Knighton Matt Posted 5 May 2005 Share Posted 5 May 2005 From bbc sport... Germany coach Jurgen Klinsmann has warned his squad that if they do not want to wear the boots of team sponsors Adidas they will not be picked by him. "There won't be any Germany players with any other boot than Adidas," Klinsmann told German paper Sport Bild. Arsenal's Jens Lehmann, Aston Villa's Thomas Hitlsperger and Liverpool's Dietmar Hamann are some of the players based in England affected by the row. "If he doesn't accept the terms, he won't come with us," added Klinsmann. Bild added a union representing professional football players (VdV) had written a letter saying there were "problems with individual contracts with manufacturers of sporting goods other than Adidas" As well as the three English-based players the letter was sent to Thomas Brdaric, Miroslav Klose, Frank Baumann, Timo Hildebrand, Arne Friedrich and Christian Woerns. In October, goalkeeper Lehmann was told by the German football association (DFB) he must change his gloves to Adidas or risk losing his chance of playing in the 2006 World Cup, to be staged in Germany. Klinsmann added: "If any player believes he has to take legal action so that he can play in his own boot (brand), well he can't sue to play for us." All a bit petty isn't it????????? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chimp Posted 5 May 2005 Share Posted 5 May 2005 Are you sure this isn't a pisstake? If it's for real then, wow, it's despicable that merchandising should play such a major factor in team selection. It's absolutely crazy - sponsors shouldn't have any power over managerial decisions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shen Posted 5 May 2005 Share Posted 5 May 2005 Apparently once in the 70's or 80's, a friendly between Brazil and Germany was cancelled due to Nike and Adidas not being able to reach an agreement on who was allowed to sponsor the game, or something along those lines... They have immense power, and yes it is a sorry state. However I'm sceptical about this story as it comes from 'Bild'...Germany's equivalent of The Sun Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shum Posted 5 May 2005 Share Posted 5 May 2005 Pathetic. Surely there must be something against sponsorship taking over the biggest sport in the world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted 5 May 2005 Share Posted 5 May 2005 Football is all about money these days. If true, hasn't Klinsmann considered that aside from the huge amounts of cash players receive for wearing a particular brand, he might be wearing Nikes because they are actually more comfortable for the player? I do a lot of running, and there are brands I can't wear at all because of the damage they do to my feet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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