Germany - World Cup champions-in-waiting or pretenders?

Saturday, 14th December 2013  

Ace footy-ghana.com columnist Lexis Koufie Amartey takes a look at one of Ghana's World Cup opponents Germany, analysing the team's strengths and weaknesses

Germany

 

Being ranked No.2 in the world says you have truly world-class players in your rank. When you have six starters of your national team coming from the Bayern Munich team that won the UEFA Championship, Bundesliga and the German Cup last season, there's a truly underlining quality about your team. The success that the team has achieved over the last decade is accustomed by high quality technical football where players carry out their duty in a professional manner. Whenever the team faces adversity and criticism, they always quash their doubters with latter stage appearances and honours. They are a football marvel. For a team that has made at least the semifinals in the past two European Championships and World Cups, the German team will see Brazil as the perfect platform to go a step further.

 

Germany coach

 

Even before he was appointed Germany head coach in July 2006, the Joachim Löw revolution had already started. As an assistant to Juergen Klinsmann, Low gradually helped change the team's tactical approach from a static defensive stance to one that was much more dynamic and attack-oriented. The result? Joachim Low has led the Germans to the 2008 Euro final, 2012 Euro semifinal, and 2010 World Cup semifinal in his three major tournaments after Jurgen Klinsmann had taken the team to the World Cup semifinal in 2006 on home soil. Whilst Juergen Klinsmann gets praised as a charismatic motivator, Low is respected in his home country as a tactical mastermind. This was put in evidence by Low building the team's fortunes around Klose, Lukas Podolski, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Philipp Lahm pre-2010 and Ozil, Goetze, Marko Reus, Muller and Toni Kroos post-2010. That Joachim Löw has been coach of the Germany national team for more than six years says a lot about his quality. Low has revolutionized German football over the majority of the last decade and he gets national recognition for that. He has already proved just how good of a coach he is with his intelligence and astute tactics.

 

 

Germany Tactics

 

One of Germany’s main strengths comes from the speed of which they attack, and the fluidity of the movement of the players. At the World Cup in South Africa in 2010, Germany were seen as one of the most attacking sides in South Africa, scoring four goals against Australia, England and Argentina and this was in no small part due to Low's tactics, which received widespread acclaim after.

 

In an interview with Bild during that World Cup, the German coach revealed two 'golden rules' that underpin his side's play. Low said he divides the pitch into 18 rectangles of the same size to determine where the players should be positioned.

 

"It's about order on the pitch," he said. "That is the most important condition for good football. The players should know their place in the basic structure of the team, so that no one thinks he can run all over the pitch. Certain rectangles must always be covered."

 

Low also demands that his players constantly search out space while the team is in possession. "I want to see players getting into space and asking for the ball. This makes the game more fluid and dynamic.

 

"I knew that some of our players are extremely good at that - Ozil, Poldi, Muller, Kroos - and I said to the team, 'If you don't move around the pitch, you're not even going to beat teams like Canada!' That was our golden rule from day one. We go over it in theory and in practice every day."

 

He added: "The team has mastered the art of playing simply. I have seen training sessions that have, at times, reached footballing perfection."

 

In the qualifiers to the World Cup, Germany played some attractive, exciting football. They have an interesting mix of attackers; Muller and Marko Reus bring the old-fashioned target man ability while having the combination play of a midfielder. Ozil brings balance to the attack as he fills in and opens up space well while combining with the midfield and providing a consistently good final ball, while Goetze and Toni Kroos bring flair and penetration with runs from deep. Schweinsteiger and André Schürrle offer penetration behind the defensive line as they like to play high, while Khedira is the most defensive minded of the group, and is a vital part of the team balance.

 

 

How they qualified

 

With players determined to leave a mark and send a clear indication that they were also a powerhouse in the same class as Spain, Germany played above themselves and were able to pick 28 points out of a possible 30 from their group. And they did this with style and panache, as they led all of Europe in goals scored in World Cup qualifying scoring 36 goals in 10 games.

 

Here's the breakdown

 

Germany 3-0 Faroe Island

Austra 1-2 Germany

Republic of Ireland 1-6 Germany

Germany 4-4 Sweden

Kazakhstan 0-3 Germany

Germany 4-1 Kazakhstan

Germany 3-0 Austria

Foroe Islands 0-3 Germany

Germany 3-0 Republic of Ireland

Sweden 3-5 Germany

 

World Cup History

 

German are three-time World Cup winners. They have made at least the quarterfinals in 15 World Cups. In the last two World Cups, they have scored three or more goals in seven of its 14 games.

 

Germany Players To Watch

 

Mesut Ozil. The mercurial Arsenal midfielder brings finesse and improvisation to the midfield of Germany. His control on the ball is excellent, has great vision and can unlock a defence with his creativity. He is Europe’s leading assist man over the past five years at the club level and he also leads all midfielders with 8 assists in 10 World Cup qualifying games.

 

Thomas Muller. After bursting unto the international stage in South Africa winning the Golden Boot with five goals and three assists, the Bayern Munich attacking midfielder/attacker has risen to great heights for both club and country. Powerful, hard-working, passionate and an unselfish superstar, Muller, who is seen as the least technically gifted of Germany's strikers, makes that up with his great positioning and ability to finish off chances.

 

Bastian Schweinsteiger. Seen as the other heart and soul of the Germany national team [the other being Phillip Lahm], Bastian leaves his all for the team on the pitch. Winning the treble with Bayern Munich where he played a pivotal role has him on the 23-man shortlist for the 2013 Ballon d’Or. A great distributor of the ball, Schweinsteiger can play either as a holding midfielder or further forward. He boasts a powerful shot and is adept at playing with either foot. He excels with the ball at his feet and revels in a passing game. In possession he is an effective distributor of the ball and has the vision to find his teammates. For what he lacks in pace, he makes up with his positioning and calmness on the ball.

 

Marko Reus. In a German team with an influx of playmakers, central midfielders and wide-forwards, Marco Reus stands out as the most unique of all. The Dortmund winger sits outside the box and feeds the channels as well as pushes forward when there are gaps to get at the end of balls.

 

Mario Goetze. The influential, stylish and talented midfielder has found good fortunes under Pep Guardiola and is playing extremely well.

 

What are Germany's chances?

 

"We are going to Brazil with the aim of winning the tournament. We will have to play some good teams anyway so if we play them early on or later, it doesn't really matter. We have to beat them all." - Mesut Ozil.

 

"I accept it as it is. Now we know who and where we’ll be playing and we can start planning for the World Cup. We’ll need to get used to the temperature and the humidity. We played Ghana in 2010 and Portugal in 2012. So we’re playing against teams we know well." — Joachim Low