Thank You Finland

October 14th, 2009 | by: Nick |

The crowd was right to jeer a hapless first-half performance by an “experimental” German side in Hamburg in the final DFB 2010 World Cup qualification fixture. With a ninth win the 2010 qualification campaign would have been Germany’s most successful ever. Thanks to a determined Finnish side and some horrible performances by a team arranged in a hopelessly incoherent Euro 2008 style 4-2-2-2 the game ended 1-1. It was a fair reflection of the match even though Germany had several chances to win it in the dying minutes.

Adler was the only reason we did not lose. He could do nothing about the goal where Westermann watched and Lahm was simply too short to make a difference.

Beck had perhaps the most promising performance of the entire team. He was still surging forward at the end. He provided some great runs, a hard shot, and some deep crosses. He was caught out a couple of times, but his high work-rate throughout the match was commendable.

Friedrich did all right for this match. He made no glaring errors, played a very intelligent offside trap, and got out of some very dangerous situations. He should not have been playing so close to Adler, but that is more of a failure from the midfield that he could not compensate for. Overall he is still useful only in the substitute central defender capacity.

Westermann played like usual. He was caught rooted to the ground and nowhere near a Finland player for the goal. If he starts during the World Cup then he will cost us. His redeeming quality was that he was good going forward and some credit has to be given to him for the goal. The verdict is he should not be playing central defense!

Lahm was the most likely player to score a goal it seemed. During the first half he was essentially turned into a left-midfielder. He tried his best to cut in and break through the Finnish defense, but every time he passed the ball one of Hitzlsperger, Trochowski, or Cacau managed to lose it.

Trochowski was a twelfth man for Finland in the first half. He lost about every ball played to him. After he shifted to the right wing in the second half he was far more reliable, but nothing inspiring. He wasted his chance to shine at home in Hamburg.

Hitzlsperger should never be called again. Not only was he ineffective in his passing and retention, but also he might as well have not been there defensively. His performance is absolutely inexcusable as a defensive midfielder and even his pal Löw had to yank him off at half-time

Gentner didn’t really shine. He had a goal-shy performance probably because he didn’t want to be booed. Defensively he was better than the other midfielders, but that’s not saying much.

Ballack was not meant to be played in his old role or the entire match. He was stretched thin by his teammates. To compensate for the lack of Özil he had to go forward, create, and distribute in addition to defend the back four with the invisible Hitzlsperger.

Özil had an average game by his own standards. He lost the ball several times and wasted a few clear cut opportunities. He needs to work on his finishing. Still, without him the tying goal would not have happened. He is here to stay and will start guaranteed from now on along with Ballack.

Podolski at least saved us from a loss. His goal was fortunate and he had blown a few shots earlier. He was by no means spectacular in the unbalanced 4-4-2, so average that Lahm was often found in front of him during the game.

Klose missed the chance to one win it after a cross from Beck. His awareness and quick reaction was critical in creating the goal chance.

Cacau was ineffective and to be honest I am not sure what position he played. He was roaming around the length of the pitch putting in a mediocre touch here and a mediocre pass there. Maybe he would have played better with coordination around him, but on this showing he should not be called up again seeing as how there are much better striking options available.

Gomez is now in crisis. He had a few chances from set pieces, but his psychosis began to tell. Once again Klose showed him how it is done. Gomez is a target man who can’t finish, he does not have the ability to provide chances and his depression after spurning a chance ruins whatever rebound or subsequent chance he has. He needs to work out his problems, but not on the time of the national team.

Löw should be sent to Turkey for free after this display. The lineup was wrong and he was too scared to compensate once again. He could have given Marin some running time, but instead he selected his old favorites with disastrous effect. To be fair there was no way he could correct his faulty starting eleven. In order to prevent aggravating an injury Ballack had to come off in favor of Gentner. To save some face Özil and Klose had to be put on thus leaving Marin on the bench. I honestly wanted us to lose, because that way even he cannot forget the burn of picking his useless Stuttgart pal Hitzlsperger.

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http://bundesliga.theoffside.com Jan

The whole back and forth with Germany’s tactical formations is getting a bit confusing. Löw’s assistant Flick said Germany started with a 4-3-3 formation and then switched back to a 4-4-2. Now, when the team isn’t putting enough effort into a match then a 4-3-3 or 4-2-2 will look equally bad. So it’s maybe a bit unfair to compare a couldn’t care less 4-3-3 in the first half with a care a little 4-2-2 in the second half, but I still strongly prefer a return to the good ol 4-4-2 when it comes to assembling the World Cup team.

Beck was overrun easily prior to Finland’s goal and especially defensively I wasn’t impressed with him.

I wonder whether I should cut all Stuttgart players some slack because they look equally out of form and shape and confidence at their club. Maybe once their whole form curve is going up again, they’ll also be much more valuable national team players.

One problem I’m having with Hitzelsperger and Trochowski is that someone once made the mistake to tell them, that they are dangerous from long range shots and now they have a completely wrong idea of how they may be able to help their teams – and that is true for club and national team level.

It was a shame not seeing a player like Marin, but I’m really hoping to see quite a lot of youth and some fresh faces in November.

Anyway, the team needs a proper reboot in time for the World Cup and maybe a reinstall for the next qualification campaign. TBH with the deep talent pool coming of age I would welcome a tough stance towards players who aren’t willing to perform in qualifiers against smaller football nations or in friendlies. I think Löw could call up a complete 23 man B-squad for some games and easily win them, as long as the attitude by the players is right. Some players certainly deserve to be left out of the national team to get them to think whether they really want to play for their country or whether they only think it looks good on their CV.
Nick

I’ll have to agree Beck was wanting defensively, especially when he was so far up the pitch that we were in effect playing 3-4-3. Then again, the midfield was so out of ideas in the first half that most of the attacks and room was on his side.

I still think it is a bad idea to call up any of the Stuttgart players who played today up again. Hitzlsperger was absoultely useless together with that limp effort of a shot he tried.

Hopefully this match will stick in Löw’s memory for some time.
A Kap

How long has it been since der Hammer has scored from long range even for Stuttgart? I laugh everytime someone mentions his “ferocious left foot”.

I watched only the first half hour or so since work got in the way, so I’ll say this: that goal in the 10th minute was pure lethargy.

I’m really concerned by the goal-shyness of the forward line. Gomez’s touch is pathetic. He skipped past a couple of defenders (probably due to some mistimed moves), and promptly booted the ball to the GK in an attempt to set up a shot. Cacau was not in sync with anyone else, and was also playing too deep, but maybe that was because he’s barely played with this group (As far as I remember).

I completely agree that Loew got the lineup spectacularly wrong, but at least no one’s complaining that Frings isn’t around anymore…
Mark

I’m tired of seeing Gomez and Westermann out there. I don’t mind Hitzlsperger, but its pretty clear that he is not adding anything to the team. I’d like to see Boateng back, and I hope they give Keissling a shot next time. He certainly deserves it more than Cacau!

I think my starting 11 would be pretty much the same as the Russia match, except put Boateng at centre defense instead of Westermann, and put Beck at right back.
Wa’el

Well, this experimental team showed how many selected players are seriously lacking at international level, and should not be selected again. The starting eleven did not have the main guys, and everyone could see that Westerman, Hitzlsperger, Freidrich and Cacau are NOT world-class players, and will cost us so much in the WM.
Friedrich is best for a 3rd choice central defender, Westerman for all the running he does, he is really weak in defense and its obvious he will be a huge disadvantage when playing strong teams. Hitzlsperger is just simply past it, he is done playing at this level, and I agree with A KAP, its funny and now even offending to hear (his furious left shot) I cant recall at all any goal he scored! Cacau is an absolute disaster, the man has no idea of football. He cant pass, cant shoot, cant head the ball, bad positioning almost always and runs without any clue where to go or what to do with the ball when he gets it. I have NO clue how he was even considered to play for the national team. And why is Keißling not being called? I also hope Helmes gets healthy soon. and Baoteng should be included he is good, he just needs some time.
Now, guys to actually seriously consider: Keißling, Müller, Badstuber and Kroos. I do not see any reason why these guys are not called, even for a try!
Mukhe

i missed the fixture so i cant comment on the game and the perfomance that players put up. However, From what i have read from the blog and comments, i can see that there’s a complete lack of co-ordination amid our team. This is something that is really frustrating to see.

Honestly, there are some Lehmann type players that needs to brushed out or it could seriously jeopardize our chances of the winning the cup again after nearly 2 decades. Mario Gomez tops the list with Westermann competing close behind.One or two lackluster performance and Westermann is surely to make his mark on the top. Gomez seems to look confident during the 5 or 10 minutes of play but then when he misses a shot, a pass, or that hot girl on that stand, he seems to be influnenced by the exponential eqn f(t)= (shit performance)^t where t is time. I think i would be wasting my time writing on Westermann as most of the comments clearly demonstrate his inability to play fusball.

i still have faith on Low, though. he has some brilliant players on the bench and needs to use them effectively or otherwise doomsday is quiet imminent.
Marin should be given more playing time.

On the brighter side, Adler has improved and finally, Low has someone solid to look for that crucial position behind Westermann. cheers!
http://bundesliga.theoffside.com Jan

“Now, guys to actually seriously consider: Keißling, Müller, Badstuber and Kroos. I do not see any reason why these guys are not called, even for a try!”

Replace Badstuber with someone like Höwedes and we have a deal. I think overall we’ll have enough strikers who can put the ball into the net, but when it comes to creativity and vision it’s definitely worth taking a look at some youngsters. Both Schweinsteiger and Trochowski are stagnating and currently aren’t able to come up with opening passes and good ideas. Having Özil in the team is great, but what happens if he picks up an injury? The likes of Marin, Kroos and Müller definitely are worth testing in November.

There’s also no reason to risk going into a tournament with Westermann being a first choice central defender, when you have very talented young players for this position.
Michel-Olivier

low should try a 4-1-3-2 experiment

adler
boateng(friedrich)-howedes-mertesacker-lahm
rolfes
schweinsteiger(hunt)-ozil-marin
podolski(kiessling)-muller
Julie

The good news is Hitzlsperger did not come out with any credit and Westermann does not play for VfB! Loew should try this against Chile. It’ll never happen, but hey.

Adler
Hoewedes(Beck)-Per-Boateng-Lahm
Hummels(Rolfes)
Schweini(Troche/Mueller)-Ballack-Podolski(Marin/Kiessling)
Oezil(Kroos)
Klose(Mueller)
eclipse

i think gomez should cut his hair back to crew cut….the only time i remember he was imperious in front of goal was back then with his crew cut….he lost all that when he grew his hair long
Arminius

eclipse:

You may sound silly but I’ve got a hunch you may have got a point there.;-)
Arminius

Maybe Löw is a strategic wizzkid: deceiving future opponents about his REAL options …
Ash

@ eclipse: You might have a point there.. maybe it’s blocking his vision or something who knows? What’s clear is that he need to try SOMETHING and fast.
Wa’el

Jan I agree, I have no idea how I forgot Höwedes. 100% in on this deal and also Hummels is worth to give a chance, although Rolfes has finally convinced me, but hey Ballack/Rolfes/Hummels is a good thing to have, one extra in case!
And yes, I doubt we will have a problem up front, Klose is worth 3 strikers Poldi can still so sth, Keißling should be considered, Cacau is a MUST-OUT, Gomez not so keen on him, and Müller! That boy MUST be given a chance, just these friendlies in Nov, I have bought tickets for both, am so excited, anyone going btw?
Kroos needs times, it was a lil of a holding time the time he spent at BM, but it depends on much playing time he gets at Leverkusen.
Btw, as much as I like Adler, but Weise just put some amazing performance this past weekend. I would like to see him in one of the next 2 friendlies, although I must say Adler is most convincing so far.
my team, as of how things are now would be.
4-2-3-1 or
Adler
Boateng, Höwedes, Mertsaker, Lahm
Ballack, Rolfes
Schweini, Özil, Müller
Klose

subs: Weise, Neuer, Beck, Badstuber, Metzelder, Hummels, Khedira, Trochowski, Marin, Kroos, Kießling, Podolski.
http://bundesliga.theoffside.com Jan

@Wa’el: I think both Neuer and Wiese have played flawless seasons so far. I’m at a point though, where I really don’t care and mind who eventually ends up Germany’s goal at the World Cup. I personally think that Neuer is the most talented and complete goalkeeper, but I can live with Adler, Enke or Wiese as well.

Kroos for me is simply the one player who has the talent to be an Özil-like creative playmaker. As long as Özil stays fit and isn’t injured there’s no need to call him up.

Well, as far as the friendlies go, Löw already announced that he’ll use them to experiment a lot. I still hope though that the players take the games serious enough to deliver a good performance anyway. Otherwise you might be forced to sit through a 90 minute non-event.
Nick

Looks like we are in for a treat after all. Ivory Coast instead of Egypt. That should keep Neuer busy.