Germany are the world champions. And at the last World Cup in Brazil in 2014, they played like one: plenty of ball possession, swift transitions, quick-fire passing, superb movement and lethal counter-attacking. On July 8 at the Mineirão, Germany revealed its own version of the game, drubbing the hosts 7-1 and in turn, turning Brazilian football’s signature phrase “jogo bonito” into an irrelevant anachronism.
A rebuilding phase ensued after that high point, a scenario reminiscent of Germany’s post-1990 World Cup win and subsequent struggles. The Germans failed to replace their omnipresent and marauding captain Philipp Lahm. They succumbed to defeat against local rivals Poland in qualifying. Even Slovakia overcame Low’s team, albeit in an experimental line-up, 3-1 in a recent friendly.
Pragmatism over flair
There is a nagging fear that Germany may no longer enjoy that flux superiority, so interlinked with their campaign in Brazil. Coach Joachim Low, however, is not stubborn. He understands the need for flexibility in the modern game. At the World Cup, he fielded Germany in a classic 4-3-3 formation, with great attention to set-pieces and defensive duties. Germany were pragmatic, and not as proactive as Low often claimed.
In the qualifiers for Euro 2016, he reverted to 4-2-3-1 and freedom of expression became a central theme again. Manuel Neuer played as sweeper-keeper, a role he excelled in during the World Cup. The full-backs pushed high up, and inter-changeability in the front ranks informed much of the combination play. At times, Low deployed a “false number nine” in Mario Gotze, Thomas Muller or Andre Schurrle. When required, Germany could also field a conventional striker.
Yet Low and Germany, even as world champions, are not without their detractors. A school of thought holds that Low’s contribution to the Germany’s success is rather limited. His loyalty to Bastian Schweinsteiger and Lukas Podolski – at times genuinely flabbergasting, at times entirely justifiable – isn’t tenable in a squad where places come at a premium, according to his critics.
Germany has a few puzzles to solve, but a recent trend in international football will preoccupy the world champions more. As the extraordinary exploits of Leicester City and Atletico Madrid this season have demonstrated, football is in a transitional phase. The obsession with possession is fading and teams who may not be able to afford players with the most flair are playing to their own strengths and weaknesses – and succeeding.
Adapting to modern trends
In France, few teams will have the urge to play open-minded, attacking football, because the mathematics don't incentivise it: 16 out of 24 teams will progress to the knockout stages, and so even three draws in three group matches may be enough to secure passage. Hence, teams like Ukraine and Ireland in the tournament may consider the cynical three-points strategy as a good recourse.
This could well result in cautious football, where possession is surrendered to the opponent, akin to what the English champions and the Spanish Champions League finalists excelled at. Thus, Germany’s proactiveness and how Low defines the term will heavily influence their set-up and outcome of their matches.
They will be favourites, second only to hosts France, who, after a tedious and tepid 90 minutes in their opener on Friday, required a wonder-strike from Dimitri Payet to overcome a valiant Romanian challenge. The result confirmed that Euro 2016 is, in fact, a tournament with few certainties. The traditional powerhouses don’t rank as top favourites, but to discount Germany would be at one’s own peril.
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