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Ziege vs. Beckham: it could get hot |
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June 17, 2000
VAALS, Netherlands (AP) - Christian Ziege will be the German responsible Saturday for trying to prevent David Beckham from sending his dangerous crosses to the English forwards. Ziege had the job twice before this season and doesn't have exactly glowing memories.
It will be one of the key matchups when Germany plays England in Charleroi, Belgium in a vital Group A match Saturday.
Ziege is one of the Germans based in England and plays for Middlesbrough.
The first time his Premier League club played Beckham's Manchester United this season, Ziege was sent off after 16 minutes at Old Trafford.
The second time around, in Middlesbrough, both came close to being sent off.
"You can never mark Beckham out of a game," Ziege said.
"One meter (yard) is enough for him to hit his crosses into the penalty box. It happens every now and then that not every duel goes by entirely fairly."
He doesn't really like one-on-one situations but sometimes he wants to prove himself and then he tends to commit evil fouls," Ziege said.
Ziege shares one destiny with Beckham: he is often the target of obscene abuse by fans.
He was savaged by German fans at the 1998 World Cup in France, but seemed to have regained their favor by firing three goals in a 4-0 victory over Northern Ireland in a Euro 2000 qualifying game last year.
Then came last Monday's game against Romania, Germany's opening match and a poor performance by both Ziege and Germany.
And it didn't take long for German fans to heap abuse on the wingback. Ziege did have a miserable day, with few crosses from his left side ever finding their targets and a series of faulty passes.
"I can't really take it any longer, it hurts," Ziege said. "But I can't let it affect me and I have to get over it."
Ziege had just managed to forget France, when the fans turned against him again.
"They just insult me and whistle against me. I don't know what they all have against me," he said.
Beckham will know the feeling.
Ziege says he loves English soccer. "That's exactly my kind of world: powerful, hard but fair."
He thinks Germany has a good chance against England.
"The English will not admit it, but simply, they respect us," he said.
"They will come into the game at a high pace in the first 30 minutes that we have to keep up with," Ziege said. "In the second half-time, after 60, 70 minutes, we could get more room, just like Portugal did."
Portugal overcame a 2-0 deficit and went on to beat England 3-2. |