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Germans agree on bonus payments

November 20, 2008, 12:20 AM Post Comments
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Each Germany player will receive a bonus of up to 200,000 euros ($253,000) if the national team qualifies for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

Four senior players _ captain Michael Ballack, Miroslav Klose, Torsten Frings and Philipp Lahm _ negotiated the bonus payment at a meeting with federation officials ahead of Wednesday's friendly against England in Berlin.

Team manager Oliver Bierhoff said Tuesday the deal was reached in about 40 minutes.

"The quickest I know," he said about the negotiations.

If Germany qualifies as group winner, the players would receive 20,000 euros ($25,000) for each selection to the squad for the 10 games. If the Germans qualify through a home-and-away playoff, the bonus will be 16,500 euros ($20,900) per selection.

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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