German shoe dispute ends on the right foot for players

A shoe dispute among German nation football stars has been settled with the players allowed to wear their preferred brand of shoe.

Adidas, which has outfitted the German team for decades, agreed to let the players chose their own shoes despite its contract extension with the German national federation that lasts through 2014.

In a compromise, the players signed an agreement to do more publicity for the federation, which apparently hopes that will recoup some lost income through the shoes.

"The federation won't be the financial loser in a solution to the shoe problem," federation president Theo Zwanziger said before the meetings Thursday with the players.

Some players threatened a boycott in a 3-0 friendly victory against Sweden two weeks ago, angry because they felt a promise was broken to meet their demands.

Zwanziger avoided the strike by agreeing to settle the matter before Saturday's match against Ireland, the start of Germany's European Championship qualifying campaign.

Among the players were leading World Cup scorer Miroslav Klose of Werder Bremen and Arsenal goalkeeper Jens Lehmann, who also has the right to wear his own gloves.

Adidas retained rights on the rest of the national team's outfitting. The agreement extends to Germany's under-21 team and the women's national soccer team.

Source: euFootball.BIZ © Copyright 2006 - All rights reserved.