Germans, winless in 12 years at Euro Champs confident over Euro 2008

For a team that hasn't won a European Championship game since 1996, Germany seems supremely confident.

Though the team may be still riding some of the euphoria from the World Cup two years ago at home, the optimism might be justified.

The Germans began this year by beating both Euro 2008 co-hosts, Austria and Switzerland, by a combined 7-0.

"We can go to the European Championship with a broad chest and achieve a lot," Germany captain Michael Ballack said.

Since finishing third at the World Cup, Germany has won 15 of 20 games under coach Joachim Loew, losing only two.

"We've used our chance to recommend ourselves for the European Championship," Loew said.

The core of the World Cup team, brought together by then-coach Juergen Klinsmann and Loew, who was his assistant, has remained virtually intact. And it has two more years of experience.

As host, Germany did not have to qualify for the World Cup and did not have a tournament match in two years. But it played an impressive European qualifying campaign and was one of the first teams to secure a place at the June 7-29 tournament. The only real blemish was a 3-0 loss at home to the Czech Republic.

But mostly, the Germans kept up their attacking, entertaining style that deservedly had won them accolades at the World Cup.

Loew has made a smooth transition from assistant to head coach and has changed little in the Germans' approach. He was a popular choice and has had little visible friction with the players, a key to success in any major tournament.

Germany does not have a global megastar; even Ballack doesn't enjoy that status. Ballack remains the team's key player, though, and he seems to be hitting form, reaching the Champions League final with Chelsea and still in the hunt for the Premier League title. At 31, Ballack is hungry for a big international title, something still missing from his resume.

Although Ballack was absent for nearly a year from the national team because of an ankle injury, Germany still qualified easily to show that it was far more than a one-man show. Loew rarely had his full team available and often missed half a dozen players before matches.

Players who cannot become regular starters in their clubs thrive when they report for national team duty. Lukas Podolski is only a reserve in Bayern Munich, but scores regularly for the national team.

Jens Lehmann hardly plays for Arsenal, but he has not conceded a goal for Germany in 621 minutes.

By deciding early to stick with Lehmann, Loew wisely avoided a potentially disruptive long discussion about the starting goalkeeper.

The team's weak spot remains its defense, which can be unusually disorganized and shoddy for a German product. It may suffice against weaker opposition, but Italy striker Luca Toni would tear it apart.

Central defender Christoph Metzelder has been out most of this year with a foot injury and his fitness is a big question mark. He has two World Cup campaigns behind him and always comes through.

The midfield is strong, especially with Ballack back in shape. But workhorse Torsten Frings has been plagued by injuries all season and Bernd Schneider, the team's most creative player, is out after back surgery.

It's the attack that is Germany's biggest asset. Podolski played well with Miroslav Klose at the World Cup and Klose was the tournament's top scorer. Klose, overshadowed at Bayern Munich by Toni, will enjoy being the top man again.

Stuttgart's Mario Gomez has six goals in nine games for Germany and is probably the nation's top striker at the moment. Kevin Kuranyi missed the World Cup, but has resurrected his scoring touch and will have something to prove. A fifth striker will make the trip and that's one of the few spots on the team still open.

It will be up to the strikers to score more goals than the error-prone defenders concede. Germany has a solid team, but probably not enough talent to beat a team like Italy on top of its game But the Germans know how to extract the best from what they have and are never easy to beat.

With Austria, Poland and Croatia in its group, the Germans certainly should advance, and that's already better than their teams in 2000 and 2004. With a bit of luck and their propensity to overachieve, they may just steal the title.

Since their third European championship in 1996, Germany hasn't won a tournament. This might be the right time.

Sapa-AP