In perhaps the oddest news from the international match-up weekend, German international and Shalke 04 forward Kevin Kuranyi did not board the team bus after Saturday’s 2-1 win over Russian in World Cup qualifier action. Germany’s coach Joachim Low reported in a statement at the German Football Federation website on Sunday,
“I cannot accept a reaction such as that shown by Kevin, and therefore I will no longer select him in future for the national side.”
Kuranyi watched from the stands as forward Lukas Podolski and midfielder Michael Ballack each scored in the first half of the match. Members from the 26-year-old’s entourage arrived at the German national team’s hotel to pick up his belongings on Sunday. Is Kuranyi’s international career over at 52 caps?
How will his home supporters at Shalke react when he returns to the club’s stadium? It will be interesting to see when Shalke hosts Paris St. Germain in UEFA Cup action on October 23rd. Kuranyi leads the club in scoring with four goals.
Will the exile of Kuranyi open the door again for Mario Gómez who did not play well at Euro 2008? The 23-year-old forward who plays for VfB Stuttgart should certainly benefit from Kuranyi’s odd decision. Gómez has three goals so far in 2008-2009 Bundesliga action.