Germany are World Cup’s most exciting team
Columnist By Mike Tuckerman, 4 Jul 2010 Mike Tuckerman is a Roar Expert
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- 2010 World Cup, Argentina, Bastian Schweinsteiger, diego maradona, football, Germany, Lukas Podolski, Miroslav Klose, Thomas Muller, World Cup
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Germany's Thomas Muller celebrates after scoring a goal during the World Cup quarterfinal soccer match between Argentina and Germany at the Green Point stadium in Cape Town, South Africa, Saturday, July 3, 2010. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)
Diego Maradona once thought Thomas Müller was a ballboy, but the writing was on the wall for Argentina as early as the third minute when the German youngster headed home. It was the beginning of the end for the Argentines, as the World Cup’s most exciting team got down to business.
Time and again Germany’s pace and penetration proved decisive in their rampant 4-0 quarter-final win over Argentina, although the Albiceleste didn’t exactly help themselves by conceding such a soft opener following Bastian Schweinsteiger’s curling free-kick.
Schweinsteiger was everywhere for Joachim Löw’s side as he turned in an outstanding individual display, with the Bayern Munich midfielder deservedly winning Man of the Match honours for his impressive performance.
However, he wasn’t the only German player to make headlines – as Miroslav Klose moved to within one goal of Brazilian great Ronaldo’s all-time World Cup goalscoring record with a typically predatory brace.
Four years ago I watched from a packed Stuttgart café as Klose calmly scored the equaliser in Germany’s quarter-final win over Argentina, and the veteran goal-getter proved as influential as ever in Cape Town as he once again spearheaded the German attack against their South American counterparts.
Löw’s decision to persist with veteran Klose and out-of-form Köln attacker Lukas Podolski in the international arena has paid off, with their poor domestic form all but forgotten as the pair continue to play a key role in Germany’s exciting World Cup campaign.
Yet it’s the form of several youngsters that has also caught the eye, with midfielder Müller impressing not only via his goals, but also through his composure on the ball and intelligent runs into space off it.
Germany’s strength in depth was underlined against the Argentines when they introduced youngster Toni Kroos for the impressive Sami Khedira, with Kroos spending the past 18 months on loan at Bayer Leverkusen because he couldn’t break into a star-studded Bayern Munich midfield.
And it’s the injection of youth into Germany’s well-balanced side that has made them such an exciting and unpredictable team to watch.
Before the tournament kicked off, many questioned the wisdom of Löw’s enthusiastic regeneration of his squad – wondering whether the likes of Mesut Özil, Jerome Boateng, Müller and Khedira possessed the temperament to propel Germany into the latter stages of the tournament.
Such doubts have been categorically laid to rest, with Germany’s incisive counter-attacking game so far reaping four-goal hauls against Australia, England and now Argentina.
Those who insist that speed and fleet-footed attacking drive are the exclusive domain of the English Premier League are mistaken – the likes of Müller, Kroos and Piotr Trochowski are all products of the Bundesliga – a league which has contributed significantly to some of the most vibrant football played in this year’s World Cup.
Trochowski will replace the suspended Müller in the semi-final, and time will tell whether Löw’s impressive blend of youth and experience can go one step further than they did in 2006, as the Germans look to book their place in the final at Soccer City on July 11.
But with the tournament so far dominated by cagey football and cautious tactics, Germany’s approach has been a breath of fresh air, and the case could be made that they’ve been the most exciting team to date.
I’ve certainly enjoyed watching their games – the “Disaster in Durban” aside – and I eagerly await their semi-final performance to see whether Löw’s confident side can keep up their free-flowing attacking displays.
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July 4th 2010 @ 7:55am
punter said | July 4th 2010 @ 7:55am | Report comment
From the moment the Aussies got on the field against the Germans, there was one man I was concerned about. Every great German side I’ve seen has a leader, a driving force, he is a leader amongst leaders, Bastian Schweinsteiger.
As Kurt put it, he is rarely amongst those mentioned as the shinning light in the beautiful game, but to me he has been the player of the tournament for me. He just drives this team around ‘with teutonic performance of well-drilled, clinical efficiency’.
He did the same to a poor German side in the Euros & got them to the final. I remembered how he destroyed Portugal back then & he is doing again.
July 4th 2010 @ 8:32am
Vinay Verma said | July 4th 2010 @ 8:32am | Report comment
Mike, I enjoyed the German play against England and now against Argentina. In retrospect,notwithstanding the result,I also had to admire their demolition of an ill-chosen Australian side.
What struck me in this morning’s game was the teamwork and self belief. The players obviously have the skill but Low desrves credit for instilling this belief.
The Germans did not just shoot on spec. They looked for the better positioned man and invariably there was support looming.
Get Low for the Aussie coaching job. Low and Lowy has a nice ring to it.
July 4th 2010 @ 3:16pm
Victer said | July 4th 2010 @ 3:16pm | Report comment
Haha, I wish Vinay! But the german footballing machine goes a lot deeper than just their coach. Their consistency in tournaments is unrivaled. Even when playing relatively poor such as in the 2008 Euros they still managed to be in the final. Born from an overhaul of their development system 20 years ago, not to mention they have the second highest amount of registered juniors from the USA. No wonder the USA have largely adopted Germen development methods!
July 4th 2010 @ 8:51am
Australian Football said | July 4th 2010 @ 8:51am | Report comment
Germany 4 Argentina 0 who would have thought that? I was convinced that Argentinean artistry was going to put the sword through Germany’s kids, but it was the other way around and for only 20-30 minutes in the second half did Argentina appear to look like the Football masters we know they are. How did the kids of Germany achieve this massive result?
When you compare the two styles in this game it was team organisation winning over a team who possess an abundance of flair but have little to offer in team organisation at the back. If you let Germany score the first goal in a sudden death encounter you will lose––that is the lesson for Spain.
Germany’s back four are the best in the world cup to date––a difficult impregnable wall to penetrate. When Argentina did find the net; four of Argentina’s forwards were caught in an offside trap; such is the speed and organisation of the back four to come out in unison.
If you fall behind by one goal in the first 15 minutes you then have no other alternative but to chase the game, and in a sudden-death encounter you are left open for more punishment.
The German’s superior organisation at the back, their attacking midfield and strikers on the counter will tear you apart that were illustrated last night. This is the lesson for Spain to watch out for Germany’s amazing speed and acceleration moving into holes by their players in the first 20mins of the game.
_____
AF
July 4th 2010 @ 9:04am
MVDave said | July 4th 2010 @ 9:04am | Report comment
Agreed Germany look terrific and l will support them if they continue to attack and look to score. Amazing they are playing the ‘Total football’ of the Dutch from the 70s and the ‘Dutch’ are playing with German…Clinical,Efficient,Ruthless,Well-drilled effieciency…thanks Kurt
BTW The only question mark against the Germans is if they can do so well after going a goal down…it has happened once so far and they lost (although did miss a penalty).
July 4th 2010 @ 9:13am
Bay35Pablo said | July 4th 2010 @ 9:13am | Report comment
After putting 4 on both England and Argentina, perhaps we didn’t do so badly going 2-0 down with 11 men, and then shopping a further 2 with 10.
Perhaps we have (closes eyes, puts on helmet and waits for artillery) been overly harsh on Pim and us losing.
I think we should have played more like the later gams, and showed them too much respect, but even had we played like we should have, they still might have put us to the sword 4-0!!!
July 4th 2010 @ 9:19am
Mister Football said | July 4th 2010 @ 9:19am | Report comment
There’s no doubt about it – of course aussies have been overly harsh on Pim!
Led by Fos, who pleaded with the players to mutiny after that first game!
We’ve now seen both England and Argentina copping shellackings – all leaking goals not too dissimilar from those Australia conceded – and they both had 11 men!!
Let’s keep in mind the amount of flak Holman has received over the last 2 or 3 years – and he ends up being a WC hero!
If Pim had listened to the “experts’, he would have replaced Holman with Carle!
Also, Pim did some interesting things with the team, like put Carney at full back, and Chippers in a more attacking wide role, which worked a treat.
Ultimately, the Socceroos did as well as the last group stage (1W, 1D, 1L), in what was arguably a tougher group.
On the basis of the raw numbers, Pim did very, very well.
July 4th 2010 @ 1:15pm
cmag said | July 4th 2010 @ 1:15pm | Report comment
Absolutely, both England and Argentina had 11 men the whole game and still leaked 4 goals each AND they had supposedly some of the best players in the world in Rooney & Messi.
Pim and Australia did very well under the circumstances of being placed in the hardest group, evident by the fact Germany through to semis and Ghana unlucky to miss out, not to mention a very good Serbian team who are the only team to beat Germany so far.
July 4th 2010 @ 1:47pm
JR said | July 4th 2010 @ 1:47pm | Report comment
I’m sick of Craig Foster and his lack of control. No doubt he’s smart as hell, but you can get almost as good from Ned Zelic without all the childish tantrums.
July 4th 2010 @ 3:20pm
Victer said | July 4th 2010 @ 3:20pm | Report comment
I like Ned a lot. He also has passion but doesn’t go on tantrums. Has a big future in football in this country whether as a pundit or maybe even a coach.
July 4th 2010 @ 4:18pm
Andyroo said | July 4th 2010 @ 4:18pm | Report comment
Pim stuffed up the German game no doubt about it in my mind, but what manager doesn’t get things wrong now and then. He tried something in a game we were unlikely to win anway and it backfired. His comments to the Dutch media weren’t his finest moment either.
I pitty whoever takes the Socceroos job next because you cop it from the football media which perhaps because it’s so small in OZ (most of the power rests in the hands of a few) has a big influence.
Afterwards his explanation for not changing things faster was he wanted to wait until half time rather than make wholesale changes mid half and with the game gone wasn’t going to risk Kewell just for pride were fair for mine. The fact he was more concerned about qualification for the next round than risking everything to save his reputation a litte in the Germany game gets my approval.
A big question not asked of the FFA is why Pim had to have Arnold involved? I can’t think of any other decent football nation that would make the new coach keep the old one around, esepcially one that has got so many of the players offside with a lot swearing they know they won’t be selected while Arnolds involved (Bosnar and Killkenny) and Dukes blaming Arnold for the Asian cup debacle.
July 5th 2010 @ 10:28am
Sars said | July 5th 2010 @ 10:28am | Report comment
Wow, I must have missed when Dukes criticised Arnold for the Asian Cup. You’ve got to wonder then, if the FFA had got rid of Arnold when they hired Verbeek, would we have seen Dukes at this WC? It’s not like we couldn’t have used him!!
July 4th 2010 @ 5:10pm
Hansie said | July 4th 2010 @ 5:10pm | Report comment
Germany smashing Argentina and England does put Australia’s loss in context. While there may be criticism of Verbeek for team selection and tactics on the night, the reality is that Australia was beaten by a very strong team.
July 4th 2010 @ 9:38am
True Tah said | July 4th 2010 @ 9:38am | Report comment
Love the name Schweinsteiger – not too shabby a player either.
July 4th 2010 @ 10:24am
punter said | July 4th 2010 @ 10:24am | Report comment
I think it’s Pig climber in German, anyone more proficent in German to confirm or deny this.
But no doubt great player.
July 4th 2010 @ 10:30am
Dominic Herzberg said | July 4th 2010 @ 10:30am | Report comment
You can translate it like this, but since its not a common word here in germany (I guess pig climer isn’t a common word in australia too) you don’t draw that line. It’s just his name. If you translate my name it would be Heartmountain same thing
German players used to call Schweinsteiger Schweini which is a cuter form of pig, before the world cup started he told them that he doesn’t want to hear that nickname again.
July 4th 2010 @ 10:42am
punter said | July 4th 2010 @ 10:42am | Report comment
Thanks Dominic, he is my player of the tournament so far, awesome player. Moller has also impressed me.
July 4th 2010 @ 3:29pm
Tristan Rayner said | July 4th 2010 @ 3:29pm | Report comment
I’ve been very closely watching Ozil. He’s had better games than last night, sometimes his workrate can drop, but boy can he put the ball on a plate for you. Intensely dangerous, but not the sort of player like Messi or Robben – more Fabregas style.
I thought Moller was awful a few games ago, but he has played very well. Shame he picked up a yellow.
July 4th 2010 @ 10:21am
punter said | July 4th 2010 @ 10:21am | Report comment
All those bemoaning the lack of different WC winners, you can not complain about the depth in world football.
Semi finalist in the last 3 WCs;
2002 Brazil, Germany, Sth Korea & Turkey (who has not made the WC since).
2006 Italy, France, Germany, Portugal
2010 Spain, Holland, Uruguay & Germany (yes again)
That is 10 different countries as Semi Finalist & one country, yes the team of the moment Germany are the only team that has made the semis more than once (3 times).
July 4th 2010 @ 10:50am
Davstar said | July 4th 2010 @ 10:50am | Report comment
I dont know if they have been the ‘most exciting’ they certainly score alot of goals and be very entertaining. Best match so far was Holland Brazil if you ask me but overall germany have play top draw throughout all their matches. Germany play very quick, direct and clinical.
July 4th 2010 @ 11:48am
Sammy22 said | July 4th 2010 @ 11:48am | Report comment
Great post Mike
Dominic interesting comments on the restructure of youth academies in German football. Time and time again that kind of investment in any sport creates the success and fortunes down the track, rather than throwing money at the top end.
I don’t follow the players enough to know, but how many of the players in the semi finals play in the EPL or do they play more in their own countries national league?
Just heard Barry Cassidy make the point that the Aus group was the only one to have 2 teams in the quarters while the English group was the only one to have none in the quarters ……. which gives us 1 up on the English …… apparently
July 4th 2010 @ 12:10pm
Dominic Herzberg said | July 4th 2010 @ 12:10pm | Report comment
Everybody in the german national team is playing in the german bundesliga except of former captain Michael Ballack who was playing in the epl at chelsea. This season he is coming home playing for his former club bayer leverkusen.
The players of the national team are playing for cologne, munich, bremen, leverkusen, hamburg, stuttgart, berlin and schalke. So the coach really used to pick a player from almost every good team in germany. But also the Bundesliga is spoken down in europe as there are to few star players as in the epl, serie a or in the primera division. But all of those leagues have only two or three clubs who are fighting every year for the title. In germany almost every team is capable of winning at the end of the season as we have five different title winners in the last ten years.
July 4th 2010 @ 12:33pm
tony yeboah said | July 4th 2010 @ 12:33pm | Report comment
Good points Dominic. I liked how you said ‘almost’ every good team, cause unfortunately for poor old Arne Freidreich, Hertha BSC were not the greatest last season.
For me, the Bundesliga is a lot better a league than it often gets credited for and is the best model for our A-League to model itself on. Financially, excellent, technically and tactically, excellent, not afraid to play young players, highly competitive despite Bayern winning many titles.
But quick question Dominic, why is that you don’t get many German players in recent times play in other leagues? As you mentioned, Ballack is one of the few players to play outside the Bundesliga. I heard that Ozil is interested in the EPL, but for me he should stay and make a name for himself in Germany first. Van Der Vart and Diego and two good examples of great players (not German though) who made a name for themselves and then went straight into first team action at top clubs. I would be afraid of Ozil being lost in a big club in England when he could be playing 50 games a year in the Bundesliga.
Cheers
July 4th 2010 @ 9:54pm
Dominic Herzberg said | July 4th 2010 @ 9:54pm | Report comment
I really can’t answer why only so few german players are playing in other leagues. But i don’t think that this is bad for our national team. When you have a look at the national teams of the other countries they used to buy everything good even if the players are just sitting on the bench. The quality of the national team suffers from this, sure in german teams we also have people from other countries have a look at munich with Robben, Ribery, Van Bommel and so on, but the players fit our system and we’re setting them up with our younger players who can learn from them.
If you have a look at the EPL where club football seems to play the most important role, most of the stars are either old or from another country. They just don’t have adequate faith in youth which will destroy there dreams of winning the world or the european cup.
Holland was always famous for there youth system looking at Ajax Amsterdam which produced some of the most talented football players in the world. But when those players where traded to clubs like Barcelona, ManU or Inter there talent was mostly given away because the didn’t get any playing practice.
Because of that fact I hope that i.e. Özil will stay at Bremen and don’t change to a major club. He is getting the playing experience he needs, maybe at the age of 27-28 he can play for a bigger club, but for now the best league for him is the Bundesliga. Same goes for Müller, when he plays at Bayern he gets the opportunity to play in the CL and he is part of the starting eleven. What more can he ask for?
For me the recipe to success is to build up a league with a decent amount of teams who play almost at the same level. If you have 2 or 3 dominating teams you never knew how well you really do, but if you’re tested every week again and again you can improve in your playing system and style.
Just my two cents
July 4th 2010 @ 1:51pm
Al said | July 4th 2010 @ 1:51pm | Report comment
Argentina were more woeful than Germany good. Spain will thump them.
July 4th 2010 @ 2:28pm
Mister Football said | July 4th 2010 @ 2:28pm | Report comment
And yet Germany is the team that has now kicked 4 goals in 3 separate matches in this world cup alone.
That’s a mighty record in the modern age – I daresay you’d have to go back many decades to find another team that has achieved that (in only five WC games).
You’d probably have to look at the great Brazilian sides of 1958 or 1970 (just thinking off the top of my head).
It’s not out of the question that we are witnessing a team revolutionising the game before our very eyes. The combination of technique and tactical nous with sheer speed, power and athletism is perhaps unprecedented in the game.
I reckon it’s bloody fantastic – without Germany, it this WC would have been like many before it, an absolute snore fest.
July 4th 2010 @ 11:54pm
Midfielder said | July 4th 2010 @ 11:54pm | Report comment
Think you could be right … and there style suits Australia … physical, with speed, and some half decent passing skills…
Like total football from the Dutch 70′s sides… but with its own variation…
July 5th 2010 @ 4:04am
Football_Wunderkind said | July 5th 2010 @ 4:04am | Report comment
Hey Midfielder,
A few days before the game, my friend asked me who I think Australia should try and emulate, should try and play like.
Without even thinking, I replied “Germany!” …
Then during the game versus Australia when were 2-0 down and being slaughtered, I was in an absolute state.
About 5 mins before half time I stood up and looked my friend in the eye and said ‘this is why we should play like Germany” … I then proceeded to mimic all the classic football tricks and dance around like a fool pretending I was Ronaldinho or C. Ronaldo, saying “we don’t need to produce footballers who do the razzle dazzle soft shoe shuffle! … we just need to produce 20 blokes who can play a simple pass and move/run to a spot to be the 3rd player in a passing move”… Australia can do that.
I remember seeing an interview with Christian Bale on the ‘Batman Begins’ dvd talking about the martial arts Batman uses in these new Batman movies. He says something like ‘the old Batman used to do a flying spinning somersault and the punch the guy out… why waste time doing all that when you can just walk up to the bad guy and punch him out”
Barcelona are like the old Batman, they get the job done but with flying somersaults and its great to watch. Germany are the new Batman… just walk up to guy and punch him out.
I am all for the tricks in football and the skills moves sometimes needed but right now Australia doesn’t produce these types of footballers and won’t for the foreseeable future but w don’t need to!