Mesut Oezil has stressed that Germany cannot afford to solely focus on Cristiano Ronaldo in their Euro 2012 opener against Portugal.
Germany meet the Seleccao on Saturday as they aim to start the European Championship on a high, and Oezil feels that their opponents have a solid team on the whole, and do not rely on the Real Madrid man.
We are not playing against Cristiano Ronaldo. We are taking on Portugal, Oezil said.
They are collectively very strong and have some great individuals. Pepe is absolutely world-class in my opinion, and Fabio Coentrao has a lot of pace and technique.
Portugal are one of the favourites to win the tournament, alongside Spain, Netherlands and France.
The attacking midfielder credited Ronaldo for helping him when he arrived at Madrid in the summer of 2010.
He is a cool guy. He s not arrogant at all. He s the one who helped me the most when I joined Madrid, he said.
Meanwhile, German chancellor Angela Merkel took time out from her busy schedule on Wednesday to meet the Germany football squad at the team s base in Poland.
Head coach Joachim Loew was the first to greet Merkel at their hotel in Gdansk before she spent time talking to the players and officials.
Germany kick off their Euro 2012 campaign on June 9 with their opening Group B match against Portugal.
