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The German national team was rubbish a decade ago. Knocked out of Euro 2000 in embarrassing fashion, the German FA created “Team 2006” with an eye to reviving their fortunes. One player selected was Thomas Broich, and it’s interesting to see the current links between Australian and German football.
Broich never quite reached the heights expected of him in Germany, mostly riding the pine at Rheinland rivals Borussia Mönchengladbach and 1.FC Köln as a new generation of German talent muscled its way into the national team and eventual World Cup glory.
Meanwhile, the man nicknamed ‘Mozart’ for his cerebral approach to the game, eventually pitched up in Brisbane by way of Nürnberg. But Broich’s inclusion in the Team 2006 project got me thinking about the merits of forward thinking.
While only four Team 2006 players went on to feature at the World Cup – Tim Borowski, Arne Friedrich, Timo Hildebrand and the incredibly out-of-place Mike Hanke – many more either went on to feature as regular German internationals.
Or at least serviceable professional footballers.
More importantly, the youthful German side which so impressed in 2006 has been regenerated many times over, to the point the German national team is now synonymous with youth – in stark contrast to the bunch of pensioners Erich Ribbeck mismanaged more than ten years ago.
Admittedly, the German side is still built around a core of experienced veterans – Friedrich, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Miroslav Klose among them – but it’s the inclusion of young talent like Mats Hummels, Andre Schurrle and the freakishly talented Mario Götze which suggests the German FA have still got an eye on the future.
And it’s an approach Football Federation Australia are trying to mirror by naming a youthful training squad to take part in a series of games against German club sides ahead of Tuesday’s friendly.
The FFA perhaps could have gone one step further and included exciting young talents like James Holland and Matthew Leckie in the full national squad, but the assembly of so many young (and in some cases unfamiliar) faces suggests the FFA are at least putting some thought into the future.
And it’s a good thing they’re doing so, because at the moment Australia surely has one of the oldest national teams going around.
At some point the likes of Mark Schwarzer, Brett Emerton and Harry Kewell are going to have to stand aside, so the more exposure players such as Mitch Langerak, Kearyn Baccus and Michael Zullo get, the smoother their transition into the full international set-up will be.
Some of the credit must go to Socceroos tactician Holger Osieck, an obvious link to the German game, but also a coach never shy of utilising young talent.
I was slightly sceptical of his appointment as Socceroos coach, because Osieck somehow managed to turn a Urawa Reds side bursting with bravado into the biggest chokers in Japanese football.
But the affable German has impressed with a refreshingly attacking brand of football and an up-beat attitude to the unique challenges of coaching Australia.
I’m glad he’s picked Nikita Rukavytsya, who has speed to burn and has played 25 league games for German second division side Hertha Berlin this season, and I’d like to see Neil Kilkenny given a chance to try and stamp his authority on the game from midfield.
But most of all, I’d like to see a vast improvement on that disastrous 4-0 defeat in Durban.
As sensible an idea as the training squad is, Osieck will nevertheless rely heavily on the old guard in Mönchengladbach.
For many, it’s a chance of redemption, so young or old, here’s hoping the Socceroos can exorcise the demons of Durban with a far more impressive display at Borussia Park.