貼個英文的......

重返榮耀之路..........德國隊

WORKING THEIR WAY BACK TO THE TOP ...... GERMANY


by Ruud Doevendans


German soccer is in an impasse, but they are fighting their way back. Euro 2000 was a huge disaster, as was the World Cup in France. Four years earlier in the USA, was not much better. In between, surprisingly, Germany still won the European Championship but the way in which they did it, let us already see what they were short of: pure quality. Where are the Overaths, the Netzers, the Breitners, or even the Brehmes, Matthäus’ and Klinsmanns? Not to speak about the Beckenbauers? They are just not there. Germany these days has no “Spitzenspieler”, they must just hope they can build a “Spitzenmannschaft”. And that’s no impossibility.

On first sight, they drew an easy group but they must beware of the fact that the Irish are going to make it hard for any team. Holland knows what it means when you underestimate them. Germany should be able to beat Cameroon, because normally they make less mistakes than the Africans, and that’s mostly the way Germany win their games. But now it can be different: Cameroon has a lot of players who grew up in European top-competitions: Lauren at Arsenal, Song in England and Italy, Kalla, Eto’o and Geremi in Spain. Mboma in Italy. These guys know what it takes at the highest level. So it can be close. Even for a nation like Germany.

Who are the best players of this team? Two. Goalkeeper Oliver Kahn is widely mentioned as the best on the planet. To me, that tells more about the other candidates than about Kahn, but this is true: he is a good goalie. The other honourable mention goes to Michael Ballack, who has emerged as Germany’s saviour more than once. The Leverkusen-man is all-round, and often scores with his head. Not a superb talent, but a decent player and a good force for your team. The rest of the team is mostly average. Defenders: Nowotny, Linke, Kehl, Wörns, Rehmer, Metzelder. Hmm, nothing too special. Midfield? Ramelow, Hamann, Ricken. Just the same qualification. Schneider, a man with a fine cross who hasn’t proven himself at world-level. Attack? Jancker and Klose, both dangerous but no players to come to the stadium for, Bierhoff and Scholl past their best, Neuville not a player at the highest level.

So what’s left? Teamspirit. That’s the word in German soccer. Never give up, help each other, do it together. And that’s something many teams do not have, and it gives Germany always a chance to make up for the lack of talent they have. It should take them past the first round. And it could take them far in the tournament, although they can not compete with France, Argentina, Brazil, Spain, Italy and even Portugal when it comes down to sheer class. But you never know.

Germany seems to have the clue from a mental point of view: they are always there when it matters. They won the title three times, and in every tournament they did, they were not the best team. At least, technically and tactically. They were always the best in their heads. They can cope with pressure, otherwise they wouldn’t even have made it to Korea/Japan. Ukraine were a nasty opponent during the play-offs, but when Germany really had to do it, they were there and showed a fine performance. Germany has got instinct for winning and that takes you far alone.