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Germany – Norway Lineups & Formations

February 8th, 2009 | By: Nick | 14 Comments »

Germany faces Norway on Wednesday (20:45) for an international friendly. Löw has selected newcomers Andreas Beck and Mesut Özil. Both Michael Ballack and Torsten Frings are also called up. However, both Lukas Podolski and Robert Enke are omitted due to lack of recent playing time and injury. Arne Friedrich, although in the original lineup, is injured and will miss the fixture.

Overall the lineup is a promising selection by Löw.

Özil, a third-generation German of Turkish origin, is now officially with the DFB. He announced this week of his desire to play for the Germany senior-side over his earlier selection by Turkey. As shown by his performances for the German U-21 and Werder Bremen, Özil is a very talented player who will undoubtedly augment an ever formidable, dynamic, and mobile German midfield.

Beck’s nomination is a potential solution to the lack of an attack-oriented defensively-stable right-back. His play for Hoffenheim shows that he is a viable alternative for initiating an attack to an overworked Phillip Lahm. Although Arne Friedrich usually plays RB under the national team, his skills as a reliable defender are better used as a center-back; a position which he usually plays at Hertha Berlin.

Both Ballack and Frings are back after the media-row. The 2006 midfield staples are now aging and need to be in top-form (and low media-profile) if they are to make a meaningful contribution to the 2010 effort.

Enke has recovered from injury, but was not selected due to lack of match practice. Tim Wiese is not exactly the most dependable backup goalkeeper, but his performance against England merits his selection. Besides, if Löw takes Manuel Neuer what does the U-21 have left?

It is good to see an out-of-form Podolski not selected and an in-form Stefan Kießling given another chance. On the other hand, Löw has failed to recall Marcel Schäfer despite his extremely promising debut against England. Instead Löw has nominated an ever present and mediocre Thomas Hitzlsperger. Sami Khedira, Hitzlsperger teammate at VfB Stuttgart, would have been a better choice, but the Özil nomination was much more important. For some reason also, Andreas Hinkel is back. Apparently Hinkel’s play must inspire something or at least be less abysmal than Clemens Fritz’s.

Lineup

Goalkeepers: Rene Adler (Bayer Leverkusen), Tim Wiese (Werder Bremen)

Defenders: Andreas Beck (Hoffenheim), ~~Arne Friedrich (Hertha Berlin)~~, Andreas Hinkel (Celtic), Philipp Lahm (Bayern), Per Mertesacker (Werder Bremen), Serdar Tasci (Stuttgart), Heiko Westermann (Schalke)

Midfielders: Michael Ballack (Chelsea), Torsten Frings (Werder Bremen), Thomas Hitzlsperger (Stuttgart), Marko Marin (Borussia Monchengladbach), Mesut Özil (Werder Bremen), Simon Rolfes (Bayer Leverkusen), Bastian Schweinsteiger (Bayern), Piotr Trochowski (Hamburg)

Attackers: Mario Gomez (Stuttgart), Patrick Helmes (Bayer Leverkusen), Stefan Kießling (Bayer Leverkusen), Miroslav Klose (Bayern)

Formation

Adler
Tasci (Beck) – Mertesacker – Westermann – Lahm
Frings (Hitzlsperger) – Rolfes
Schweinsteiger – Ballack (Özil)
Klose (Gomez) – Helmes (Kießling)

Knowing Löw, he will start with his conservative 4-2-2-2 lineup and make few changes except throw on some different strikers and maybe Hitzlsperger if he’s not already starting. Maybe he’ll give Beck or Marin (just one of them) and Özil more than fifteen minutes though I seriously doubt it. Westermann is guaranteed at center-back and more likely than not gift Norway a goal.

Better Formation

Adler
Beck (Hinkel / Westermann) – Mertesacker – Tasci – Lahm (Schäfer)
Frings (Rolfes)
Marin – Ballack (Schweni) – Özil – Trochowski
Helmes (Gomez / Kießling)

I would prefer we try a (4-1-3-1). Although we need a better holding midfielder and it would be hard to decide between the four forwards for the lone striker position, it would give a trial to the new midfielders and the defense as well. Beck should start and Hinkel should be used for once after so many nominations. Westermann should just sit down and not make any horrible mistakes at the center-back position that Löw starts him in every time. With Friedrich injured and his guaranteed spot on the right opened to Beck, Löw should call up Schäfer and give Lahm a break. Frings is due a trial since he has been making so much noise and be seated immediately at halftime. Rolfes needs a good run, but in reality we need to find a real defensive midfielder for the future. Someone like what Dietmar Hamann was to Liverpool in 2005. Marin and Özil need to be given at least a half and Ballack should start to give the team some coherence. Maybe Gomez can come on and break his duck! Then again…

Tags: Friendlies, Germany National Team News, Highlights

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Comments

By Nick | February 8th, 2009 at 3:19 pm

It has been a while since the last post. A very belated Happy New Year to everyone. We here at the blog have been very busy and the only significant news besides Özil’s selection has been Ballack stunning a pigeon with a ball.

By Caroline | February 8th, 2009 at 7:16 pm

Tyskland!

Posted from United States

By diana | February 8th, 2009 at 9:59 pm

A very belated Happy New Year to you too, Nick. To think it is going to be Valentine’s Day later this week(!)…Saturday, I mean. It’s already Monday at this part of the world I am in.

Regarding Özil’s selection, I suppose you had heard about what happened to the guestbook page on his official website after the call-up was made known? I know it was not a very easy decision for him to make but, it is definitely a case that you cannot please everyone.

Anyhow, good to see Kiessling back. Maybe it is me, I have always felt that he should have been in the squad given of his form at Bayer Leverkusen. Not the out-of-form Podolski, to quote what you said.

Posted from Singapore

By Jan | February 9th, 2009 at 3:29 am

“Besides, if Löw takes Manuel Neuer what does the U-21 have left?”

Florian Fromlowitz and Ralf Fährmann who are both excellent young keepers as well.

Rene Adler has become a bit error prone recently BTW. After his promotion to #1 a lot of people already thought he would be the man for 2010, but now it looks like a real contest between Enke, Adler, Wiese and Neuer.

Posted from Germany

By diana | February 9th, 2009 at 9:48 am

‘Rene Adler has become a bit error prone recently BTW.’
The recent match where Leverkusen was hosting Stuttgart is one of those too, I suppose Jan? If based on what I had read, he had an off-day then. The match was not shown here at where I am actually.

And so, the goalkeeper issue on the national team is back on…again.

Posted from Singapore

By Nick | February 10th, 2009 at 3:30 am

@Caroline – Norge !

@Jan, wasn’t one of the U21 reserves linked with Manchester United or someone as a reserve keeper? Or is that someone else? I think Neuer should be given a shot, he has shown the most talent and presence both on his line and off. Nonetheless, he’s young like Adler so also prone to mistakes. Adler really needs to be more aggressive in the penalty box, but that probably comes with experience. In any event it’s between those two really and Adler needs to step up unless he wants to be the next official backup keeper. Wiese has gotten a lot better recently and certainly now “looks” like a German keeper, but I still would not make him number 1. As for Enke he just reminds me of the 1999-2001 German team too much.

@Diana. It’s better this way so we can have the best and most motivated keeper for the WM. I am glad Oezil made the choice he wanted to. In the end, was it really a surprise that he chose the side that did not pressure and guilt him into it. Finally Kiessling won’t get enough time to play to do anything probably. We can’t bench Klose either for fear of knocking him out-of-form psychologically. The strike pairing from now on is probably Klose-Helmes and Gomez-Kiessling anyway. Let’s hope it works because it probably won’t change much.

By Otto | February 10th, 2009 at 1:36 pm

Anyone else planning to watch today’s U21?

This is your starting eleven btw:

Manuel Neuer
Daniel Schwaab, Matthias Jaissle, Jerome Boateng, Dennis Aogo –
Patrick Ebert, Sami Khedira, Kevin-Prince Boateng, Ben-Hatira –
Daniel Halfar, Sandro Wagner

Posted from Bulgaria

By Nick | February 10th, 2009 at 2:57 pm

Otto how exactly do you get DSF in Bulgarien?

By diana | February 10th, 2009 at 3:00 pm

‘I am glad Oezil made the choice he wanted to.’
Same sentiments, Nick. It was his choice and only his. It has been tough for him recently. I was like thinking after the call-up was made, ‘leave the boy alone’.

Regarding the strike pairing, if there is anything I had picked up from what Jogi was saying at the press conference, it looks like Klose and Gomez will start up front. And also based on what I read, the coach is sticking with Adler in goal.

Posted from Singapore

By Nick | February 10th, 2009 at 3:21 pm

I saw that on BILD too, I gave Jogi too much credit. It’ll be Klose & Gomez until either we lose something big, Gomez scores, or Podolski gets back. The formations we play simply are not for Gomez. In any event Adler is number one for Jogi until at least the U21 in Sweden is over. I guess the U21 needs Neuer and it definitely needs the rest of their team back judging by the Irland U21 play right now. They look shaky defensively among other things.

By Nick | February 10th, 2009 at 3:35 pm

It turns out the last time Germany and Norway met in 99 it was decided by Mehmet Scholl. Maybe it will be Özil this time. I’m sure glad we have gotten a lot better since then!

Speaking of which, the last and only time Germany lost to Norway was in 1936. If it was not for that loss, would football in Germany be the same today? Stay tuned!

By Nick | February 11th, 2009 at 4:31 pm

All in all a 55% performance against a Norway B-Team, feels like the Denmark loss. Of course Gomez and Westermann had some responsibility. Recap later. I was wrong about Hinkel, but right about Loew. Good Frings I like Norway!

Final Tyskland 0 : Norge 1

By diana | February 11th, 2009 at 8:37 pm

Nick, considering not many of the regulars were actually avaliable for Norway, this is a credible result for them. Not since 1936 have they registered a win over Germany. That is 73 years. I did remembered about the Denmark result, but given that match was not shown here then, I cannot make comparisons with that and this match.

Hope to read your recap soon. I did watched the match, but I need to watch a re-cap of the match to re-evaluate what really happened (that is the thing with me, I need to watch a match more than once to really form my opinions of the match). I did saw the eventual only goal though.

Posted from Singapore

By Sind | March 12th, 2009 at 7:06 am

As a Norwegian this was an amazing match. to come from a year long streak of not winning a single match most ppl weren’t expecting much from the B-team that was sent to Germany. But it was truly an incredible match. the defense was set up right against the style Germany played as our hero Drillo used his research to find the flaws in the German team. The Norwegian side did not play a perfect match, but that doesnt really matter as long as they won. Must say that i was not to impressed by the German team. They should have known what we would do when our trainer from the 90’s made his comeback.

Posted from Norway