The German club teams have been a
revelation over the past three seasons. They have dominated over their much
fancied continental rivals, mostly punching above their weight. Yet, they now
seem to be the dominant force, and suddenly everybody is queuing up to follow
the German model. Built around a self-sustaining model, these clubs have been
able to develop and nurture their own talent in a bid to grow a team rather
than buy one, investing more than €100 million every year on their youth setup.
So far their investment seems to be paying dividends.
Boasting some of the best young players in the world, the Bundesliga has become a breeding place for talented footballers much like the Dutch Eredevise. The biggest difference is that unlike the clubs in Holland, the German clubs seem more capable of holding on to their player due to the absence of the need to constantly balance the books by selling players. Unlike most other countries, especially Spain, the German clubs are making profits and the debt levels are remarkably low or at a sustainable level.
The young talent coming through
the pipeline at the various clubs is quite remarkable and a lot of them have
cemented their places in the first team at a very young age. The likes of Marco
Reus, Andrea Schurle, David Alaba, Julian Draxler, Mario Gotze, Heung-Min Son,
Sebastian Rode, Marc Andre ter Stegen, Nuri Sahin, Toni Kroos and Ilkay
Gundogan have impressed immensely in the last 2-3 years and have either already
made their move to or are in the process of being snapped up by European
powerhouses.
That brings us to the question at
hand: What are Germany’s chances of winning the World Cup in 2014? Following
the strong showing of the two German clubs in this season’s Champions League,
expectations are high especially considering the number of German players that
played in the Final: 12 out of 22 starters were Germans, while another 6 were
on the bench. Most of the young core that forms the backbone of the national
team played in this showpiece event, barring Sami Khedira and Mesut Ozil of
Real Madrid.
The team is very young; the only
player above the age of 30 is the 34 year-old Miroslav Klose, with the average
age around the 25 years mark. Philipp Lahm (29), Bastian Schweinsteiger (28),
Per Mertesacker (28), Lukas Podolski (28) and Mario Gomez (27) are the senior
players in a team full of youngsters who have been playing with each other through
the various age groups.
This group of players has the
talent, grit and temperament to go out there and take on the best in the world
and beat them at their own game. Barring their losses to Spain and Italy, they
have been near unplayable on their day, destroying good teams on their way to
the Euro 2008 final and the semi-finals of World Cup 2010 and Euro 2012.
The trump card for Germany though
is not their crop of youngsters who have lead them to the cusp of qualification
for the World Cup 2014; it is the mastermind behind the tactical success of the
team, their coach Joachim Low. Low did not have the sweeping charisma of his
predecessor Juergen Klinsmann, but the shrewd and capable tactician has become
notable for continually introducing talented young players into his team,
leading to a continuous rejuvenation of the squad.
The tactically astute German has built
on his predecessor's work to make Germany not only one of the world most's
successful teams but also one of the most watchable. Today, one to beat the
opponent with a well-structured and thought-out way of playing, and that is exactly
what Low has done. Germany has beaten the Netherlands, Argentina and England
with a spectacular style of playing, and not just because they were better at
tackling; that's the past. He has successfully changed the culture of the
German national team, and now he can win the World Cup playing the same attractive
football. With most of the other teams going through rebuilding phases of their
own, the trophy it seems is ripe for the picking…
