against them again," said Ballack.

"I know several players from Portugal from Chelsea and other occasions, all of them are good individuals, they play well attacking and are great footballers. They also have Ronaldo, who has had a great season in England.

"It will be a difficult game but both teams are capable of going far. They are probably favourites but that may favour our game."

On the subject of the two managers being sent to the stands, Austria team manager Andreas Herzog said: "We've never had a situation like this before. Perhaps the referees would like to have a great deal of attention."

Hickersberger had appeared exasperated by a number of decisions against his team, including the denial of a penalty kick when Metzelder appeared to pull striker Hoffer to the ground plus a yellow card to Hoffer for a late but minor challenge on Ballack. "They didn't do anything wrong," Herzog said.

Uefa spokesman William Gaillard said the governing body's control and disciplinary group would make a decision later today on whether to punish the pair – a move which could rule Low out of his team's quarter-final meeting with Portugal – once it had read the referee's report.

Austria: Macho, Garics, Stranzl, Hiden (Leitgeb 55), Pogatetz, Harnik (Kienast 67), Aufhauser (Saumel 63), Ivanschitz, Fuchs, Korkmaz, Hoffer. Subs not used: Manninger, Ozcan, Standfest, Vastic, Linz, Gercaliu, Katzer, Patocka. Booked: Stranzl, Hoffer, Ivanschitz.

Germany: Lehmann, Friedrich, Mertesacker, Metzelder, Lahm, Fritz (Borowski 90), Frings, Ballack, Podolski (Neuville 83), Gomez (Hitzlsperger 60), Klose. Subs not used: Enke, Adler, Jansen, Westermann, Rolfes, Trochowski, Odonkor, Kuranyi.