Monday, May 31, 2010

“New kid fills Michael Ballack's shoes - Daily Telegraph” plus 2 more

“New kid fills Michael Ballack's shoes - Daily Telegraph” plus 2 more

New kid fills Michael Ballack's shoes - Daily Telegraph

Posted: 30 May 2010 04:15 PM PDT

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German midfielder Sami Khedira (left)congratulates teammate Lukas Podolski after he scored in the 3-0 win over Hungary. Picture: AFP Source: AFP

THE Socceroos' German dossier will require a radical overhaul after the emergence of an unknown kid as the replacement for injured midfield maestro Michael Ballack.

Sami Khedira, who turned 23 in April, was playing only his fourth international, dominated in auditions for the role of the new Ballack as Germany scored a 3-0 win away against Hungary yesterday.

The VFB Stuttgart midfielder played the first half and coach Joachim Loew saw enough to be convinced he's the man to slot into the XI for Ballack, before sending Khedira in for an early shower as a precaution for a strained leg muscle.

The German team will take on a new look from that which qualified, with Khedira to start alongside Bastian Schweinsteiger in central midfield against the Socceroos in the Group D opener.

Though Loew has challenged Schweinsteiger to fill Ballack's role and had handed him the vice-captaincy, the coach declared Khedira was ready to make an impact in South Africa.

"I am sure he can play a very good World Cup and he is able to play there for Michael (Ballack)," Loew said.

"He is 23 and he only played three games (before Hungary) and of course I'm glad that he played a very good 45 minutes.

"But I've known him for a long time and last year he played for the under-21s and he was their leader."

Khedira, who led Germany's under-21s to European Championship glory last summer, last week asked not to be compared with Ballack. However, he did himself no favours at the Ferenc Puskas Stadium in Budapest.

He slotted into Ballack's midfield role with aplomb, and was equally adept at pushing forward and supporting the attackers as he was dropping deep and picking the ball up from his defenders.

Lukas Podolski scored a fifth-minute penalty before subs Mario Gomez and Cacau netted in the second half.

Suggestions that Germany would flounder without Ballack were blown out of the water, with the Germans offering a first-class display of team football.

Their two best players, captain Philipp Lahm and Schweinsteiger, as well as teenage sensation Thomas Muller were rested after playing for Bayern Munich in the Champions League final a week earlier.

Good ball movement, neat interchanges, hard running with and without the ball and constant pressure were the features of a disciplined German performance.

Germany didn't have a poor performer on the pitch with fringe players, right back Jerome Boateng, left back Heiko Westermann, winger Piotr Trochowski and the scoring substitutes all giving Loew food for thought.

"I was satisfied for most of the 90 minutes, but not the entire game. I saw some small mistakes and we have to work on it," Loew said.

The Germans play their final friendly against Bosnia in Frankfurt on Friday.

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Shoes We Love: Livie and Luca’s Adorable Eco-Friendly ... - People

Posted: 31 May 2010 07:46 AM PDT

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Poll: The boy with unmatched shoes - Weblogs.baltimoresun.com

Posted: 31 May 2010 06:48 AM PDT

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Today's Monday Consult will be a crowdsourced answer to one of those situations you never envision facing when you first have a baby.

Namely: Is it wrong to let your child wear mismatched shoes to school? As in, the left sneaker is blue and black; and the right sneaker has a Transformers theme.

My first-grader is certainly big enough to put on his own shoes, and lately has become fond of wearing them this way. One day, I didn't even notice until he'd gotten home.

The more I try to dissuade him, the more he wants to do it. So I'm wondering:


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