MaNuMaNiAc
06-09-2006, 06:10 PM
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/writers/mark_bechtel/06/09/germany.notgreat/index.html
A questionable back line could doom the home team
MUNICH -- The World Cup got started -- really got started -- around 4:15 p.m. local time, an hour and 45 minutes before the kickoff of the first match, Germany's 4-2 win over Costa Rica. Munich's World Cup Stadium was about one-third full, with a solid block of Ticos fans forming a red sea in the far corner. As the German team wandered onto the pitch, strains that are quite familiar to football fans began to blare from the P.A. system -- and with them, the crowd came to life.
It was the beginning of Three Lions, the maddeningly catchy song that served as the anthem of England's Euro '96 campaign. If you've been in a bar where they show soccer, you've heard it: "It's coming home, it's coming home, it's coming.... FOOTBALL'S COMING HOME." It was a cheeky move. For starters, England's hopes in Euro '96 were dashed in a penalty-kick loss to Germany. (In fact, the song was reworked for the 1998 World Cup, with updated lyrics to reflect England's latest big tournament bow-out.) "Taking the piss," I believe the British would call that.
More significantly, the Brits claim to have invented the modern game -- hence, their singing "football's coming home" ostensibly had some sort of basis in history. By saying that football's home is actually the Rhineland, the hosts were making the rather bold claim that they've seized ownership of the game, that they're a better provider for it. It was kind of like sidling up to a lady in a bar, taking a look at her man and saying, "Lose the schlub and come home with me, hon. I'll treat you right." (Not that I'd know anything about that.)
But before we dismiss the Germans as louts in pubs looking to steal our women, let's give them a chance. Maybe there's something to this "Home of das fussball" claim. Putting on a great tournament would be a good first step toward proving it, and they seem to be on their way to doing just that. Their fans have been loud, proud and well-behaved. (Anytime the P.A. announcer says a German player's last name, the crowd roars it with him, about 30 times louder than the bleacher creatures at Yankee Stadium are when they chant the Bronx Bombers' starters' names. And they've got names like Schweinsteiger to deal with over here. Not easy on the vocal cords.) Locals are going out of their way to take the "A Time to Make Friends" motto to heart, and with the exception of the occasional one-hour detour on the media shuttle, things have been as smooth as can be expected.
More importantly, to stake a claim as the sport's true home, the Germans are going to have to play well and if not win the Cup, come close. And to that we say, not so fast. Of course, Friday's game wasn't a bad result: four goals without their best player, injured midfield maestro Michael Ballack. A pair of 21-year-olds, striker Lukas Podolski and winger Bastian Schweinsteiger, were fantastic in their Cup debuts. Both had terrific workrates and were very dangerous. Ol' Handball himself, Torsten Frings, saw to it that the Germans controlled the middle without Ballack. And the littlest man on the pitch, left back Philipp Lahm, was the most sublime. He scored the game's first goal with a perfectly placed screamer, set up the third with a cross and generally wreaked all sorts of havoc on the left side.
But the fact that the Germans can attack with flair is no secret. Neither is this: Their defense is terrible. It wasn't always noticeable, since Costa Rica rarely had the ball (Germany had it for 63 percent of the first half). But given a couple half-chances, the Ticos made the Germans pay. Right back Arne Friedrich committed two blunders, allowing Paolo Wanchope to get behind him on both Costa Rican goals (in all fairness, Wanchope looked to be offside on both occasions). It could have been worse: Danny Fonseca had a free header off a corner in the second half but somehow sent it way wide. He had another chance off a free kick minutes later but sent that wide as well. (Not a good day for Fonseca: two missed chances, a booking, and he fell down, allowing Lahm to unleash his rocket.) And Wanchope was caught just offside a couple of times. One got the sense it was bad timing on the part of the Costa Ricans rather than intelligent defending by the Germans.
Germany coach Jurgen Klinsmann can't feel good about Wanchope's goals. The lanky Tico doesn't exactly have blazing speed, but he is cagey. He's a born goal-scorer and Germany couldn't handle him. If Wanchope had gotten any consistent service from the midfield, he could have bagged a couple more. And it's not just that the German D is prone to catastrophic failure. Central defender Per Mertesacker looked incredibly uncomfortable on the ball, and his partner, Christoph Metzelder, didn't inspire much confidence either. Only Lahm, who seemed buoyed by his goal, looked steady. (Hey, if you scored a goal as sweet as his, you'd be feeling pretty assured too.)
Germany has the weapons to score on anyone, that much was made clear. But if it give up two goals to a mediocre Costa Rican team, there's no telling what flaws a decent team will expose. With their offense, their easy draw and their home field advantage, the Germans are a lock to get out of Group A. But come the round of 16, it looks like they'll be going home -- and football likely won't be going with them.
A questionable back line could doom the home team
MUNICH -- The World Cup got started -- really got started -- around 4:15 p.m. local time, an hour and 45 minutes before the kickoff of the first match, Germany's 4-2 win over Costa Rica. Munich's World Cup Stadium was about one-third full, with a solid block of Ticos fans forming a red sea in the far corner. As the German team wandered onto the pitch, strains that are quite familiar to football fans began to blare from the P.A. system -- and with them, the crowd came to life.
It was the beginning of Three Lions, the maddeningly catchy song that served as the anthem of England's Euro '96 campaign. If you've been in a bar where they show soccer, you've heard it: "It's coming home, it's coming home, it's coming.... FOOTBALL'S COMING HOME." It was a cheeky move. For starters, England's hopes in Euro '96 were dashed in a penalty-kick loss to Germany. (In fact, the song was reworked for the 1998 World Cup, with updated lyrics to reflect England's latest big tournament bow-out.) "Taking the piss," I believe the British would call that.
More significantly, the Brits claim to have invented the modern game -- hence, their singing "football's coming home" ostensibly had some sort of basis in history. By saying that football's home is actually the Rhineland, the hosts were making the rather bold claim that they've seized ownership of the game, that they're a better provider for it. It was kind of like sidling up to a lady in a bar, taking a look at her man and saying, "Lose the schlub and come home with me, hon. I'll treat you right." (Not that I'd know anything about that.)
But before we dismiss the Germans as louts in pubs looking to steal our women, let's give them a chance. Maybe there's something to this "Home of das fussball" claim. Putting on a great tournament would be a good first step toward proving it, and they seem to be on their way to doing just that. Their fans have been loud, proud and well-behaved. (Anytime the P.A. announcer says a German player's last name, the crowd roars it with him, about 30 times louder than the bleacher creatures at Yankee Stadium are when they chant the Bronx Bombers' starters' names. And they've got names like Schweinsteiger to deal with over here. Not easy on the vocal cords.) Locals are going out of their way to take the "A Time to Make Friends" motto to heart, and with the exception of the occasional one-hour detour on the media shuttle, things have been as smooth as can be expected.
More importantly, to stake a claim as the sport's true home, the Germans are going to have to play well and if not win the Cup, come close. And to that we say, not so fast. Of course, Friday's game wasn't a bad result: four goals without their best player, injured midfield maestro Michael Ballack. A pair of 21-year-olds, striker Lukas Podolski and winger Bastian Schweinsteiger, were fantastic in their Cup debuts. Both had terrific workrates and were very dangerous. Ol' Handball himself, Torsten Frings, saw to it that the Germans controlled the middle without Ballack. And the littlest man on the pitch, left back Philipp Lahm, was the most sublime. He scored the game's first goal with a perfectly placed screamer, set up the third with a cross and generally wreaked all sorts of havoc on the left side.
But the fact that the Germans can attack with flair is no secret. Neither is this: Their defense is terrible. It wasn't always noticeable, since Costa Rica rarely had the ball (Germany had it for 63 percent of the first half). But given a couple half-chances, the Ticos made the Germans pay. Right back Arne Friedrich committed two blunders, allowing Paolo Wanchope to get behind him on both Costa Rican goals (in all fairness, Wanchope looked to be offside on both occasions). It could have been worse: Danny Fonseca had a free header off a corner in the second half but somehow sent it way wide. He had another chance off a free kick minutes later but sent that wide as well. (Not a good day for Fonseca: two missed chances, a booking, and he fell down, allowing Lahm to unleash his rocket.) And Wanchope was caught just offside a couple of times. One got the sense it was bad timing on the part of the Costa Ricans rather than intelligent defending by the Germans.
Germany coach Jurgen Klinsmann can't feel good about Wanchope's goals. The lanky Tico doesn't exactly have blazing speed, but he is cagey. He's a born goal-scorer and Germany couldn't handle him. If Wanchope had gotten any consistent service from the midfield, he could have bagged a couple more. And it's not just that the German D is prone to catastrophic failure. Central defender Per Mertesacker looked incredibly uncomfortable on the ball, and his partner, Christoph Metzelder, didn't inspire much confidence either. Only Lahm, who seemed buoyed by his goal, looked steady. (Hey, if you scored a goal as sweet as his, you'd be feeling pretty assured too.)
Germany has the weapons to score on anyone, that much was made clear. But if it give up two goals to a mediocre Costa Rican team, there's no telling what flaws a decent team will expose. With their offense, their easy draw and their home field advantage, the Germans are a lock to get out of Group A. But come the round of 16, it looks like they'll be going home -- and football likely won't be going with them.