Germany may have raised eyebrows by playing so impressively to eliminate fancied Portugal and reach the semi-finals, but not those of Ottmar Hitzfeld. The man who masterminded FC Bayern München`s recent double-winning season believes the Mannschaft will also overcome Turkey tonight before lifting the UEFA European Championship trophy for a fourth time in Vienna on Sunday.

Maturity
"I expected them to reach the semis, as I always said that Germany had the chance to become European champions," said Hitzfeld, who takes over as Switzerland coach next month after ending a second successful spell as Bayern boss. "They finished third at the [FIFA] World Cup two years ago, and were a young team then which has evolved further. Philipp Lahm, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Lukas Podolski have all matured, and Michael Ballack has become a great leader. Germany are a team which always gets better as a tournament progresses – they didn`t convince in the group stage but came back impressively against Portugal. I predict they will be in the final and become champions."

Merkel advice
Having been sent off against Croatia, Schweinsteiger found himself sat next to German chancellor Angela Merkel for the Group B decider against Austria. Germany won 1-0 to advance to a meeting with Portugal in which the midfielder – who had been told "not to do anything stupid again" by Merkel – scored one goal and set up others for Miroslav Klose and Ballack. Hitzfeld, who watched Schweinsteiger develop through the Bayern youth ranks, said of the 23-year-old: "He had a break after the red card and then came back imposingly against Portugal. He`s improved through the tournament but has not shown his full potential yet. He`s a perfect player technically, and I`m happy he scored a nice goal against Portugal – especially as he sprinted forward like a striker which is not his game. He has great potential and can be a match-winner for Germany."

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