Joachim Loew was delighted by Germany's impressive 13-0 win over San Marino in their Group D qualifier for the Euro 2008 competition. Jurgen Klinsmann's successor said the stellar performance by the German side depended on both professionalism and a good attitude. "We started with a good, professional attitude," he was quoted as saying by UEFA's official website after the game. "You could see that the players wanted to have a lot of fun and enjoy their good performance. They never sat back and always wanted to score - a good omen for the tasks that lie ahead." The German side was able to improve upon Saturday's 1-0 win over the Republic of Ireland. In fact, the national team set a UEFA European Championship record with a 6-0 halftime. "We're completely satisfied but I had no idea about the records," Loew was quoted as saying by the German Football Association (DFB) website. "It really doesn't matter if we scored 11, 12 or 13. It was just good to see the players going forward on the attack, and to win the game. Loew, who won all three games in charge of the Mannschaft, said there was still room for improvement. "We can still improve on certain things -- with our pressing and in staying compact on the pitch." While there was little question in the team's mind about whether they would win Wednesday's qualifier Lukas Podolski, who led the way with four goals, saw it as an opportunity to shine. "We knew San Marino were the worst side we would face so we wanted to score a lot of goals," the forward said. "That's what we did." The final score was Germany's biggest victory since the 1912 Olympics, where they won 16-0 against Russia. The team will now look ahead to their next qualifier against Slovakia on Oct. 11, as well as a friendly against Georgia on Oct. 7. Captain Michael Ballack believes his team is prepared for the challenge the more experienced Slovakia will present. "When you score 13 goals you have to be happy," the recent Chelsea signing said. "We were focused. We want to keep playing attacking football. It is important now that we steady the rest of our game."
