What The Papers Say

The 4thegame.com regular feature that brings you the best of the coverage from the UK press. It's not a mere news round-up, but instead gives you all the top headlines, outrageous puns and crazy stories...

Headline of the day...

WISH YOU WERE HERE?
The Daily Mirror report on England's 2-1 win in Germany, with John Terry's header sealing the victory and showing the absent stars what they missed out on.

Hold the back page...

IT'S THE GREAJT ESCAPE
"GreaJT"? Wow, that's bad. The Sun focus on Terry's goal being redemption after his mix-up with Scott Carson that lead to Germany's equaliser. But how will they redeem themselves after that headline pun?

FAB FINISH
The Daily Mail say Terry: "shrugged off a shattering defensive error to power home the late winner in Germany and prove that Fabio Capello's team can live with the best in the world."

TERRY TURNS A HOWLER ON ITS HEAD AS ENGLAND BREACH FORTRESS BERLIN
The Guardian point out that this was Germany's first defeat in Berlin since Brazil won there 35 years ago, so it was certainly a significant result, even in a friendly.

TERRY'S WINNER CAPS A FAB YEAR
In the Daily Express, Capello says: "I couldn't have asked for a better first year as England manager."

CAPELLO'S 24-CARAT GOLD RESERVES
And, of course, this was all done with mostly the England reserve team, points out The Times.

Other top stories...

CAPELLO PUTS THE PRIDE BACK INTO ENGLAND
In the Daily Telegraph, they say that: "It took an outsider to remind us of the importance of the Engalnd team in an era when power has shifted to the clubs. Did I say outsider? Fabio Capello is English now. And the power is his."

DISPLAY OF METTLE THAT WAS AGAIN MADE IN ITALY
James Lawton in The Independent agrees: "Sir Geoff Hurst no doubt provided some inspiration when he shook hands with England before the game and one of his West Ham successors, the polished Matthew Upson, was soon providing a little more with his goal. But then there was never any question about the origin of an unfamiliar team's most coherent work. Again, it was made in Italy."

SUCCESS IS CAST IN THE ITALIAN FASHION
John Dillon in the Daily Express says: "This is the stadium where the Golden Generation was supposed to fulfil all its big promises and secure the World Cup in 2006. Remember them? The England team finally got here last night, more than two years late. What a hugely dramatic and, now, revolutionary time is has turned out to have been."

AGBONLAHOR SHOWS PACE AND POTENTIAL TO MERIT INCLUSION IN ITALIAN'S LONG-TERM PLANS
The Times report on a good debut: "Gabriel Agbonlahor was far more impressive than all four of Capello's previous first caps, although given the performances of Joe Hart, Stephen Warnock, Phil Jagielka and Dean Ashton in Trinidad last summer, that is not saying much."

AGBONLAHOR GIVES CAPELLO EXTRA FORWARD DIMENSION
Richard Williams in The Guardian backs that claim: "Apart from the result, which will look even better on Fabio Capello's CV, that was the night's big gain. England now have another worthwhile strike forward lining up in the queue behind Wayne Rooney, Theo Walcott and Emile Heskey."

THE HERO OF BERLIN MAY GET KNOCKED DOWN, BUT HE GETS UP AGAIN BETTER THAN ANYONE
Meanwhile, Oliver Holt summons up the spirit of Chumbawamba to sum up John Terry in the Daily Mirror: "The England captain's main contribution was being here in the first place. It was the gesture. It was the refusal to succumb to injury and stay at home."

TERRY ISN'T FAKING IT AS THE SKIPPER LEADS BY EXAMPLE
Paul Hayward in the Daily Mail says: "John Terry's postal address should be Harm's Way, Surrey. He's always there, always risking some part of his anatomy, while more delicate souls call in injured for the more disposable assignments."

IMAGINE IF WE HAD SENT OUT THE A TEAM
And finally, The Sun get all 'patriotic' again: "It was a good job we didn't send the A team - old Fritz might have been really humiliated." Is it the Second World War all over again?