Modern Germany's creative play is in line with old tradition

Die Mannschaft

When Jurgen Klinsmann relinquished the managerial job of the German national football team right after a successful 2006 World Cup, there was a sign that the famous old German dogged defensive midfield game plan had given way to a more subtle, creative and attacking mentality that some die hard German fans, including the very writer of this article, failed to approve at the onset. These fans might have been in the minority given the fluid nature of the German game that took the Die Mannschaft to the World Cup semi finals before suffering an extra time heart break at the hands of eventual winners Italy in Dortmund. Talking of our status as forming a small base of fans that felt nostalgic about the traditional ‘libero’ dominated game of the Germans that won so many international trophies over the past century, we can proudly say or to put it in a firmer way I consider myself to be the biggest fan of the current German set up that is now reaping huge benefits of the Klinsmann era.

Master tactician and motivator

Joachim Low was a shrewd tactician and assistant to Jurgen Klinsmann who implemented the legendary German striker’s innovative attacking ideas on the football pitch. The two formed the base of a team that is sometimes more liked than Spain, Brazil and Argentina on any given day. Many have questioned Germany’s failure to win any kind of silverware since 1996 as Die Mannschaft have failed in the final hurdle on many occasions. Some ask whether Germany rely too much on youth and ignore experience highlighting the fact that the country’s World Cup success in 1990 and European glory in 1996 were based on a bunch of highly experienced and ruthlessly passionate Germans. The critics and the pessimists alike do have a point as Germany failed to beat teams when it mattered most, inviting suggestions that the team lacks the old German never-say-die attitude that was evident enough during the days of Franz Beckenbauer, Lothar Matthaeus, Jurgen Klinsmann and Rudi Voeller.

Maybe the current crop of young German stars lack the killer instincts of their legendary predecessors when it comes to winning a semi final or a final, but what they have in abundance is the age old German personality trait, and that is spirit. What they need to have in future tournaments is a champion’s luck. Certainly Michael Ballack’s leadership would be missed yet there are enough replacements for the now retired former German national team captain, one feels, given the wide talent pool the country possesses.

Ballack will be missed

Germany are now one of the most creative sides in the world and rarely a match gets over when the Germans have not found the net twice. Gone are the days of grueling 1-0 wins or come-from-behind draws or victories; Joachim Low’s men just love to draw first blood. It is true that in crucial matches the Germans have failed to recover from a goal down and this to many traditional fans is a sin given the football team’s age old reputation of coming back to life like a phoenix when the chips are down. But the reverse happened in both the Euro 2008 final and World Cup 2010 semi final against one team and that is Spain. Why this happened both times against the same opponent? The scoreline on both the occasions was 1-0 and the German approach to the games virtually similar. Undoubtedly on both the nights in Vienna and Durban respectively, the Spaniards were superior to a young and bustling German team still relishing the joys of getting past Turkey and Argentina respectively in goal fests in the previous rounds of the respective tournaments. Yet the German grit missed one thing on both the occasions. On those very trying nights, Joachim Low needed to recall the days of the early nineties. Given the similarities of both Spain and Germany as creative football nations, an old fashioned 5-3-2 1990 World Cup winning formation might have done the trick against the likes of Xavi, Iniesta, Pedro and company. Ifs and buts have no place in international sports, but still a defensive orientation rather than a youthful and exuberant attacking mindset was the need of the day when Spain came calling.

Yet, isn’t last night’s 6-2 demolition of Austria in Gelsenkirchen evident enough of a new world power to be reckoned with? Critics would still be out but quote captain Philip Lahm’s words in a post match interview with uefa.com;

“Everyone was strong when it came to attacking, we scored six goals after all. We have won every point possible so far, we have had a perfect qualification and we have maintained our level of play since the World Cup and even developed it further. We have so much creativity that we can beat anyone.”

New Hope of German football

The Germans surely can beat anyone on any given day. Apart from winning eight qualifiers out of eight and drawing an experienced Italy in a friendly in Dortmund in February having most of the best chances throughout, Joachim Low unleashed a side in August against Brazil that looked seriously young on hindsight. But caps wise the likes of Manuel Neuer, Per Mertesacker Thomas Mueller, Mesut Ozil and Philip Lahm are an experienced lot with Miroslav Klose the big daddy of the side. Germany produced one of the most fluent attacking displays to give Brazil a treatment of their own medicine. 3-2 was the scoreline in Stuttgart on August 10 and a certain Mario Goetze was the new hero underlying the richness of the German youth development. It was a friendly of course but what the Germans did to the Brazilians on that night might just have given current world champions Spain and other continental giants a bout of headache of what’s to come from Germany in the coming years.

Look what Miroslav Klose had to say after the resounding victory over the Austrians. The old war horse might have left Bayern Munich after being considered surplus to requirements, but is still a German war hero when it comes to scoring in international matches. Klose, whose eighth minute strike opened the scoring and took his international tally of goals to 62, six short of legendary Gerd Muller’s record, recalled how much has changed in this side since he came to fame in early 2000 in a German team renowned for efficiency rather than flair and creativity. The former Kaiserslautern and Werder Bremen forward said, “So much has changed in the past ten years. You don’t even know the half of it, you don’t see all of our training sessions; the dynamism and joy we have playing football. The coach’s role in this is huge. He has developed this team and this way of playing through training. It is the best Germanyside I have ever played in, that much is for sure.”

The old war hero still going strong

Maybe the German sides of the bygone eras had the efficiency and certain stubbornness in winning World Cups and European championships at will. But there’s no denying the fact that Joachim Low has created a team that thrives on creativity and attacking prowess but still possesses a very German characteristic, and that is fighting till the prize is won. Die Mannschaft might have tried and fallen in final hurdles but with a never- say- die attitude still inherent deep in German blood, all the heartbreaks over the past decade might just be forgotten come the summer of 2012 in Poland and the Ukraine.