FC Bayern Forum

[FCBayernMunchen]

Just throwing this out here, if Loew doesn't pick Beck as Germany's RB after his performance last Saturday, he's crazy (as if it wasn't already obvious that he should be our RB)

[quaazi]

Unfortunately Löw is a lot more conservative with his squad picks than would seem from the "youth revolution". Podolski still gets regular minutes for crying out loud!

[Bazi]

Well in my opinion the game against Turkey was consistent with the impressions of the last two years.

1. We may shine brightly in the offense but Löw has yet to convince me that he is capable of forming a solid defense. No wonder he campaigned so strongly for Kroos as a central midfielder at Bayern because obviously it would make his work a lot easier with an even bigger defensive block of Bayern players.

2. Manuel Neuer is a beast and arguably the best goalkeeper in the world. He is so strong in all matters of the goalkeeper game that the German commentators already compare him to the TITAN. This might be a little premature because he hasn't won anything yet but he sure has the quality to become the next German Welttorhüter.

3. Boateng is by far the best choice for the fullback counterpart to Philipp Lahm. The only thing is that he performs so convincingly at club level next to Holger Badstuber that Löw might value him higher there. But I don't see any other fullback of international class so it'll be difficult.

4. Neither Mertesacker nor Hummels could perform really convincingly in the National Team so the slot next to Badstuber is still vacant. While I value Hummels as the overall better defender he lacks international experience and hasn't quite adapted to the way die Mannschaft plays under Löw. Mertesacker has seen it all on international level and knows the system very well so I believe that he's slightly ahead in the race but plenty can happen in 8 months.

5. The difference between Khedira and Kroos became once again very obvious yesterday. Kroos' technique on the ball is far superior to Khediras so we lacked the necessary safety in possession in the first half. On top of that Khediras supposed strength to be more present physically wasn't visible until deep into the second half. One thing's for sure, the competition for the slot next to Schweinsteiger will be tough and if Kroos is able to improve his presence over the entirety of a match it'll be really difficult for Khedira to stay in the team.

6. As experienced as Podolski may be he lacks variability in his game and this crippled our offensive game for such a long time that it doesn't even disappoint me anymore. I recognize it all the time that our opponents intendedly leave space on our left attacking side and narrow the middle and our right side because they exactly know about Podolskis limitations. On top of that his defensive performance to support Lahm was weak, he should phone Franck Ribéry and ask for advise how to motivate himself for the dirty work. I sincerely hope that either Götze or Schürrle can push him out of the Euro 2012 starting XI.

7. Mario Gomez is a brute force of nature, a goalscoring machine beyond comparison (nationally) who vastly improved his football skills under Van Gaal and proved that he has the spirit of a fighter. So I sincerely hope that Löw will give him a fair chance to compete with Klose for a slot in the Euro 2012 Starting XI.

[KAHN]

Well in my opinion the game against Turkey was consistent with the impressions of the last two years.

1. We may shine brightly in the offense but Löw has yet to convince me that he is capable of forming a solid defense. No wonder he campaigned so strongly for Kroos as a central midfielder at Bayern because obviously it would make his work a lot easier with an even bigger defensive block of Bayern players.

2. Manuel Neuer is a beast and arguably the best goalkeeper in the world. He is so strong in all matters of the goalkeeper game that the German commentators already compare him to the TITAN. This might be a little premature because he hasn't won anything yet but he sure has the quality to become the next German Welttorhüter.

3. Boateng is by far the best choice for the fullback counterpart to Philipp Lahm. The only thing is that he performs so convincingly at club level next to Holger Badstuber that Löw might value him higher there. But I don't see any other fullback of international class so it'll be difficult.

4. Neither Mertesacker nor Hummels could perform really convincingly in the National Team so the slot next to Badstuber is still vacant. While I value Hummels as the overall better defender he lacks international experience and hasn't quite adapted to the way die Mannschaft plays under Löw. Mertesacker has seen it all on international level and knows the system very well so I believe that he's slightly ahead in the race but plenty can happen in 8 months.

5. The difference between Khedira and Kroos became once again very obvious yesterday. Kroos' technique on the ball is far superior to Khediras so we lacked the necessary safety in possession in the first half. On top of that Khediras supposed strength to be more present physically wasn't visible until deep into the second half. One thing's for sure, the competition for the slot next to Schweinsteiger will be tough and if Kroos is able to improve his presence over the entirety of a match it'll be really difficult for Khedira to stay in the team.

6. As experienced as Podolski may be he lacks variability in his game and this crippled our offensive game for such a long time that it doesn't even disappoint me anymore. I recognize it all the time that our opponents intendedly leave space on our left attacking side and narrow the middle and our right side because they exactly know about Podolskis limitations. On top of that his defensive performance to support Lahm was weak, he should phone Franck Ribéry and ask for advise how to motivate himself for the dirty work. I sincerely hope that either Götze or Schürrle can push him out of the Euro 2012 starting XI.

7. Mario Gomez is a brute force of nature, a goalscoring machine beyond comparison (nationally) who vastly improved his football skills under Van Gaal and proved that he has the spirit of a fighter. So I sincerely hope that Löw will give him a fair chance to compete with Klose for a slot in the Euro 2012 Starting XI.

I agree on everything except Mertesacker he is like DVB hooked on valium. His German NT playing days has to be over. As for Löw I am saying for years he is not nearly as good as most people are portering him.

[AvatarX]

@ Bazi: I agree on most of the things u said, except the following:

On top of that his defensive performance to support Lahm was weak, he should phone Franck Ribéry and ask for advise how to motivate himself for the dirty work. I sincerely hope that either Götze or Schürrle can push him out of the Euro 2012 starting XI.

If you think that Podolski didn't defend well, what can you say of defensive performances of Goetze or Schuerrle? Non-existent? They are very good offensively, but they need to work better in their defensive skills and workrate. They are very technically gifted, but I would love to see them tracking back to cover like Muller does.

And by the way, you say that Loew needs to build on defense and in the same time you suggest Kroos besides Schweini? There is a reason why Heyches -who has build a great defensive system- prefers a true DM besides Schweini. A duo of Schweini - Kroos would be good for attack but not for defense. If Turks out-powered Khedira, imagine what they would have done to Kroos ...

[quaazi]

Löw suggested the idea of a 4-4-2, though, and I think Kroos might fit better as a CM into that formation than he does into the 4-1-4-1 or 4-2-3-1 that Löw's tried.

Personally I detest the 4-4-2, what a dull and wasteful formation, but he won't use it in the World Cup or anything, so I guess it's good enough.

[Bazi]

@AvatarX:

Well obviously in a 4-2-3-1 system (or a variation of it) the defensive work of a winger is more important than of an offensive midfielder though Götzes work rate is already good due to Klopps physically demanding system at Dortmund. So I wouldn't worry at all about letting Götze start on the wing because his work rate is far better than Podolskis' will ever be because he even when he doesn't lack effort he still has a lack of tactical brains.

About the Kroos / Khedira - matter: I believe you value the individual qualities of the players too high at the national team level. More importantly the national teams profit much more from a block of players who play at the same club just because the tactical quality is far superior. On top of that I believe that it wasn't the quality of the Turkish play that troubled Khedira defensively in the first half but more likely his bad form after his injury. I strongly believe that we would have strongly benefited from Kroos' huge technical quality on the ball. But after all it's good to have the choice between the two players.

[tflags]

We blamed the 4-1-4-1 for Austria's goals and now we came very close to allow two more goals to Turkey. We simply had a wall in Neuer to prevent the second one. Either way it is quite clear that Germany has a CB issue. Mertesacker and/or Höwedes are not up to the task I am afraid. This last one being blamed for the goal against together with Mueller depending on who you ask.

Gomez had a awesome goal and then at the last minute a terrible miss. Overall it as a convincing match considering Oezil did not play and Germany was facing a tough Turk crowd.

On the Kroos as CDM issue, all I can say is, don't you just wish Gustavo was German? Or Khedira Brazilian for that matter...

[AvatarX]

About the Kroos / Khedira - matter: I believe you value the individual qualities of the players too high at the national team level. More importantly the national teams profit much more from a block of players who play at the same club just because the tactical quality is far superior. On top of that I believe that it wasn't the quality of the Turkish play that troubled Khedira defensively in the first half but more likely his bad form after his injury. I strongly believe that we would have strongly benefited from Kroos' huge technical quality on the ball. But after all it's good to have the choice between the two players.

I agree, Khedira had a terrible game (I said it on game thread) and I wish we had a better CDM to replace him sometimes. I am just afraid that Kroos isn't ready for the defensive part of the role (at least yet).

On the Kroos as CDM issue, all I can say is, don't you just wish Gustavo was German?

+1

[FCBayernMunchen]

Löw suggested the idea of a 4-4-2, though, and I think Kroos might fit better as a CM into that formation than he does into the 4-1-4-1 or 4-2-3-1 that Löw's tried.

It would be stupid for Germany to use a formation without a playmaker when you consider the players we have available...

Either way it is quite clear that Germany has a CB issue. Mertesacker and/or Höwedes are not up to the task I am afraid. This last one being blamed for the goal against together with Mueller depending on who you ask.

Loew should try out Badstuber-Boateng, because of their current form and understanding of each other. I'm not saying it should be Germany's starting CB duo (from what we've seen so far I think Badstuber-Hummels is the best) but they've earned a chance

[Mazen96]

Pele said Germany will win The 2014 World Cup.

Way to jinx us

[supra969]

Pele said Germany will win The 2014 World Cup.

Way to jinx us

dear god i just want him to say that cristina and messi are the best footballers ever to hit life

[MUTU]

Pele said Germany will win The 2014 World Cup.

Way to jinx us

dear god i just want him to say that cristina and messi are the best footballers ever to hit life

How about that Robben will never play again due to injury?

[AvatarX]

Pele said Germany will win The 2014 World Cup.

Way to jinx us

dear god i just want him to say that cristina and messi are the best footballers ever to hit life

How about that Robben will never play again due to injury?

Probably he said that IN ORDER to jinx us - that way his country may have some hopes of winning it

[YlonenXabi]

Pele said Germany will win The 2014 World Cup.

Way to jinx us

lol

btw did he really said that? I read today in spanish media that he said that Spain will play the finals against Brazil