Por: Inside The World Cup
Will Joachim Löw opt for the passing style of Guardiola’s Bayern Munich or the pressing game of Klopp’s Dortmund? The answer may lie somewhere in between
This article is part of the Guardian’s World Cup 2014 Experts’ Network, a cooperation between 32 of the best media organisations from the countries who have qualified for the finals in Brazil. theguardian.com is running previews from four countries each day in the run-up to the tournament kicking off on 12 June.
When Bayern Munich were beaten 4-0 at home in the semi-final of this year’s Champions League, discussions about the game soon extended to the German national side as well.
Should Joachim Löw actually have the team play like Bayern or perhaps, after all, more like Borussia Dortmund? Thus, should he definitely put his faith in possession or base the team’s game on pressing and quick transitions from defence to attack?
“His ideas are excellent,” the German national coach had said after his first face-to-face meeting to get to know Pep Guardiola. A few months later he even added: “On many points he thinks exactly as I do.” That includes wanting to dominate midfield, based on a 4-2-3-1 system, as preferred by most clubs in the Bundesliga. On that point the national coach recently explained: “I don’t want one holding midfielder, nor do I want three. I want three players in the middle who are constantly switching position and moving into the gaps. Going where it hurts the opposition when they’re in possession.”
Unlike Guardiola, however, Löw uses a robust, central holding midfielder, whose strengths certainly do not lie in the subtlety of his game. That man is Real Madrid’s Sami Khedira. Although he has missed almost the whole of 2014 with a torn cruciate ligament, Löw is putting his faith in him – including as a leader of the team.
Another parallel to Bayern’s style of play under Guardiola is Löw’s similarly decreasing interest in traditional strikers. The national coach has picked only two: Miroslav Klose, now 35, and Hoffenheim’s internationally inexperienced Kevin Volland, who is only 21 and may even yet get cut from the squad. The goals for Germany are to come from midfield.
In the shape of Philipp Lahm, Toni Kroos, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Thomas Müller, Jérôme Boateng, Mario Götze and Manuel Neuer seven Bayern Munich players will be going to Brazil. All of them are also seen as potential regular starters and, apart from the goalkeeper Neuer, not firmly tied to any one position. They will thus have a decisive role in shaping how Germany play and despite that they will have to adapt. Because Löw doesn’t want simply to copy Bayern’s control-based football.
Latterly, you see, the national coach has been waxing lyrical about the sort of incisive, counterattacking football that was Bayern’s undoing against Real Madrid and that Borussia Dortmund operated to perfection last year. It will thus end up being a mix of both, with the emphasis modified depending on the opposition.
Who is the player who is going to surprise everyone at the World Cup?
The 2006 World Cup saw the young Lukas “Poldi” Podolski shine on home soil. He was selected as the best young player of the tournament. Eight years later the times are not so glorious for now 29-year-old – as he is mainly coming off the bench at Arsenal as well for the national team. But with Marco Reus being out injured, Poldi’s chances have now improved. In the last friendly against Armenia he scored a goal and served up three assists. Will it be, eight years later, his tournament again?
Who is the player who is going to disappoint the most?
Many people would say Mesut Özil after his difficult year, but Bastian Schweinsteiger is also a likely candidate. His problems with injury are notorious by this stage of the season and there’s a good possibility that he’s not fit enough to compete at the highest level.
What is the realistic aim for your team at the World Cup and why?
This fine generation of players should go for the title, but there are a lot of important players in physical rehab only weeks before the tournament. And there’s the heat. So reaching the semi-finals could be a more realistic result.