Tuesday, July 15, 2014

Königstigers


In 1998 neutrals across the football world heaved a sigh of relief when Germany crashed out of the world cup quarter finals. Theirs was a brand of football that was insipid and boring, made worse by the loss of the mercurial Matthias Sammer to career-ending injury in 1997. Without him in the side, the Germans’ tactics seemed limited to outmuscling opposition into a paralysis, and employing the long-ball in the direction of Oliver Bierhoff’s head. So it was no surprise to see them stuffed 3-0 by a wonderful Croatia side, led by silky Suker and a dazzling Prosinecki.
Incredibly, the German team still held eight veterans who had lifted the world cup in Italia ’90. This left the German public to wonder whether things needed to be freshened up at youth level. These concerns were justified when an even drearier Germany side crashed out of the group stage at Euro 2000, a tournament largely remembered for its beautiful football.
Germany was heading home early, after ending up bottom of its group, and had even lost to England (who also crashed out at the group stage). Hard as it is to believe now, the Eagles only had one player under 23: Sebastian Deisler, who was soon to retire from the game due to depression (perhaps crushed by the pressure of carrying the burden of Germany’s future alone?) ‘Rock bottom’ was an understatement, for a protagonist usually renowned for its tenacity, endurance and ability to grind out wins any which way.
Could the unthinkable have finally happened? Had the Germans finally fallen behind? Were we finally rid of their boring football? Would other, more entertaining sides step in to fill the void?
Not so fast laddie.
There are few certainties in life, one of which is setback. And if there is one nation that pulls together to overcome setback, it is Germany. This is as true in football, as it is in war. During World War 1, the ‘Jerries’ only fielded 20 tanks whilst the Allies manufactured thousands (of dodgy ones). Despite the clunky nature of these vehicles, it took hours and countless lives to subdue them, and the Krauts were quick to learn from this setback.




In World War II the Germans built thousands of tanks, and a few blitzkriegs later they had Continental Europe by the short and curlies. They even designed a tank called the ‘Tiger’ by Ferdinand Porsche. Hundreds of these armoured vehicles were produced, which mowed through any remaining opposition and rendered Europe and North Africa Germany’s playground. The Germans also went on to further improve this model, placing hundreds of orders for the ‘Tiger II’ also known as the ‘Königstiger’ (German for ‘Bengal Tiger’) and informally called the ‘King Tiger’ by the Allies. It was a tank with added layers of steel, and without precedent in the sophistication of its design.

That’s the Germans for you: (1) identify the problem in a system, (2) solve it, (3) improve the system, (4) take full advantage of this improved capability. Sounds simple enough, and it’s the logical way things should work. Yet how many governments, corporations and organisations worldwide refrain from taking these simple steps? Without a doubt, it is this attitude which has drawn global admiration towards the German way of doing things.

With cold eyed focus and steely determination, the Germans set about turning around the performances of their national team. They studied the recent exploits of the French, who were pioneers in overhauling their youth system, which led them to win World Cup ’98 and Euro 2000. The Germans then rolled up their sleeves and got to work.

In May 1999, Beckenbauer spearheaded a new initiative to produce the new breed of German footballer. All across the land, 121 national talent centres were built to boost the technical practice of 10 to 17 year olds, with each one hiring two full time coaches. All 36 professional clubs in Bundesliga 1 and Bundesliga 2 were ordered to build youth academies if they wanted to keep their place in the league. In these academies, at least 12 players in each intake had to be eligible to play for Germany.

In 2002-2003, it was also recognised that 60% of players in the German first division were foreign (still the case with the English Premier League today). Facing unsustainable wage bills, German clubs started to release the well-paid but fairly mediocre foreigners on their rosters, replacing them with cheaper recruits from their youth teams instead. Apart from helping the balance sheet, crowd attendance actually increased when fans stormed stadiums again to see home grown talent. By 2010-2011 season, more than half of the players in the Bundesliga were German, with German football going from strength to strength in European competition.

The unity between clubs and the German FA was also crucial in achieving these objectives. This was further fostered through the stipulation that no single entity can own more than 49% of a Bundesliga club, which prevents foreign owners who don’t care about the national team from taking over it. In turn, this has prevented the infighting which still occurs between the FA, Premier League and Football League in England, which constantly hampers plans to fix the endemic problems in English grass roots football. In Germany, on the other hand, both clubs and FA are engaged in constant discussion about improving youth development.

A wide net has also been cast across the land in the form of state federations, DFB (German Football League) bases, youth academies with elite schools and youth national teams. These serve as countless catchbasins which make it impossible for a German football talent to slip through the cracks.

When Germany crashed out again in the group stage of the Euros in 2004, Jurgen Klinsmann took over as national manager, dismissing old FA dinosaurs with his own progressive thinkers. They radically changed the playing style of the national side, making it full of attacking thrust like a Premier League side which pressed high up the pitch. Although he was portrayed in some quarters as being a naïve idealist, Klinsmann guided his young national side on an impressive run to the semis of World Cup 2006.

His assistant turned successor Joachim Low maintained the new philosophy with a few tactical tweaks, and an ensuing flood of world class talent created by the structural changes at grass roots level made his job a lot easier. ’06 babies Schweinsteiger, Podolski and Lahm were suddenly joined by your young Ozils and Khediras in 2010, to which was added a layer of Hummels and Howedes in 2012, plus another layer of armour consisting of 2014’s Schuerrle, Kroos, and Goetze (not to mention Marco Reus, reputedly the best of a golden midfield, who tragically missed out on World Cup 2014 through injury).

It took a while for this new generation to finally break its duck and get its hands on a major trophy in Brazil 2014, being only denied in major tournaments since 2006 by the cannier and more experienced Spain (which had made its own ground-breaking changes to its youth system) and Italy (whose youth development has traditionally always been very advanced).

The new German Eagles’ coming of age could not have been announced more emphatically on the world stage than when they took Brazil apart 7-1 in the now infamous semi-final, a result which sent tremors around the football world. Fans watched on in amazement and wonder as the Germans outfoxed the Brazilians with a swift passing game that had once been the hallmark of the ‘Seleccao’, and which left hundreds of Brazilian fans in the stadium cheering on the Eagles instead of their own side.

But it was no fluke either. Brazilians are always said to have better football skills than players from other nations since their kids have a ball at their feet as soon as they can stand, and develop incredible technique when playing in small groups in narrow side streets and alleys. The German system has in recent years also incorporated this advantage, by only emphasising on drilling kids in elite centres at a slightly older age. Younger age groups are instead made to focus on individual skills, starting with the Under 9s who are made to play four-aside on small pitches, with a player added each year until 11-aside is played at under 13 level!

English comedians have often made light of German footballers, mocking their efficient manner (and penalty-taking) by comparing the Krauts to ‘robots’. But the smile is swiftly being wiped off the face of all jesters, because this is no longer a case of the traditional old German ‘robots’ but a mass production of world class talent on an industrial scale.

Like the production of Tiger tanks played its part in bringing the world to its knees, Germany has devised a way of returning to the apex of the world game. By winning the world cup, the German boys have declared themselves men, and the bench is bursting with world class players. Through a journey of reinvention and getting the little things right, Germany is once more the alpha predator of international football. With a trophy cabinet that looks set to burst. 

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