Germany
Factsheet:
Euro 2012 Group B: 09-06-12: Germany –Portugal, 13-06-12: Netherlands – Germany,
17-06-12: Denmark - Germany
FIFA/Coca Cola World Ranking: 2
Previous European Championship Appearances: 1972, 1976, 1980, 1984,
1988, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008
Qualifying record: 10+10=0-0 34-7
Interesting facts: (West) Germany, three-time champions and three-time runners-up, is
the most successful team in the European Championships history.
Germany, along with Spain, won all of the matches
during the Euro 2012 qualification.
Germany is the youngest team at Euro 2012.
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In 6 out of 10 participations Germany played in the
tournament last match, thus registering an unprecedented record of European
Championships. 1972, 1980 and 1996 have become golden years for them.
Traditional favorites of any major tournament, Germans have the strongest team
in history, as legendary Franz Beckenbauer claims.
Germany seems to have found a great successor of
German coaching traditions. In fact, since the establishment of the German
Football Association in 1908 up until 1998 departure of Berti Vogts, the
national team had only had 6 managers. Joachim Loew has replaced Jurgen
Klinsmann in 2006 and has his contract running until 2014. Following Loew’s
football philosophy, the German team has become better and better with the
time. 10 wins in 10 qualification matches speak loud enough.
This is the third time that Die Mannschaft shows up at
Euro as vice-champions. Being in this role they eventually lifted the trophy the
previous two times. Not repeating this triumph will be a disaster for the whole
country.
Statistics against Portugal: 16+8=5-3 24-16*
The match we remember: Rui Costa got one of the
most controversial red cards in the football history, when, winning against the
Germans by one goal, he was too slow to leave the pitch while being
substituted. Germany managed to equalize, which was enough to win the group and
leave Portugal without the World Cup. This was the qualification campaign for
World Cup 1998 - the last time the Portuguese did not qualify for a major
tournament.
Statistics against Netherlands: 38+14=14-10 75-63
The match we remember: Writing poems, punching each
other on the pitch, cleaning ass with rival’s shirt and spitting on each other
have been part of the rivalry between Netherlands and (West) Germany national
football teams. In 1988 European Championship the Dutch not only equalized but
also scored the matchwinner on the 88th minute of the semi-final in
Hamburg, entering the final. They went on to win the tournament, but the trophy
was hardly worthier than eliminating the Germans in their own turf. This
historical match is considered to lessen the war-related anti-German sentiment
in the Dutch society.
Statistics against Denmark: 27+15=4-8 53-36
The match we remember: Ask any Dane, the match
between those two teams in the Swedish capital back in 1992 has been the most
important one in Denmark’s football history. The fairy tale ended as it was
meant to. Denmark won 2-0 against probably the best team in the world, which the
Germans proved two years later. Absolutely amazing tournament with even more
amazing final!
Two profiles:
Mario Gomez: Although this player was already selected German
Footballer of the Year in 2007, something extraordinary happened to him after he
changed his haircut before the 2010-11 season. He has been unstoppable for the second
season in a row, scoring again and again in almost every match.
As concerned Gomez’s
international career, he is still overshadowed by Miroslav Klose, but the great
season in Bayern shirt has to be converted into a great tournament in German
shirt. It’s not strange that bookmakers name Gomez the main candidate for the Euro
2012 topscorer award. His unbelievable sense of completion is a full-time
threat for every opponent. He scores so many various goals that it is even
difficult to say whether his right foot, left foot or headers are the strongest
threat.
Mario Goetze: It wouldn’t be fair to tell about the German
team, without paying any tribute to a Borussia Dortmund representative. Mario
Goetze’s role in Borussia’s recent achievements has been crucial, although he
missed a lot of games due to an injury this year. This 19 year old player is one
of the first German internationals already born in unified Germany. On the day
of his international debut in 2010 he was only 18 years and 5 months old – the youngest
player to play for Germany in the last 50 years. He has already collected 12
international caps and will surely make this number grow significantly in the
nearest future.
He is the 2011 winner of European
Golden Boy award. This fact makes him one of the hottest youngsters, if not the
best, to watch during the Euro. His speed, skills and creativity are surely going
to create something fascinating to watch this summer.
My prediction:
There should be mentioned something negative, when a
particular team is scrutinized. In the German case it would be the defense. I
don’t say they have a weak defense, however it is not as extraordinary as the
midfield. A traditional champion-team is impossible to imagine without a rock
standing behind the whole team. Germany is obviously missing such a defender.
Jogi Loew’s best tournament has definitely been the
World Cup in South Africa. The young coach seemed to have found the so much
missed young players like Khedira, Oezil and Muller and get his message delivered
to them. They failed to perform in the semi-final, where Thomas Muller was
missing. This weakened the link between midfielders and the striker. Muller did
not have a great season and if he does not find his best shape until the
decisive matches are underway, Germany needs to play untested Reus, Goetze or
anybody else, who will not be exactly the same type of player as Muller.
However, there is no doubt that Germany has the
strongest squad at this Euro. Despite some pessimistic expectations, the team
showed the most attractive football at the previous World Cup and probably the
lack of experience made them leave the tournament without gold medals. But now
this experience-box can also be ticked. Besides, the team continues to develop
and recruit more talented youngsters. Germany is probably having one of the
most fruitful periods in history. Bundesliga is flourishing, and the
renaissance of Borussia Dortmund has only made Die Mannschaft stronger. The age
of the most German internationals is unusually low. Only four players are older
than 27 and 15 players are 23 or even younger. Here the midfield is especially
interesting: the pace these players suggest is going to be simply impossible to
cope for some of their opponents.
German team is as cruel as always. Joachim Loew’s
players are so hungry that they are not going to relax until the final whistle
is blown. And of course, Germans always have the moral advantage when the
winner is to be decided on after-match penalties. Their main goalkeeper Manuel
Neuer has already brought such wins to his Bayern in couple of semi-finals this
season.
And finally, German counterattacks have probably never
been as sharp as they are nowadays. This can become a key factor against
attack-minded teams at any stage of the tournament.
I see this German side go really far at Euro 2012. If
Mario Gomez is as effective for his national team as he has been for Bayern, or
if Miroslav Klose is determined to score as frequent as he used to at his
previous major tournaments, I don’t see any reason for them not to become
European Champions for the fourth time in history.
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* 6+2=3-1 7-7: played 6, won 2, tied 3, lost 1,
scored 7, conceded 7
Tor! The Story of German Football
Tor! The Story of German Football
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