Bye bye Ballack, goodbye Germany?

By Noor Farhan/Red Sports

Without their inspirational captain, Michael Ballack, how will Germany fare in South Africa? (image courtesy of adidas Singapore)

Without their captain Michael Ballack, out with an injury sustained during Chelsea’s FA Cup triumph over Portsmouth, coach Joachim Low will have to rely on the youngsters brought up through the ranks.

After beating England 4-0 in the final of the recent European Under-21 Championship, Germany obviously have no shortage of exciting new talent waiting in the wings, ready to explode on the biggest stage of them all.

But can the Germans — also known as the Deutschland Nationalmannschaft — produce the goods come June? Or will their raw talent stumble?

World Cup Pedigree
Playing as West Germany, the Germans won the Jules Rimet trophy three times in the years 1954, 1974 and 1990.

Qualification
10-man Germany hung on to a 1-0 win over Russia in September 2009 to top their qualifying group and book a ticket to the World Cup.

In a relatively easy group that featured Russia, Azerbaijan, Finland, Wales and Liechtenstein, the Germans did not lose a game during qualifying.

Achievement in 2006 World Cup
Germany clinched third place in the 2006 tournament played on home soil, after failing to win the semi-final against the eventual champions Italy.

This was after exceeding everyone’s expectation by securing a nerve-wracking penalty shootout victory over Argentina during the quarter-finals.

Not much was expected of the Germans throughout the tournament, then coached by a rookie Jurgen Klinsmann, but still they managed to capture everyone’s imagination by going very far and even beating Portugal 3-1 in the third-place playoff, a game that saw midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger playing an instrumental role by scoring twice.

Coach
After the departure of Jurgen Klinsmann, then-assistant coach Joachim Low stepped up to assume the mantle of head coach as Germany entered the qualifying rounds of Euro 2008.

Captain
Joachim Low has named Philipp Lahm, a mainstay in the national side, as the captain for this year’s tournament in a move that has raised some eyebrows.

Players to Watch

Mesut Ozil — A destructive playmaker plying his trade for Werder Bremen, his most impressive handiwork to date would be his masterclass performance in the massacre of England’s Under-21s as they clinched the European title in style.

At club level he has capably replaced Diego, who left for Juventus, as the source of his team’s creativity.

Still only 21 years old, there is more to come from this attacking midfielder of Turkish descent.

Philipp Lahm — It comes as no surprise that he is considered as the European equivalent of Brazil’s Dani Alves, with his trademark pace down the flanks from defence as he cuts in from the left to provide either an in-swinging cross to his forwards or a surging run to launch a deadly rocket into goal from the edge of the penalty area.

A natural right-footer, he is usually deployed to devastating effect at left-back at international level even though, at his request, he plays at right-back for double-winners Bayern Munich, albeit less effectively.

His impressive display in the 2006 World Cup had earned him a place in the MasterCard All-Star team during Germany’s run that year. At club level, he has won many honours with Bayern Munich.

Thomas Muller — Despite only in his first season for Bayern, he has effectively dislodged established forwards and fellow internationals Miroslav Klose and Mario Gomez in the Munich giant’s first eleven.

The versatile attacker can play as either midfielder or striker and his knack of appearing at the right place and time to score goals has prompted Louis van Gaal, his club coach, to promote him from the Bayern second team. Muller has not looked backed since. He has even earned praise from his namesake, the legendary Gerd Muller, for his performances in Europe as well as domestically.

With his meteoric rise straight to the national squad, there is no telling what he damage he will cause to defences in this year’s World Cup.

Others — Germany’s secret weapons would include the diminutive Marko Marin, the dribbling specialist of Werder Bremen, Toni Kroos, Bayer Leverkusen’s midfield maestro on-loan from Bayern Munich, who was responsible for their extended unbeaten run during the earlier part of this year’s Bundesliga season; and Stefan Kiessling, Kroos’s teammate, who eventually lost out to Wolfsburg’s Edin Dzeko by one goal in his bid to become top scorer in the Bundesliga this year.

Team Strengths
Bastian Schweinsteiger and Toni Kroos are talented youths who are capable of creativity and bite in the middle of the park. Ozil, Marin, as well as Hamburg winger Piotr Trochowski, will provide pace down the flanks.

In defence, Joachim Low can choose from youngsters Serdar Tasci of VfB Stuttgart, Bayern’s Holger Badstuber and Hamburg full-back Dennis Aogo. All three players are coming off excellent seasons for their respective clubs.

With quick players in midfield, and incisive forwards like Mario Gomez and Lukas Podolski in attack, the Germans have a strong squad indeed judging from their latest pre-World Cup friendly against Hungary.

Team Weaknesses
Their strength is also their weakness as without Ballack, they have no other players to provide experience from midfield since many of their players lack big-game experience, aside from their recent Under-21 tournament.

Overall Squad Strength
The German team are probably among the only teams in the World Cup with no players playing in leagues other than their domestic Bundesliga. However, all of them are regulars in their respective clubs and it remains to be seen if the youngsters in the team can replicate their good form for their country.

It is hard to say how far they will go this year. With their Captain Marvel out injured, their chances of going all the way may have all but faded.

But as we have all come to know in international football, never write off the Germans.

Now, if only they can figure out a way to stop Spain …

Probable Starting 11
Manuel Neuer (GK, Schalke 04), Jerome Boateng (Hamburg SV), Arne Friedrich (Hertha Berlin), Per Mertesacker (Werder Bremen), Phillip Lahm (Captain, Bayern Munich), Toni Kroos (Bayer Leverkusen), Bastian Schweinsteiger (Bayern Munich), Sami Khedira (VfB Stuttgart), Mesut Ozil (Werder Bremen), Miroslav Klose (Bayern Munich), Lukas Podolski (FC Cologne)

1st Round Predictions
Germany are in Group D alongside Ghana, Serbia and Australia for the first round. Anything less than a qualification into the last 16 would be unacceptable for Joachim Low’s fledgelings.

Ed’s note: Red Sports will be covering the World Cup daily and so join us each day to share your opinions about the night’s action.

2010 World Cup Fixtures, Groups, Results