However good (or bad) the German football team is on paper, they can never be written off at the World Cup.
The current Germany side have shaken off the image of an aging team, and have some vibrant and creative young players, who have their first opportunity to show the world what they can do.
Like England, every German squad member plays in their home country. However, the Bundesliga isn’t the most watched football league globally, despite it being one of the most entertaining leagues to watch. Very few people outside of Germany have seen what the likes of Marko Marin, Mesut Ozil and Thomas Muller can do. However, the world gets the first glimpse of the new-look German side as they face Australia tonight.
Ozil is the most promising young German. The Werder Bremen midfielder had been strongly linked as Franck Ribery’s replacement at Bayern Munich, should the Frenchman have chosen to leave Munich over the summer. Ozil’s Bremen team mate, Marko Marin may not feature much in this World Cup, but is ceratinly one for the future.
Per Mertesacker is only 25 years old. It is phenomenal such a young player has featured so heavily in the always-strong German defence since 2004. Thomas Muller rarely features for Bayern Munich, but is a deadly finisher when given the opportunity to shine. The twenty-year-old may find it hard to break into the German first eleven, with Lukas Podolski, Miroslav Klose and Mario Gomez alos in the squad, but Muller certainly deserves his chance.
Germany always seem to peak at the right time. With Michael Ballack injured and other older players retiring, Germany have a lot of strength in depth. With a relatively easy group, confidence will be high. Germany are never underdogs, and South africa could show us a new type of German football – entertaining and full of energy.
Read our Germany v Australia preview.
Add Sportslens to your Google News Feed!
