When Germany failed at Euro 2000, the first time since 1938 that they had fallen at the first hurdle at a major tournament, it provoked a revolution that took them back to the top of the world in less than 15 years. Euro 2004, another wholly miserable experience during which Germany failed to beat Latvia, Czech Republic or the Netherlands, was viewed internally as pure collateral damage.
The country’s coaching system was overhauled. Germany built 52 centres of excellence to identify and hone prodigious young talent and 366 regional coaching bases where the managers of tomorrow would be developed.
German football is now home to the most exciting – or at least feted – young coaches in world football. Three German, former Bundesliga managers have won each of the last three Champions League titles and the eldest will take over from Joachim Low. In combination, those dual strategies of player and coaching expansion have been extraordinarily effective.
So when Germany collapsed so dismally at the 2018 World Cup, the temptation was to conclude that, with the system now perfected, personnel must be to blame.
Low’s future was thrown into doubt and three high-profile senior players – Mats Hummels, Thomas Muller and Jerome Boateng – were quickly cast aside.
And yet, three years on, little has changed to the naked eye. Low still hangs on for now, picking his own departure date rather than being asked to leave. Hummels and Muller, their time on the naughty step complete, are back in the fold. More than half the squad from 2018 are here again, including seven starters from the defeat to South Korea that confirmed their World Cup ignominy.
Low has been busy embarking upon a PR tour de force, describing this tournament as his chance to repair his broken relationship with the German public and to leave “something special” to sign off before walking off into the sunset/club football. But that merely places crepe paper over widening cracks: in their last seven competitive games alone, Germany have drawn 3-3 at home to Swtizerland, been embarrassed 6-0 by Spain and lost at home to North Macedonia. Were this any other manager than Low, he would be out of a job. Now 61, he is the longest-serving international manager of a Uefa nation by three-and-a-half years.
Every correspondent from every nation is reluctant to write off Germany as tournament also-rans; we have been bitten so many times that shyness is indoctrinated. Germany’s squad is clearly exceptional: they have the dominant central defender and the winning goalscorer in the most recent Champions League final and the top goalscorer for the Premier League champions. Bayern Munich may not have defended their European crown but they waltzed to the Bundesliga title again and seven of their 10 most regular appearance makers were German.
Central midfield, the problem area in 2018 when Toni Kroos and Sami Khedira lacked the mobility in combination to repel counter attacks, now has myriad options, each with a unique selling point: Kroos is the master passer, Leon Goretxa the box-to-box energiser, Kai Havertz the attacking ball-carrier and Ilkay Gundogan a happy blend of all three having seen his role transformed by Pep Guardiola last season. Joshua Kimmich may start as the holding midfield firefighter, following Philipp Lahm and David Alaba on the Bayern factory line of fascinatingly multi-functional footballers.
But then there’s the group, its context impossible to ignore. Being in a pool with France and Portugal, both shorter prices to win the tournament, is one thing; facing both of them in their opening two matches is another entirely. Defeat to France in their opening game would open wounds that have barely begun to heal. Germany could well face a situation where they need to chase goals in their final group match against the team bottom of the group. That pressure suffocated them in 2018.
This then reflects the inherent paradox with Germany in 2021: just as the doubts offer enough evidence to rule them out as serious contenders, our emotional scars disallow it. Just as you allow optimism to bound given the breadth of attacking options at Low’s disposal, uncertainty seeps into the cracks. And when you struggle to designate between glory or failure, the reality usually lies somewhere in the middle.
More from i on Euro 2020
- i’s Euro 2020 predictions – winners, dark horses, golden boot and more
- Daniel Storey’s guide to all 24 teams – from hot favourites to no hopers
- Home nations guides on England, Scotland and Wales
- How to watch every Euro 2020 match on TV and online in the UK
- Why England players are taking a knee at Euro 2020 – in their own words
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/2Tqneop
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