Torsten Frings returns to the international fray for Germany in Wednesday’s friendly with Norway intent on putting his public spat with Joachim Loew behind him.
The Werder Bremen midfielder fell out with the Germany manager after being dropped to the bench for last October’s World Cup qualifiers against Russia and Wales and not even picked for November’s friendly against England.
“I see my role as exactly the same as it was before. Players have never had a guarantee of getting picked. Rudi Voller, Jurgen Klinsmann or Joachim Loew never said ‘You, my boy, you will systematically play as long as I’m the coach’” Frings told a press conference on Tuesday.
The 32-year-old added: “My last cap goes back to the Euro 2008 final. I reckon that I’ve regained my best level, but it’s the manager who decides.”
Loew let it be known that he was planning to start Frings against Norway in Dusseldorf.
“He’s shown in the past few weeks that he’s stepped up a gear.”
The Frings affair prompted captain Michael Ballack to state Loew lacked respect in the way he treated established players.
Frings himself threatened to quit the national team, before retracting the threat and apologising to Loew.
“The way I reacted in making public statements was a mistake,” the 32-year-old conceded.
“I should have resolved the problem differently. We’ve talked, there’s no problem,” Frings, who will be earning his 79th cap on Wednesday, added.
