Russia 0:1 Germany – Adler Secures & Klose Scores

October 10th, 2009 | by: Nick | View Comments

Despite the unfamiliarity with the artificial turf and the hostility of a fervent 80000 strong Russian crowd in Luzhniki Stadium Moscow, the DFB-Elf secured their ticket to South Africa 2010. Here are the ratings for the team with more analysis to follow after a thorough celebration…

Adler – 8.5 : Adler was as good as a second goal. He was absolutely solid when called upon with a crucial one-on-one save and a string of excellent parries to deny Russia.

Boateng – 5.0 : By far not his best performance. Although both his yellow cards were key tactical fouls, he put the team in a perilous situation just when Russia were coming into the game. Nonetheless, this was his debut and hopefully Löw can use him correctly in the future as a CB.

Mertesacker – 6.0 : Job done not much else. He was good in the air and dealt with a few dangerous situations to his credit. Made a big flopping fall when he was out of position that nearly gifted a goal.

Westermann – 6.5 : Made a credible match. He was the better central defender. He started the game with a good Carsten Ramelow like run-and-shot to shake up the Russians a bit early on. He was imperious in the air and positioned well throughout most of the game. Of course he did make a poor decision in one of his clearances that nearly resulted in a goal, but that’s just classic Westermann.

Lahm – 7.0 : Solid display overall. Lahm is simply better on the left. He closed down the opposition well and made some good runs forward. The Russian attack adjusted by attacking on the flank where Lahm was not. Lahm had a good effort wide on goal after a trademark cut-ins from the left.

Schweini – 7.5 : Must have confused Russia with Portugal. Schweini put in a very attractive performance in a position he usually does not play so well in. He showcased some wonderful individual movements, combined well with the team, and most importantly held possession when needed. Maybe he thought he should actually live up to his potential for once. I am glad he picked this game to do it.

Ballack – 7.0 : Still the undisputed captain. Lead by example seems to be Ballack’s credo. After a really nasty looking foul it seemed Ballack needed to be replaced and Germany’s hopes for the night substantially lowered. Instead he clenched his teeth, walked it off, and harried his team to victory. He had a good chance to put the result beyond doubt near the end. Ballack is still the focal point of Germany hopes for 2010.

Rolfes – 7.0 : Replicated club form. It seems Löw is always bent on choosing one of Hitzlsperger or Rolfes for DM when better options like Hummels and Kehl are in waiting. Since the Hitzlsperger has less tacking ability than Rolfes, Löw made the right decision for this game. Rolfes has been in great form for his club lately and did a good job irritating Russia’s attack and breaking up play.

Podolski – 7.0 : Good passing for a striker. Löw might have gotten something right here on first try in playing Poldi in midfield in important games. Podolski provided a wonderful precision pass to Özil who then drew the Russian keeper. Otherwise he needs to improve his finishing ability.

Özil – 7.5 : Awake when it mattered. He drifted in and out and was pretty useless defensively, but provided the goal with great vision and his usual nimbleness. He was a bit unlucky not to get on the score-sheet with his drive from distance. An ever-improving Özil is crucial for 2010.

Klose – 7.5 : Did his usual thing. Klose is such a paradox. You wonder if he is even on the pitch for half the game and then he scores that crucial goal out of nowhere. Perhaps that explains his goal record of 48 in 96 appearances. That’s half isn’t it? Not bad. Now he is just a few goals away from being second only to Gerd Muller. As a reward he’ll have a nice warm place on the bench at Bayern

Friedrich – 5.5 : Brought his club along. Friedrich was not in form for this match as he was probably thinking about his relegation bound club. His frightening lack of pace showed and it nearly cost the team in a pretty clear penalty not given. He’ll be a better substitute in central defense for future reference, but even then he needs to get better. Then again, it wasn’t his fault Löw sent Beck to the stands.

Löw – 6.5 : Lucky. Löw fielded a good starting eleven in a good 4-4-1-1 tactical setup. On the flip-side, he chose to retain the lately mediocre Cacau and ever so Hitzlsperger while sending his two most potent offensive weapons of Beck and Marin to the stands. His first mistake led to his second. Boateng could not be substituted off at the half because Friedrich was not in shape as a right back. This showed as Löw hesitated to bring Friedrich on even after Boateng got sent off. Perhaps at that moment he fully realized he had shot himself in the foot by not retaining Beck. Unfortunately, it hasn’t dawned on Löw that he needs a real defensive midfielder. Rolfes was credible this time, but Hummels or even Westermann are better long term options. I honestly hope we lose to Finland so he finally sees that too- and does something about it.