FC Bayern Forum

[FCBayernMunchen]

France, for example, has a game of Wednesday, IN France in fact.

Wow, they're leaving it until the last minute to get there then.

Germany arrived in Poland yesterday

[quaazi]

I was wrong, it's today (Tuesday). Still late tho.

[Jank1s]

I was wrong, it's today (Tuesday). Still late tho.

i dont think so, they have game on Mnaday, so 6 days, a lot of time to prepare

[Jorge]

Germany's Golden Generation
Uli Hesse wonders if Germany can recreate their success of 1972
Uli Hesse
May 30, 2012

http://espnfc.com/uk/en/news/1082158/ge ... ation.html
In Germany, there has been a lot of talk over the past few months about the Golden Generation. Not about the Portuguese team starring Rui Costa, Joao Pinto and Luis Figo, for which this phrase was originally coined. No, people are talking about our own Golden Generation - the current German team under coach Joachim Low.
Quite a few are even comparing the side to the legendary 1972 team, generally regarded as the best German team of all time. Exactly 40 years ago, the side defeated hosts Belgium in the semi-finals before demolishing the Soviet Union in the final to win the European Championships for the first time.
However, the quarter-final that year is remembered most fondly in Germany. In what was a two-legged home and away tie, a team led by Franz Beckenbauer and Gunter Netzer broke a 64-year spell by winning on English soil for the first time.
The image of the technically accomplished, attack-minded West German players dashing across the Wembley pitch in their green away shirts, bathed in the glow of the floodlights, was as stunning as it was memorable for both German and English fans.
"England had been utterly outclassed by a nation who traditionally played English-style football," David Downing later wrote about the general disbelief that greeted the German performance. "How had this happened? How had the Germans suddenly become so good?"
Almost the same thing could have been written about the current team, which really came into its own with another stereotype-destroying defeat of England - the 4-1 in Bloemfontein two years ago.
The comparisons between 1972 and now became still more alluring four months ago when the national team unveiled their new shirts - because the away shirt is now green again.
Its design was deliberately based on the 1972 model in terms of style and shade. Just to make sure the players get the parallel, the years 1972 and 2012 are prominently stitched into the neck area with small, just about legible lines beneath them. The former year, the words say, marked “The beginning of a success story", while the latter is "A new chapter waiting to be written".
All of which tells you that Germany are aiming for their fourth continental title in Poland and the Ukraine, and in contrast to the previous tournaments of this millennium they are not cautious or diffident about it. As early as December 2010, Low said he had "a gut feeling that this team is in a position to win a trophy in 2012 or 2014".
At that time, Germany had just beaten England and Argentina. A few months later, the team defeated Brazil for the first time since 1993 and followed that by beating old rivals Netherlands for the first time since 1996.
What's more, in each of those four games against famous opposition, the Germans scored at least three goals. With results and performances like that, false modesty would have been inappropriate, and so Low declared that he was aiming to win the tournament.
His confidence proved infectious - the country is looking forward to the Euros with optimism, despite the fact Germany have been drawn in a very tough group. You can understand why people have high hopes. The team is very, very good and boasts more talent than any side of the past two decades.
This is particularly true of midfield, where even a much-touted phenomenon such as Mario Gotze is not a starter and where players who have had great individual seasons didn't even make the final squad - Dortmund's Sven Bender, for instance - or can only hope to see action if they play out of position. This goes for Toni Kroos, whose two preferred roles for Bayern Munich, holding midfielder or playmaker behind the striker, are blocked by Sami Khedira and Mesut Ozil respectively.
It might also go for Marco Reus, who will play for Dortmund next season. Reus has just been voted the Bundesliga's best outfield player by his fellow professionals but is expected to go to the Euros as a substitute only, either as a stand-in for the wide positions in midfield or (and this was an interesting development during Germany's preparations), for Mario Gomez or Miroslav Klose upfront.
Low first hinted that he thought Reus capable of playing up front in mid-March. Two weeks later, he cut Stuttgart striker Cacau, an old favourite of his, from the provisional squad, which means he is serious about seeing Reus as an option at centre forward despite his lack of strength and aerial prowess.
So all that class, talent and silky skill explains why many people speak of the Golden Generation. However, there is another aspect to this – another, darker reason for the moniker. That Portuguese team of the 1990s failed to translate their class into trophies, becoming a tale of unfulfilled promise like Cruyff's Netherlands of the 1970s, the Hungarians of the 1950s and the Austrian Wunderteam of the 1930s.
And there is a fear that a similar fate could befall this German team. In the past three major tournaments, the side lost two semi-finals and a final: one in the last minute of extra time, the other two by the narrowest of all results, 1-0.
While cornerstones of the team such as Lukas Podolski, Bastian Schweinsteiger or Philipp Lahm are still relatively young despite their immense number of caps, it might be now or never for them, not least because winning a World Cup in Brazil will be a tall order for any European side in two years.
There is something ironic about this hope that the team will finally be crowned winners and the fear it might fail again when it counts.
For decades, German teams were, rightly or wrongly, feared for their ruthless efficiency and ability to deliver when the chips were down. The Spox website covered Bayern's defeat in the Champions League final by asking whether losing when it counts could be "a German phenomenon".
Then again, maybe having become un-German in the winning department merely mirrors having become un-German on the pitch? Because for all that style and substance in midfield, Germany's biggest weakness is another former strength - the defence.
Three Bayern players are undisputed starters here and have had good to excellent seasons - goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, centre back Holger Badstuber and full back Lahm. But no matter which flank Low chooses for Lahm, there will be a weakness on the other wing. Then there are concerns about Badstuber's partner.
Low is such a loyal coach that it must be considered a minor surprise that he cut Cacau, when most people were wondering why he was called up in the first place.
But Low doesn't care too much about club form - he trusts the men who have performed for him, even if they don't always perform for others. This means he would like to find a place for Klose, Podolski and Per Mertesacker. However, the Arsenal defender has not played a competitive game since February.
Although Mertesacker’s rival Hummels has enjoyed a strong season and is brimming with confidence, Low hasn't warmed to him easily. For his club, Hummels often plays like a deep-lying playmaker, building from the back with long passes. Low, however, wants his central defenders to get the ball to the midfielders quickly, so Hummels has to change his approach and can struggle to do so.
Yet these are comparatively minor problems. For once, Germany do not have to worry about personnel but about psyche. Have the Bayern players, who still form the bulk of the team, stomached coming second in three competitions - particularly the galling way in which they lost the Champions League final? And can the team as a whole rediscover the winning mentality that used to be a trademark but seems to have been lost somewhere along the way?
Matthias Sammer, the German FA's director of football, has been going on about this for years. He complains that the country celebrates even when the national team finishes second or third, and calls for more determination and will to win.
He may have a point. In the semi-finals Germany lost to Italy in 2006 and Spain in 2010, the team seemed passive, as if suddenly lacking the belief and the courage that had got them there.
If Low and his men find a remedy for this tendency, Germany have their best chance since the 1990s to win a trophy. They have got the coach and the players, the ability and the team spirit to go all the way. And maybe the green shirts will put the Golden Generation in the right 1972 mood.

[AvatarX]

Nice article about Euro 2012.

Euro 2012 Group B: Why Germany Should Win It All

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1215 ... win-it-all

[Element]

Maroslav Klomez

Would be a top striker

[quaazi]

I think the word you're looking for is "abomination".

[YlonenXabi]

Germany has now tied Spain (2011), Netherlands (2010) and France (2004) record with 14 consecutive wins in official games. Germany has won every single official game since that loss in the World Cup semifinals

[MUTU]

Germany has now tied Spain (2011), Netherlands (2010) and France (2004) record with 14 consecutive wins in official games. Germany has won every single official game since that loss in the World Cup semifinals

Greece is next on the list

[FCBayernMunchen]

I think someone had mentioned that Germany also tied the record for most consecutive games where Germany scored? Not sure about this but I kinda remember seeing it....

[MUTU]

Germany has now tied Spain (2011), Netherlands (2010) and France (2004) record with 14 consecutive wins in official games. Germany has won every single official game since that loss in the World Cup semifinals

Is this an international record, or just European teams?

[Jorge]

Germany has now tied Spain (2011), Netherlands (2010) and France (2004) record with 14 consecutive wins in official games. Germany has won every single official game since that loss in the World Cup semifinals

Is this an international record, or just European teams?

It is International, although to my knowledge Spain winning streak from EURO 2008's quaterfinal draw with Italy 0:0 (Spain won 4:2 on Penalties) until they lost to the USA 2:0 at 2009 Confederations Cup Semifinal is 15 games not 14.

I am sure Germany will keep adding.

[Element]

Ilkay gundogan got injured
Still no info about the severity though

[walter]

I think Reus will maintain his spot in the Semis, the question is who will Loew drop? Poldi or Muller. I hope he drops Poldi but Muller not having scored puts him in the spotlight.

[quaazi]

Löw is not an idiot. There's a reason why Müller was off the bench in the Greece game and not Podolski.