Committed to PEOPLE'S RIGHT TO KNOW
Vol. 5 Num 744 Sat. July 01, 2006  
   
Sports


All for the hotel room!


Germany wanted to beat Argentina and stay in the World Cup because the players had become attached to their five-star hotel and did not want to leave it, goalkeeper Jens Lehmann joked on Thursday.

Lehmann said the pampering they are getting at the exclusive hotel built in an luxurious 95-year-old villa in Berlin's poshest quarter was a small but important motivating factor.

"It's just a great hotel," Lehmann told a news conference before Friday's quarterfinal match less than five km (three miles) from Olypiastadion, a smile flashing across his face.

"Even if we have a free day to go where-ever we want, a majority of us, or many of us anyhow, feel so comfortable at the hotel that we decide to stay there. It's just fantastic.

"It's another reason we have to make it to the final so we can stay in there," said Lehmann, 36.

The Schlosshotel in Grunewald, used by Hollywood stars during the Berlin Film Festival, is one of the most expensive in Germany with suites costing up to 3,000 euros per night.