WORLD CUP USA ’94 ROUND OF 16 : Voeller Makes His Team Twice as Tough : Germany: Veteran forward provides some needed help for Klinsmann with two goals.
Talk about stealing the limelight.
What Rudi Voeller did to Juergen Klinsmann at Soldier Field on Saturday bordered on grand theft.
Klinsmann, the dashing blond star of the German team, came into the game as the World Cup’s second-leading scorer, having found the net four times.
He scored his fifth goal to the delight of many in the rain-drenched crowd of 60,246 to take his total to five and leave him one shy of Russia’s Oleg Salenko.
So what did Voeller do? He scored twice to power Germany to a 3-2 victory over Belgium and earn the praise of not only his own coach, Berti Vogts, but Belgium Coach Paul Van Himst.
Not bad for a 34-year-old who retired from the national team two years ago and had to be persuaded by Vogts to come to America for one last hurrah.
Voeller is one of the great strikers in German history, ranking with such players as Gerd Muller and Karlheinz Rummenigge. In 85 appearances before his retirement after the 1992 European Championship in Sweden, he scored 44 goals, better than one every other game.
He and Klinsmann were the goal-scoring force behind West Germany’s 1990 World Cup triumph, but few had expected him to even come to the United States, let alone shine here.
On a wet and windy Chicago afternoon, however, Voeller showed he has not lost the magic touch. His performance came like an answer to Vogts’ prayers.
“I did not think I could last seven full games,” Voeller said, assuming like the Germans always do that they will reach the championship game, “but I thought I could help my team.”
That understatement came after a questioner had asked whether Voeller was frustrated at not having started any of Germany’s first three games. He came on as a substitute late in the 1-1 tie with Spain, but did not play at all in the opener against Bolivia, a 1-0 German victory, or in the 3-2 victory over South Korea in Dallas.
Now, it appears he and Klinsmann have rekindled their successful partnership and Germany suddenly is a much more potent force. Its chances of winning the World Cup, in some doubt after earlier performances that were no more than average, rose considerably Saturday.
“We have known each other a long time,” Voeller said of Klinsmann, “and we have played many games together for the national team, so each of us knows how the other is moving around and positioning himself. But today we must be fair and say that it was the whole team that defeated Belgium.”
Voeller, who plays his club soccer for Olympique Marseille in France after several years with AS Roma in Italy, took less than six minutes to make an impact on the Belgians. A lofted pass found him level with two defenders, his speed carried him past them and his shot into the far corner gave goalkeeper Michel Preud’homme no chance.
Less than two minutes later, he was at it again, but this time Preud’homme managed to grab Voeller’s powerful header.
In the 11th minute, after Belgium had tied the score, Voeller and Klinsmann combined on a classic move. A back-heel pass from Klinsmann put Voeller clear, and his return pass to Klinsmann was rocketed into the net to restore Germany’s lead.
For the rest of the half, the duo continued to plague the Belgian defense, and Voeller was rewarded with a second goal in the 40th minute when he leaped to head home a corner kick from Thomas Haessler.
Even when their moves did not result in a goal, Voeller and Klinsmann were a delight to watch--Klinsmann the sprinter, flowing down the field with the ball at his feet; Voeller cutting the defense to shreds with darting runs from all positions.
Although he held his back and winced a couple of times during the postgame news conference, Voeller showed during the game he has lost none of his ability in the air, either. He was constantly outjumping Belgian defenders and was unlucky not to score at least one more goal.
A sharp, downward header by Voeller in the 77th minute was cleared off the goal line by Belgian captain Georges Grun.
A few minutes earlier, Germany put together perhaps its finest move of the game, and it was Voeller who initiated it.
Finding himself out on the left wing, Voeller drew a defender toward him, then back-heeled the ball to Haessler. Haessler immediately crossed it into the middle to the onrushing Matthias Sammer and Sammer passed the ball to Klinsmann, who was open on his right. Klinsmann raced into the penalty area, but Preud’homme was alert to the danger and came out to block the German striker’s shot.
It seems certain, now, that Vogts will try to keep Voeller and Klinsmann as his two forwards for the remainder of the tournament.
The warning has been sounded. Germany’s deadly duo is back and the target is the World Cup.
