Frings cut loose

At the age of 33, Torsten Frings could have been forgiven for thinking that he still had a good few years ahead of him for Germany. His dynamic midfield style may be more physically demanding than that of some other players, but his good form and sustained fitness meant Frings thought he had a chance to complete a decade in the colors of his country, especially given it would only take one more year.

However it's now unlikely that he'll ever feature for Germany again, and he won't collect the extra 21 caps he needs to reach 100 appearances – as long as Joachim Loew remains national team coach, which he is contracted to do through Euro 2012.

Coach Loew called time on Frings' international career this week, traveling to Bremen to tell the Werder midfielder that he will play no part in his World Cup plans for the tournament in South Africa this summer.

Frings has fallen out of favor ever since Euro 2008; signs of his marginalization were there for all to see. He made just a six-minute cameo appearance in Germany's critical 2-1 World Cup qualifier victory over Russia in October 2008, and his last international match – a 1-0 friendly defeat to Norway – was in February 2009.

Sour end to a slow removal from service

The defensive midfielder's omission from the starting line-up for the Russia game prompted Germany captain Michael Ballack to accuse Loew of not showing his senior players enough respect. That outburst led to a frosty stand-off between captain and coach which was slow to thaw.

When Frings was then left out completely for the World Cup qualifier against Azerbaijan last August, it was the Bremen star's turn to openly question the wisdom and motives of the national coach.

"I'm basing things on the principle that I'm still part of the national side as long as the coach hasn't given me a decision I can understand," fumed Frings. "When you have given so much for your country for eight or nine years, surely you can expect to be given a reason."

Loew responded with his reason: "Torsten is a very experienced player with almost 80 caps who, if he is called up, would expect to start. I've spoken to him and told him that, for the moment, Thomas Hitzlsperger has the advantage in his position."

The two eventually met for peace talks during which Frings apologized for publicly criticizing the coach. While Loew accepted, he made it clear that reputation and experience did not give a player the right to slate his coach in public, and that future outbursts would not be tolerated.

It was an indication as to how low Frings' stock had plummeted in Loew's eyes since the Bremen man's barnstorming performances during the 2006 World Cup.

Cult midfielder among Germany's stars of 2006

From the moment he scored Germany's fourth goal in a 4-2 win against Costa Rica in the Cup's opening match with a powerful long-range drive, to the brawl with Argentine players after the quarter-final victory on penalties, Frings had rapidly become a cult figure during the tournament on home soil. His suspension for the semi-final against Italy was seen as a national tragedy – one which some believed cost Germany a shot at the title.

After being part of the Germany squad which reached the World Cup final in 2002, after only a year in the international set-up, Frings became a regular in the holding midfield role, providing a muscular backbone to Michael Ballack's more adventurous playmaking. He enjoyed his most prolific period with the Germany team between the 2002 and 2006 World Cups, racking up 43 appearances for Die Mannschaft, scoring eight of his ten international goals in that spell.

He also enjoyed success in the Bundesliga during this phase; Frings won German league and cup crowns with Bayern Munich, and was part of League Cup-winning sides twice, once with Werder and once with Bayern.

Loew's youth project rings the changes

Frings would feature less for the Germany team as the European Championships approached, adding just 14 caps to his haul in the two years between the 2006 World Cup and the end of 2008 – precisely the spell during which Joachim Loew began to stamp his authority on the team once coached by his former boss, Juergen Klinsmann.

Loew has made it clear that his goal for the coming World Cup in South Africa is to field a team of young stars, blooded at the highest level – a desire which likely brought the final demise of Frings' international career.

While the coach will no doubt rely on a select few older players to season the mix of youth and experience through in South Africa, the jettisoning of Frings could be the precursor to a wholesale changing of the guard, with contemporaries like Ballack likely to see South Africa as their last international hurrah.

Despite consistent performances for Bremen which suggest that there are still many more kilometers left in the midfielder's legs, Joachim Loew's emphasis on youth and – although this has been denied – the ongoing static between coach and player have combined to bring down the curtain on Frings' international career.

Some will argue that it's more than a little premature – Torsten Frings himself surely among them.

Author: Nick Amies
Editor: Matt Hermann