Loew rests stars for friendly

Germany coach Joachim Loew has as anticipated rested the bulk of his World Cup stars for next week's friendly against Denmark.
Loew's 18-strong list announced here Friday included only eight of the 23 players he took to South Africa for the 2010 finals where Germany finished third.
World Cup players called up for this Euro 2012 qualifier warm-up included goalkeeper Manuel Neur and defender Jerome Boateng.
Loew appeased some of Germany's top clubs like Bayern Munich by leaving out the likes of Philipp Lamm, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Thomas Muller, Miroslav Klose and Sami Khedira.
"It was obvious that we would overlook our most important players for this game", Loew commented.
He added: "We are conscious of our responsibilities with regard to the international players. After a competition such as this it's important for them to be able to focus on their clubs and to prepare for the new season."
Missing also was Germany captain Michael Ballack, the former Chelsea midfielder now with Bayer Leverkusen who was sidelined for the World Cup with injury.
Loew has called up two debutants, Wolfsburg defender Sascha Riether and Monchengladbach midfielder Marco Reus.
Squad
Goalkeepers: Manuel Neuer (Schalke 04), Tim Wiese (Werder Bremen)
Defenders: Andreas Beck (Hoffenheim), Jerome Boateng (Manchester City/ENG), Sascha Riether (Wolfsburg), Marcel Schäfer (Wolfsburg), Christian Schulz (Hannover), Serdar Tasci (Stuttgart)
Midfielders: Christian Gentner (Stuttgart), Thomas Hitzlsperger (West Ham/ENG), Aaron Hunt (Werder Bremen), Toni Kroos (Bayern Munich), Marko Marin (Werder Bremen), Marco Reus (Monchengladbach), Christian Trasch (Stuttgart), Piotr Trochowski (Hamburg)
Forwards: Mario Gomez (Bayern Munich), Patrick Helmes (Bayer Leverkusen)