Five conclusions about…Germany
Germany in their 1-1 draw with Italy
Few lessons
Many hoped that this game would see (yet another) new generation of German internationals. In particular, the group of youngsters that have taken Dortmund to the top of the table – Mario Götze, Mats Hummels, Marcel Schmelzer, Sven Bender and Kevin Grosskreutz were expected to feature. As it turned out, Jogi Löw chose pretty much last year’s World Cup side, with two changes in defence. The front six was very familiar.
Whilst stability in international sides is important and the starting XI’s understanding will have got even better, it was a shame that we didn’t see any new faces from the start, and from the point of view of experimentation, this was something of a missed opportunity for Germany. Raphael Honigstein suggests that the desire to beat Italy took precedence over using the friendly to test new options.
Opposition structure
Italy fielded four players in the centre of midfield, making it difficult for Germany to counter-attack through the centre of the pitch, as they did so well at last summer’s World Cup. The intelligence and good positional play of the Italian central midfielders meant Germany looked far less dangerous when they tried to break, and emphasised how tactically naive Australia, England and Argentina were when being torn apart in South Africa.
We shouldn’t give in to revisionism – Germany were tremendous at the World Cup and could only beat the opposition placed in front of them – but against a structured, disciplined side like Spain last summer or Italy here, they are not as effective.
German intelligence
Still, the German side is comprised of individuals with a lot of footballing intelligence themselves. Whether natural or because of good direction from their manager, Germany always seem to know how to exploit the opposition’s weaknesses. Mesut Ozil’s runs off the ball are consistently phenomenal, whilst the full-backs scampered down the line to take advantage of having no direct opponents – Lahm’s move forward started the move for the Germany goal.
They also defend very cleverly as a unit. Take the defensive qualities of the German midfielders individually and you’ll be somewhat underwhelmed, but they retreat into two banks of four quickly, and break down opposition attacks by closing down and not diving into tackles.
Slight change in style?
It’s difficult to know whether it was a deliberate German strategy or because (as mentioned above) Italy were solid in the centre of midfield, but there seemed to be more of an emphasis upon ball retention than in South Africa. There, they were an unquestionably counter-attacking side (helped by early goals against England and Argentina, which forced the opposition forward), but here they were more patient with their build-up play.
Maybe this was a lesson from Spain, maybe this is in line with Bayern, who are sometimes extremely patient with the ball this season, but both sides focused on ball retention in this match.
Fatigue
Germany looked tired late on. There are many potential explanations for this – (a) it was a friendly, (b) many of the players will have had one eye on their upcoming domestic games, in particular the Champions League (c) the pitch looked poor and (d) at 1-0 up they were more likely to sit back anyway.
However, it’s worth considering how many of these players need a rest. The majority were included in the World Cup squad, and with a good few being involved in the 2009 Under-21 Championships, and others enduring an extremely long season with Bayern in 2009/10, a feeling of collective tiredness shouldn’t come as a surprise.
Five conclusions about…Germany
Another fantastic article as ever.
One thing though; when I saw Germany at the world cup, they played excellent counter attacking football, as we know. But one thing I noted was that how they managed to overload the flanks so effectively. The game against Argentina is a prime example of how they outnumbered a narrow Argentina on the flanks for all of their goals. Against a diamond midfield of Italy, why wasn’t this possible? Surely a diamond was playing into the hands of Germany.
As noted, Germany were more patient with their build up play. I think a lot of teams that focus on passing, patience, possession football tend to become very narrow in order to maintain the numerical advantage in the middle that allows them to pass around their opponents. I haven’t actually SEEN the game, but that might be the reason.
Löw has said that for Germany Spain is the example to follow. So I think this is the reason for the more patient build-up play.
God help us if the next European Championships are full of teams aping Spain’s overloaded midfield at the World Cup. Spain’s games were among the worst for excitement – 1-0 after 1-0, not even very many chances to score for either team – and that was playing against three-man midfields. Looks like it might be worth a bet for the lowest scoring Euros ever unfortunately.
b-b-but… it is attacking football!
I, for one, found Spain’s WC games very exciting, in spite of the low scores (not their fault; teams defended deep and narrow). I can’t imagine many countries would want to emulate a possession style of football that requires incredible technical ability and understanding. Not to mention fitness.
Personally, I disagree. I would say Barcelona’s possession style of football requires incredible technical ability and understanding, but in a non-political way ‘Barcelona is not Spain’. The low scores were a result of the opponent’s defending but also the horrible lack of width and conjested midfield Spain offered. Their four in the centre resembled an ‘evolution of midfield-man’ from Busquets to Iniesta – each one fractionally more attacking than the last. It was not necessary in Barcelona’s midfield nor in Spain’s at the Euros. Had they been eliminated (and they had their fair share of close calls) many people would label Del Bosque as the man who squandered a golden generation by being too cautious. I for one do not look forward to turgid battles in conjested midfields to see who can 1-0 the most in 2012. Italy will certainly have a midfield four judging by their club teams. Just as playing 3 against 2 in midfield leads to everybody playing 3, I’d hate to see 4 v 3 leading to everybody playing 4 because that is a grizzly prospect.
I disagree with that, apart from Switzerland (ignore that because it damages my theory) Chile were the team that caused Spain most problems with aggressive, high up the pitch pressing. I know they lost but they stopped Spain getting in to their passing rhythm for large parts of the first half, and I can see other teams attempting to do that in the Euro’s rather than sitting back and trying not to get tired.
A lot of people would agree that some of the German palyers need a rest. Müller had his “of days” this season and some others too. But to be honest, they are still young players (Müller, Özil …) and played a great 2009/10 season. It’s normal to have a hard time after a great season. No reason to switch from 21 year ‘old’ players to 19 year youngsters. Their time will come.
The goal was a typical Özil – Müller moment. Just take a look at a one-two between both against Turkey.
Most of the German players had a rest- they had a month off from the Bundesliga recently.
that wasn’t a pitch – it was a potato field!
Another factor for their tiredness. They really pressed the italians and ran all over the place for the first 30 mins. Impossible to keep up for 90 mins.
Germany is very good as a unit but they always have lapses, look how many through balls through the center they conceded vs Italy, even when Italy were playing very bad in the first half they still created chances from nowhere.
That’s pretty ironic considering how much individual talent Germany have.
Loew desperately needs to address the defensive issues of this team. Starting Mertesacker, Badstuber and Aogo was suicidal. When much better options are available you simply have to go with them. Yesterday he took away from the team’s overall balance by doing that.
Also, Germany still need to sort out their lapses in concentration. Might be down to inexperience or not but it has cost them numerous times over the last 3 years.
You are right, Arne Friedrich is the one of best, maybe the best, German defender. But he is just back from injury….
i can’t agree with that. For this season its 100% Hummels, he’s almost worldclass at dortmund this season. I can’t understand why löw doesnt have more faith in him.
if you find humour, keep it.
I agree at this point.
Löw should have tested the young Dortmund-players yesterday. Instead of Mertesacker I would have tested Hummels. And also Schmelzer on the left side for at least 45 minutes. The German defense is clearly the weak point at the moment.
A lot of German central defenders are having tough times:
Mertesacker – his club Bremen is fighting against relegation unexpectedly
Badstuber – was injured; not fully fit yet in my eyes
Friedrich – long-time injured, now fit but far away from normal form
Tasci – his club Stuttgart is fighting against relegation unexpectedly; had also a lot of bad games for Germany
Metzelder – Oh my god, please don’t mention him! Miles away from his peak form
Westermann – Plays unflashy; tends to make mistakes in recent games
What are the options?
Hummels, Reinartz and Höwedes are the guys to watch and to test (unfortunately, Löw didn’t want to test Hummels for 90 minutes yesterday). I don’t think that Löw will ever reconsider Roberth Huth – he is technically clearly not good enough
Another weak point is the left defender position (but this is a weak point for many other nations too!):
Lahm – clearly our best fullback, but he prefers the right side and will only play on the left side if Germany is lacking sorely left defenders in case of massive injuries
Aogo – offensive minded player who comes up short in defending qualities
Jansen – way to offensive to play as fullback; he is a winger
Boateng – can play there but his concentration… gets booked or red cards way to easy unfortunately
Schäfer – nothing else but average
Schmelzer – can be someday an alternative there, but is of course inexperienced
There are other options in the U21-team or players like Badstuber or Westermann, but no one is currently filling this position satisfactorily.
I’ve watched Leverkusen a few times and Reinartz seemed to be a liability at centre back. I’m really surprised Hummels didn’t start. Not only would it be a chance to test him, but I think (as you pointed out) he’s in better form than Mertesacker and Badstuber at the moment.
Aogo played pretty well. Problem was the lack of chemistry with Podolski, but I wouldn’t blame that on Aogo
Badstuber is a natural CB. Löw tried him as left-back during the tournament but he just doesn’t add enough. Schmelzer didn’t have the best of games with his first cap last November, but I am looking forward to see more. Not spectacular but a hard worker. Agree on Jansen and Schäfer
Anyway, Boateng is currently our best left full-back, even though that isn’t even his main position. As far as booking goes, he has seen one yellow card in 15+ games for ManC this season, so he is doing just fine
Hm, seeing the names of yesterday’s game and those of the World Cup, it looks like the defence needs the most attention. Just like Holland’s (Heitinga, Matthijsen, Van Bronckhorst during the WC, now PSV’s Pieters) – but where’s the big trouble one might expect?
These teams defend as a team. Don’t we have world class defenders? Then let’s just play six of them. Plus wingers who track back.
Germany has five or six players at Champions League level. Holland too. Almost none of them play in defence. Still they reach (semi) final of the WC. Since most national teams play some kind of 4-2-3-1, it’s almost always 4 attackers against 6 defenders, who can neutralize them. The only goal between Germany and Spain was from a corner. Spain versus Holland was extra time. Argentina played a 5-5 team, England didn’t know what they played.
Uruquay (against Holland) played different – five goals.
This was 2010. Everybody knows what happened. What will bring 2012? Two-striker systems (and three central defenders)? Striker-less systems (so the centre backs need to alter their jobs, tracking Messi)? In central defence things might change over the next years.
Nice Article.
There is so much German talent floating about right now.
The defense was not the main problem(althoug Mertesacker continues an awful season),but the attack-defense transition was bad.Partly because the team was too long.Especially defense and midfield.
Thank you for this other top-class quality report, ZM. You may have recorded it while watching Danmark-England.
Unfortunately I guess you couldn’t cover Argentina-Portugal and France-Brazil ?
Complements on the format, and coverage of the ongoing evolution of national sides in-between tournaments.
It’s very true what Hoenigstein said. Germany was far too determined to win this match and lost sight on the fact that it was the perfect opportunity to test some youngsters against quality opposition rather than waiting for an easier opponent down the line.
There isn’t that much time til the Euros to be frank and some players are simply ready to take the next step.
Players like Mertesacker and Aogo (Westermann included) don’t fit the current philosophy and very much slow the team down. The build ups need to start at the back, the midfield doesn’t or shouldn’t need to cover for defense which in turn causes the attack to retreat too often as well. Having Hummels at the back can not only deal with fast technical players like Villa or Cassano for instance but his football IQ and technical abilities are ideal to take the ball forward or transition attacks – similarly to Pique at Barca or Luiz at Benfica – right now I would consider him in the top tier based on his last two seasons at least.
Goetze, Mueller and Oezil need to play together – the three have by far the most potential and pure natural ability and could slot in together. Podolski has strengths and experience but lacks the football IQ and makes many mistakes, as well as hampers counters a lot of the time. Of course Klose needs to be replaced as well. There have been talks of Mueller possibly playing upfront as well as Podolski as we’ve actually seen last night.
According to one ranking, Hummels is the best defender in the big 5 European leagues (Germany, Italy, Spain, England, France):
http://cn.castrolfootball.com/rankings/rankings/?position=3&nation=&team=&comp=#label
Geez, Real Madrid have 5 in the top 20 despite only ever playing 4. Doesn’t say much for Laurent Koscielny
Castrol? I never understood how they “calculate” the output.
they had this “explanation” online, but there is always something you can argue about when it goes down to just one number.
Well Hummels certainly is having the best season of the Bundesliga CB’s. Götze had a bad game, but he has been phenomenal for Dortmund and with time he’ll get his chance to challenge Podolski for the spot.
If there is one thing to complain about in midfield it is Khedira’s lack of scoring touch. Ballack and Rolfes are miles ahead of him in that apartment. On the other hand, his stamina is remarkable and his runs create space for teammates by forcing the opposition out of position.
And then there are the Bender twins.
Khedira has scored his fair share of goals for Stuttgart actually, just like the Ballack of old he’s pretty dangerous in the air. Mourinho’s Real and the current German team work with two central midfielders as the base and four attackers with limited to nonexistant defensive capabilities in front of them though, allowing the pair in the middle the occasional shot from distance but few runs into the box. As of right now it’s mostly tactics not lack of ability preventing Khedira from scoring.
In one of the last games, when Khedira played together with Kroos he did a good job as the deepest midfielder. Although, the opponent was playing very deep and not pressuring him much, and Germany playing more of a 4-1-4-1.
I don’t agree to your last point about Klose.
He is indeed the most reliable striker for Germany – for so many years now! He will play till the Euro2012 and after this last tournament I’ll expect him to end his long and very successfull international career. I’m sure Löw would have played Gomez against Italy, but he was injured a few days ago. But besides Gomez what are the options?
Kießling – can’t really cope with the fast game play that Löw has intended for Germany
Helmes – no option at the moment as he is clearly out of form
Cacau – also miles away from his form from spring 2010; fights with Stuttgart against relegation
Schürrle – unexperienced; his strength lies also more on playing out at the wing instead as central striker
Podolski – you have seen it in this game for the last minutes: he can’t play as lonely striker, better to use im at the wing (of course you need to regard then his defensive weaknesses)
Schieber – plays good for Nürnberg at the moment, but I don’t think he already has the calibre to get nominated
And please don’t say Kuranyi.
The youngsters from the U21 and below are just not good enough yet to compete at this level.
after watching the last world cup I was astounded at the relatively solid defensive shifts Podolski put in on the wing. He’s clearly never going to play left back, but I’m surprised you think he’s a defensive liability.
As for Kiessling, my impression was that he had stamina/endurance for days…
Man whats wrong with football fans these days. Klose is scoring like crazy for the national team as always, yet people still want to replace him. He is chasing a three decade old record set by legendary striker Gerd Müller.
Despite his age, Klose is still one of the best strikers in the world. None of the others mentioned by German_Informant come even close. One could make a case for Gomez, but he has not been able to replicate his current Bundesliga form in the national team.
Schieber (as centre forward) and Schürrle (as winger) have potential and will get their chances as subs if they keep up their performances.
Well, the Klose point was in the context of the team’s evolution within two years and after.
Klose can still score and that’s testament to his football IQ but we’ve seen in high pressure games that he often lacks stamina and mobility to suit those around him.
Also, Germany doesn’t want to fall into the camp of becoming too reliable on him in this system and when the tournament comes around he either won’t perform to the level he is expected to or gets injured.
Loew needs to try out new players there and soon.
I agree with all the above comments..you have collected an ample of information on your blog
A lot of the above comments say that Löw should have played some of the Dortmund players for longer. Though I don’t necessarily disagree, Wednesday’s game didn’t really support that claim. For instance, Götze looked timid after he came on at half time, and Hummels did have a part to play in Italy’s equaliser (being far enough back to cancel the offside, but not reacting quickly enough to intervene).
If anything, given how Germany played much better in the first half when they played more or less their World Cup team, the game could be taken as evidence that Löw should stick with his young players rather than the even younger players.
I agree. It’s not the best idea to play 3 young players in a new team against the big rival. Even it is only a friendly, but the national team plays only every few months and after a bad game they may not get the chance to prove in one of the next games. Not because they were not briliant, but Loew has to field the best team in the qualification matches.
I think, it is better to give them 30 minutes or one of them a full game and not field 50 percent of a U-21 agains Italy.
Goetze look nervous at this game, and maybe he looks toward Ozil almost everytime trying to read what’s the wizard of oz will do. And indeed Ozil look too dominant on 2nd half, maybe he feels he’s the senior already, and feeling that the weight of the world should be in his shoulder
Anyway, it’s just a lack of team chemistry, a month camp before tournament will rectified that. I too would like to see the band of three in Ozil – Muller – Goetze (the umlaut party) but, can Goetze defend as well as Poldi (that’s too a bit of surprise that the prince of Koln could do a decent defensive duty). cheers.
I can’t agree with this. Goetze was timid only the way a normal 18 year old would. his touches and movement were class, beyond his years and he took so much pressure off Oezil which he desperately needs.
He won’t become experienced if he doesn’t play and judging from the responsibilities, not only he but all Dortmund players have this season, they are ready for a harder integration into the National Team.
The first eleven is good but it’s not final, and this side needs to be refined and prepared for the next tournament. It won’t happen by NOT playing the players who ARE ready to step up.
Well the problem for Goetze was that Loew denied him to use one of his biggest streghts, being ist felxibility. Loew told him to stay on the right wing, which ist neither his normal position, nor his preferred side. Also Özil seemed unwilling to pass him the ball, even when Götze was in good promising positions.
Regarding the goal we should know whether the German defense line was supposed to be deep or high up the pitch, Aogo (how was even behind Hummels, so it was him who cancelled the offside, not Hummels) and Hummels were quite deep, whilst Mertesacker was the only defender high up and it was also him who was tool slow to pick the Italian defender up. If a high defense line it was of course partly to blame on Hummels and Aogo for cancelling the offside, but it was still Mertesacker how failed to try and pick the Italian up.
Absolutely right. Loew should’ve switched Goetze for Podolski – it’s his favorite side, plus he needs freedom to move on the pitch. One moment you could hear Loew call him “stay on the side, stay on the side!” – a big mistake in my eyes.
I also would have liked to see Schmelzer and Hummels in the starting XI. The risk they could have been worse than Aogo and Badstuber/Merte is tiny if you ask me, as Merte alone created three situations which could have been penalties
Overall a pretty bad game, especially from two of the most consistent players: Lahm and Schweinsteiger, the later played his worst international game in a long time. Oezil just really woke up after the equalizer. Should’ve won it.
Yes, Loew got his formation wrong in the defence ( a fact that is woring me), and in addition the teams was too lazy to run back and defend when they lost the ball. There is one situation in the first half (at about 30 min) where Italy launches a counter attack that is obviously to slow, but the german side is just in some sort of sleep and forgets to retreat, so Italy gets the opportunity to score a goal that Neuer denies them.
Götze was mostly bad because he did not get the ball, not from Özil, not from Boateng, not from Schweinsteiger or Aogo. He once had a brilliant position an a fast cross from left to right would have let to an 2:1 but somehow Schweinsteiger did not see him, and that is just the most obvious situation. He tried also to fill gaps in the defence line, sometimes playing right fullback (when Boateng was to central) or even playing centerback on corners, but that is no supprise, because Klopp would not put him on the field if he would not defend. Even though it would have been fun to see him on the left with Podolski changing on the right, especially because Podolski’s playing style fits more to an inverted winger than an traditional one.
The name is Sven, Sven Bender. The twin brother Lars is the own playing at Leverkusen.
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