BERLIN: The Ecuadoreans have colds. The Angolans are shivering. Trinidad and Tobago players stuffed their hands deep in their pockets as they took the field for a friendly.

In Hamburg, about 320 km to the north, even the locals are bundling up in thick wool coats and scarves.

Cool temperatures are putting the b-r-r-r in Berlin and the rest of Germany, with days to go until the World Cup starts.

Quite the opposite

``It's supposed to be hot here this time of year,'' Angola defender Luis Delgado said. ``Since we've been here, some days have been warm, but most have been cold. ... I don't like it.''

Germany's average temperature in June ranges from the upper 60s F (about 20 C) in the north to the mid-70s F (mid-20s C) in the south. Hardly tropical, but downright balmy compared with the cold, rain and gloom which has settled over the country for the past two weeks. There was even some snow at the English and Dutch training camps, though it fell before the teams arrived.

On Monday, high temperatures throughout Germany hovered in the low 10s C, while the low in Leipzig was 3 C. There was finally some intermittent sunshine, but not enough to warm the chill in the air.

``It is certainly cooler than normal,'' said Dorothea Paetzold, a meteorologist with the German Weather Service. ``But it was expected because it was the same the week before.''

Little consolation

That's little consolation for teams from warm-weather regions. Or those who mistakenly assumed the World Cup was a summer event.

``For some of the guys who play in Trinidad, it's tough for them because now it is summer. It should be summer in Europe,'' said Trinidad forward Stern John, who plays for Coventry in England's second division. ``But that's how it is here.''

Try being the four newcomers from Africa. Angola, Ghana, Ivory Coast and Togo are all making their first World Cup appearance, a daunting enough prospect without having to train in weather which is the polar opposite of what they're used to.

Togo and Ivory Coast have several players based in Europe, where the season just ended, and that makes their adjustment to the weather a little easier. Ivory Coast's Didier Drogba, for example, plays for Chelsea, and everyone knows London isn't exactly the place for fine weather. Karim Guede of Togo plays in Germany at Hamburger SV, so this cold snap is nothing new to him.

But most of Angola and Ghana's players are based in domestic leagues.

Both countries are in western Africa, near the equator. It was 32 C in Ghana on Monday, with the humidity making it feel more like 38 C. In Angola, it was 28 C and humid.

``I'm used to playing in a tropical climate,'' Delgado said.

For some, though, the arctic air hasn't been a problem.

Portuguese adapt quickly

Portugal trained at home, where it's already nice and toasty in the upper low 30s C, and its World Cup base is in northwestern Germany. But trainer Darlan Schneider said the players have adjusted just fine. — AP

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