Bench Warmers

When former coach Jürgen Klinsmann dumped Kevin Kuranyi from his Germany squad ahead of the World Cup it was regarded as a major surprise. Kuranyi had, after all, scored a creditable 14 goals in 35 appearances for the national side since his debut in March 2003.

A month earlier that year, Benjamin Lauth had run out for Germany for the first time after impressively bursting onto the Bundesliga scene for 1860 Munich.

Both in their early 20s, Lauth and Kuranyi were seen as a great future offensive force for Germany, almost certain to be contenders to lead the attack at the 2006 World Cup.

SV Hamburg moved to snap up Lauth in 2004 when 1860 Munich failed to escape relegation, while Kuranyi switched from VfB Stuttgart to big-spending Schalke 04 for 7 million euros ($8.93 million) -- a record transfer sum for Stuttgart -- in the summer of 2005.

Both Hamburg and Schalke, major clubs trying to recapture their glory years, expected big things from their new star strikers, but neither has booked the success they were hoping to buy.

Lauth is now nearly a forgotten figure who isn't even making appearances on the substitutes' bench in Hamburg, while Kuranyi's career has nosedived this year following the shock of having to watch the 2006 World Cup from the stands.

Lauth's fall from the top

Injuries have plagues Lauth from making progress in Hamburg. The 25-year-old made only 10 appearances for the northerners in the 2004/05 season but seemed to be on the way back last season, and was even seen as having an outside chance of making Klinsmann's World Cup squad.

This season, however, Hamburg coach Thomas Doll seems to be questioning whether Lauth has the physical presence to lead the nearly non-existent Hamburg attack.

His appearances in the struggling team have been sporadic, and after an unlucky red card in a Champions League game at CSKA Moscow on Sept. 26 he was been little more than a spectator.

Now Lauth is wondering whether he has any future at all at the club after dropping down the pecking order, behind new signings Boubacar Sanogo, Danijel Ljuboja and Paulo Guerrero.

"Of course, I am disappointed not to have got the chance over a long period to play for half a game or longer," he told Kicker sports magazine. "It is something I cannot understand."

Lauth rejected accusations he has not worked hard enough to fulfill his early promise.

"Last season we were third and I played 31 games. Now we are 15th and I am not good enough? That is something that is difficult for me to understand," Lauth said "Physically I am in as good a shape as ever before, that's been shown in all the fitness tests."

Kuranyi's heated reception has him warming benches

Kuranyi, meanwhile, is just as frustrated in Gelsenkirchen, where the 24-year-old striker has been spending time warming the bench.

The scorer of 40 goals in 99 games for Stuttgart, he has netted just twice in nine matches this season and has still not been accepted by Schalke fans, some of whom have cruelly jeered him.

The situation went from bad to worse for Kuranyi last week when the club fined him for failing to join the subs' bench after being taken off by coach Mirko Slomka in a cup match.

Kuranyi's strength in the air, pace and good technique had made him the German national team's best striker during the 2004 European Championships, but he wasn't given a chance to improve his marks when Germany hosted the World Cup last summer.

Klinsmann was reportedly unhappy with Kuranyi's general attitude and took exception to Kuranyi's disco visits, lateness and the fact that he was lax in responding to emails, a crucial element of Klinsmann's training program as he was often managing the team of his home in California.

When the World Cup squad was announced there was no place for the striker, who has now not played for Germany since last November and appears to be still suffering from his World Cup omission.

"It was a brutal shock for me," he admitted in a recent interview with Die Welt newspaper. "It was a big dream for me to play at the World Cup in our own country. I am trying not to think about it any more."

But Kuranyi cannot forget. Asked whether the present crisis was the lowest point in his career, he told Kicker this week, "No, my low point was not being allowed to go to the World Cup."

Hard times call for hard work -- or new teams

Despite their troubles, both Kuranyi and Lauth say they are prepared to fight for better times.

"What's happening is a catastrophe," admitted Kuranyi on his poor image with some Schalke fans. "It's as if I have never kicked a ball before. My 14 goals in 35 internationals, my goals in Stuttgart -- all forgotten. That's something you have to get over."

But he added: "I am not giving up. I am not letting myself be broken...When this time is over I will have learned a lot."

Lauth, despite his present poor prospects in Hamburg, is still aiming to add to his five international caps, though he is not ruling out a move to another team.

"I am doing everything I can to make it here but if things carry on like this for months than I have to ask myself whether it still makes any sense," he said.