Monday, July 14, 2014

Germans Win, Dynasty in the Making?

In a match where Argentina had by far the best chances to score, Germany ended on top with a goal from substitute Mario Gotze in the second half of extra time.

It was a fitting finish to a great World Cup, a tournament where 32 goals were scored by substitutes, the most in World Cup history.

10 years ago, Germany was knocked out of their group in Euro 2004. Placed in a group with the Netherlands, Czech Republic, and Latvia--Germany failed to win a single match in the tournament, drawing twice (failing to score against Latvia) and losing to the Czechs.

Rudi Voller was the German coach for that tournament. His team played very conservatively, an approach that had worked for Germany in the past. Germany fought all the way to the World Cup Finals in 2002 by parking the bus. Goalkeeper Oliver Kahn was the player of the tournament in 2002, suggesting Germany was perhaps fortunate to get as far as they did. But failing to score against Latvia was undeniably a low point for German football, and Voller was sacked. Jurgen Klinsmann and Jogi Loew were brought in to overhaul the entire national setup and leave the parked bus behind.

They decided to nurture a new generation of players who could play fast, attacking football. They wanted to create a specific style, focusing on passing on the ground from defense to attack as quickly as possible to create what they called "dynamic football."

Klinsmann and Loew got a lot of help from the Bundesliga. The German federation put a lot of pressure on all the German clubs in both the first and second divisions to fund youth academies. Klinsmann and Loew held workshops with all of the Bundesliga clubs to outline their principles and encouraged the Bundesliga clubs to play this style.

Attacking football requires fitter players who can run further and faster, so Klinsmann and Loew asked to monitor the fitness of the German players every three months. This was unpopular among the Bundesliga clubs. No club wanted Klinsmann pointing the finger saying this club's players have been trained properly and this club's players haven't. No club wanted to subject themselves to that kind of oversight. But for the good of German football, they bought in to Klinsmann and Loew's vision and agreed to their requests.

Klinsmann's first and only German World Cup squad included his new breed of young players who had been trained to play his style from a young age. Phillip Lahm, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Per Mertesacker, and Lukas Podolski (average age 21 in 2006) played in every match for the Germans all the way to the semi-finals. It was an impressive performance for the Germans as many in the country feared a repeat of the embarrassment of Euro 2004.

From that point on the Germans have reached at least the semi finals of every major international competition: finalists in Euro 2008, and semifinalists in the 2010 World Cup and Euro 2012. Now they are finally champions.

Besides Miroslav Klose and backup goalkeeper Roman Weidenfeller; Lahm, Podolski, Schweinsteiger, and Mertesacker are now the experienced veterans in the German squad. Klinsmann and Loew's revolution has worked. Germany has cultivated a golden generation of talented players just hitting their prime.

Manuel Neuer is 28. Sami Khedira is 27. Leading scorer Thomas Muller is just 24. Playmakers Mesut Ozil and Toni Kroos are 25 and 24, respectively. Defenders Mats Hummels and Jerome Boateng are both just 25. Final hero Mario Gotze is 22. Dortmund left back Erik Durm is also just 22.

Marco Reus was injured before the tournament and missed the World Cup, but he might just be the best player Germany has, and he is only 25. The Bender twins, who also missed trips to Brazil due to injury, are also 25.

And there are more young Germans fighting to break into the team. Marc-Andre ter Stegen is just 22 and has already secured a move to Barcelona. Julian Draxler and Matthias Ginter, both just 20, were in the squad in Brazil and are tipped for big things in the future. Schalke teenagers Max Meyer and Leon Goretzka have great potential as well. And don't forget 19-year-old attacking midfielder Serge Gnabry, who took a real step forward for Arsenal last season.

More great young players will follow. And Germany will continue to be a real force. The question therefore is, will anyone catch them? With Spain and Italy in decline, Germany is the clear favorite to win Euro 2016 in France and the Russian World Cup in 2018.

Yesterday could just be the first of many achievements enjoyed by the Germans in the coming years with this group of young, excellent players. Germany has the makings of a dynasty that could enjoy the same 6-year period of success that Spain just did.

And for this embarrassment of riches, all credit should go to to Klinsmann and Loew--the masterminds of German's football revolution a decade ago.

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