Germany is a nation who always does anything to win. It is also the strategy and aim of all German teams .They is born fighters and always fights to win. My German Friend Wolfgang who works in Kabul and lives in the adjacent room in Kabul Guest house twitted me Germany is favorite today and the German team he believed will go all out to grab the opportunity with both hands.
Footballers play the game and journalists usually eloquently describe the emotional nuances of the game. But off late members of the German team have started talking.
After the hard earned quarter final victory over Algeria Per Mertesacker told “Would you wanted us play beautiful football and get knocked out?” This was followed in the weekend by Philipp Lahm with another comment one did not quite expect from this extraordinarily talented, but also extraordinarily PR-trained, “golden generation” of German players: “Playing for another third place isn’t something I need right now. More is required – definitely.”
The two comments amply demonstrates that this German team mean business .They have a new realism which is more in sync with the mood German bars and living rooms right now than the Nu jazz-sound-tracked feel good clips transmitted by public broadcasters from the team’s Campo Bahia training camp.
This will be the fourth consecutive German appearance in World Cup semifinal. Germans have failed to win the cup on any of the four occasions. The last “Hurrah” for the German team came in 1990. They often left the scene after promising so much playing beautiful, stereotype – defying football. But this time they are talking and thinking different. Germans want the cup this time. The general mood in the German camp is much grimmer, less euphoric.
German coach was severely criticized in German press after the teams 1-0 win against France. They were particularly frustrated with the overall performance of the German team in the match. The team according to the most German journalists were lacking tactically. Joachim Low was severely criticized in German media.. “It’s as if Löw can no longer please anyone at all,” wrote Alexander Osang in Der Spiegel. “When he played Philipp Lahm in midfield people said he was being stubborn, when he moved him back into defence, as he did against France, people said he didn’t have a spine. If he wins it’s because of the team; if he loses, it’s his fault.”
In the post-match press conference none but the FIFA official congratulated the German boss. Only a Sudanese Journalist appreciated his points – per –game record. Low replaced Jurgeon Klinsmann as German Coach. He is better reputed as tactical mastermind than Klinsmann’s motivational skills.
But that tactics led to the downfall of Germany against Italy in Euro 2012 in the semifinal.
Löw’s reputation as the tactical mastermind to counterbalance Jürgen Klinsmann’s motivational skills was severely damaged by the Euro 2012. In an open letter addressed to Löw, Die Welt’s Lars Wallrodt called it “the match in which you betrayed German football”.
German’s believed that Low experimented too much trying to adjust with the Italian strength in Euro 2012 semifinal and he adopted the same strategy against France in Brazil Quarter Final. The only difference is that this time Germany could manage to win.
Germans are focusing on winning its fourth World Cup at Maracana on 13 July. For that to happen they have turn up better than the host and hot favorite Brazil tonight.
The more optimistic voices in the German media feel confident that the players are more aware of that fact than anybody else. In some previous tournaments Germany had put a new spin on their reputation as a Turniermannschaft – tournament team; not just that they get better as it progresses through the knockout stages, but that they also become more flamboyant – 4–1 against England and 4–0 against Argentina in 2010, 4–2 against Greece in 2012.
This time Germany started with a bang against Portugal demolishing 4-0 but later could manage ariveting, anarchic 2-2 draw against Ghana. But since then their three wins was just by a goal each time. This was not what Germans wanted from a Championship bound German team in Brazil.
The German boss talked about virus flue infection in his camp. Was that the reasons that German team looked exhausted in the match against France or it was Low Tactics for preserving the best for Semi-final?
Tonight Brazil with a little bit depleted sides will try to start with all Guns blazing in an effort to unsettle Germany early on. Whether or not they will have enough gas for fighting against the home team throwing everything in front of vocal galleries will be something to watch.
BDST: 0841 HRS, JUL 08, 2014
