FIFA World Cup: The Future Belongs To Germany
Germany faltered in their last step towards the World Cup final, where they would have faced Netherlands, their old nemesis from the 1974 World Cup final. However, history did not repeat itself and the young German side failed to beat perhaps the best Spanish side in the history of football.
The World Cup final will now feature Spain and Holland, two teams which have not won the tournament ever since it began in the 1930’s. Germany came to the 2010 World Cup as underdogs; their own press criticized their squad as too young and inexperienced to even make it past the pre-quarter final stages.
According to pre-tournament predictors and pundits, the last blow to German hopes of reaching the later stages of the tournament came in the shape of Michael Ballack’s ankle injury. With their on the field leader and captain injured, any ordinary team of youngsters must have felt that their fate had already been sealed.
Footballing Gods on the other hand had different plans for this young bunch. Germany started the tournament with a bang, as they defeated Australia in their first game of the tournament by four goals to nil. Germany surprised everyone with their performance, not only were they fresher than their opponents, they played the game at a faster tempo and kept the ball consistently. In doing so, they created several goal scoring opportunities.
Germany were also one of the only four out of the top rated football sides in the tournament who won their opening games, the other three being Brazil, Netherlands and Argentina. The rest of the big names such as England, Italy, France and Spain all failed to win their opening matches.
The Germans then went on to lose their second match against Serbia after Klose was sent off as a result of some horrible refereeing. In their last group stage match Germany defeated Ghana by a goal to nil to reach the round of sixteen, where they faced England.
Through their group stage performances, Germany had impressed but they had not won over neutrals so far. Going into the knockout match against England, Germany were under dogs again but they performed as if they were a team possessed. They moved the ball quickly and took the lead within the opening twenty minutes. The game ended in a 4-1 win for the Germans.
In the quarter finals, Germany came up against Maradona and Messi’s Argentina. By now everyone had realized the potential of the German squad and some people were even predicting a German win. But no one predicted that Germany will win by four goals and totally decimate the Argentinean defense.
Next Germany played Spain but were subdued by the Iberian giants; their semi-final game ended at a one nil win for the Spaniards. However, Germany have a lot of reasons to be happy. Their young squad disregarded any reputations during their blitzkrieg performances, at one time they were even being touted to win the competition given their impressive displays against England and Argentina.
Germany have done extremely well to bring forward youth in their ranks from their academies. In the 2010 FIFA World Cup, this youth has earned precious experience which will benefit them throughout their careers. Players like Mueller, Ozil, Khedira and Boateng have only just arrived on the international scene. Soon clubs will be bidding for their services and we can expect them to mature over the next four years.
In Brazil 2014 when the next FIFA World Cup takes place, one can be sure that Germany will be one of the favorites. Maybe this defeat has come as a blessing in disguise for the Germans because it will only inspire these youngsters on to greater and better things in years to come.
If Germany persist with their youth policy, the future can very well be theirs. While other football powers are just about done with their peaks, Germany can very well be at the take-off stage come 2014.
Tags: