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Völler contemplates resignation
Germany coach Rudi Völler admitted he will consider offering his resignation to the German Football Association (DFB) following the defeat by the Czech Republic that saw his team eliminated from UEFA EURO 2004™.
Below-strength team
With the Netherlands beating Latvia 3-0 in the evening's other Group D game in Braga, only a victory would have been good enough for Germany to qualify for the quarter-finals. That seemed on the cards when Michael Ballack opened the scoring with a stunning volley in the 21st minute, but the Czech Republic, fielding a below-strength team, came back to seal victory with goals from Marek Heinz and Milan Baro¨.
'Public debate'
A disappointed Völler said: "I have a contract until 2006, but I am realistic and I know that after such an elimination a public debate will inevitably follow. I have prepared for a possible resignation. I will meet the DFB president and the general secretary to analyse what happened, but all options are possible."
'Catching up'
Germany squandered a series of chances to re-take the lead in the second half before they were pegged back by Baro¨'s breakaway strike 13 minutes from time, and Völler said: "We had the great chance to win and to go through, but it didn't work because we were too profligate in front of goal. The team have given their best - they were excellent in qualifying and in the finals. We just had too much catching up to do in the last two years."
'Good football'
Ballack was also left ruing Germany's missed chances. "The problem is there for all to see," he said. "We are simply not scoring. We're playing some good football but then not hitting the target." The FC Bayern München playmaker was nonetheless keen to put a positive slant on the evening, saying: "We have to look forward and work even harder. I don't think anyone can criticise us because we have given our best. I'm sure that we have had worse games in the past couple of years."
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