German Victory

There’s not much that needs to be said about this Germany team. After the seven games it took to finally reach the paradise of the world cup final, no body could disagree that the Germans were worthy and in fact the most worthy. In a tournament besieged with incredible talent and fantastic teams, there’s little to no doubt that this German team never really looked like faltering and although going into an international tournament backing this efficient German team bursting at the seams with the world’s best would have been seen as an unambitious, boring and even predictable, the best is the best.

With every position on the German team sheet occupied by one of the best or even the best player of that role in the world, in the cold light of day, we’re not surprised that they get to head home champions of the world.

Goalkeeper;

Manuel Neuer, the winner of the Golden Gloves this summer, further cemented the general opinion that he is in fact the best goalkeeper in world football and he did it with the kind of brazen confidence that legendary German goalkeepers are synonymous for. Following in the incredible footsteps of Oliver Khan and Jens Lehmann, Neuer seems to be not only keeping up the tradition of the unpredictable, uber confident last man but pushing it to it’s limits, essentially making himself a sweeper in a very organized German back five. Neuer’s reading of the game is phenomenal and is more akin to that of a center back than a goalkeeper. Seemingly never un-concentrated and always predicting the flow of the game and the bounce of the ball, the Bayern Munich number one has used this fantastic summer of football to hallmark his own, unique approach to goalkeeping.

Defence;

The defensive element of the German team was, uncharacteristically, the most changing element of the team, with a strong rotation between Per Mertasacker, Jerome Boateng and Mats Hummels keeping the ethos of the German’s defence ever changing dependent on opposition, the German’s never found themselves having to put square pegs in round holes. When the pace of Argentina’s Messi, France’s Benzema or Brazil’s Neymar were the main threats to the German defence, they opted for a back two of Boateng and Hummels, the two defenders with the turn of pace to risk holding the typical German high line without running too much of a risk from a ball over the top, an issue that you definitely wouldn’t want to consider when it comes to the slow, thinking man’s defender of Per Mertesacker. This depth and changeability from the back shows the strength in this German team and that kind of tactical option from the back four is more similar to the best domestic sides than the internationals.

Midfield;

The middle of the park for Germany is where games are won. The depth and incredible quality the German’s have in the most crucial roles in modern football are again, why they are the world champions. With any football fan able to reel off a list of the more globally recognised players in that midfield, players such as Ozil, Schweinsteiger, Gotze, Lahm and Kroos, there is not a weak player to find. With deeper midfield options so strong that stars like Lars Bender, who missed the tournament through injury, were not missed with Sami Khediera fitting into the vacant deep midfield position and being, frankly, sublime throughout. Christoph Kramer, whom only lasted 31 minutes before being substituted in somewhat of a daze after a collision with Argentinian defender Garay’s shoulder showed the strength in the future of this German team too by putting in a world cup final performance of a player 10 years his senior.

The more attacking and creative midfield stars of this German team were statistical marvels this summer, shattering team averages and showing just how vital those numbers are. The Germans leave Brazil with 4157 passes racked up, utterly decimating the tournament average of 1583. Their constant movement of the ball and fantastic killer instinct made the German midfield the most dangerous of the tournament and nothing highlights this more that the amount of chances and shots created and taken by those phenomenal attacking midfield players. A tournament average attempts of 52.6 was left in the wind by the German team’s staggering 97 attempts on goal and a goal every 5.4 attempts, in contrast to the tournament’s average of 9.9, shows the potency in which Lowe’s men attacked their opposition.

Forwards;

This summer saw one of the most incredible world cup records broken by this German team but more specifically by a living legend of this German team. Mirislav Klose scored his 16^th world cup goal against Brazil in the German’s 7-1 victory over the Samba boys, breaking the record set by Brazilian legend Ronaldo. The most fantastic representation of the perfect blend of experience and youth was highlighted by the historic moment. The 36-year-old Lazio striker played second fiddle to Thomas Muller for the most part of the tournament and saw the 24-year-old Bayern Munich striker score five goals and only just miss out on the coveted golden boot over seven games, a truly fantastic return. The tall, young Munich star also notched three assists for his fellow countrymen and put many German fears to rest as to just how they will deal with the inevitable loss of the world cup record holder Klose to the fickle mistress of time.

Ze Germans;

We can go over this tournament again on iPlayer’s, YouTube videos and nostalgia but there isn’t a scenario that doesn’t play out with the Germans having their hands tightly gripped around the most coveted trophy in world football. The only fair way to end this absolutely incredible world cup was with the best team winning and they have definitely done that. As a neutral, isn’t that all we can ask for? Thankfully for us we got it and thanks to the incredible host nation and some truly breathtaking performance we got so much more from the 2014 World Cup Brazil. The parting gift however I a troubling one. If this German team are this good, and this young, do we have another Spain on our hands? Is this German side due to rule International football for the foreseeable? I can’t see anybody challenging them for now but who knows, it’s only two years before the Euro.