Germany’s Euros party will fall flat if hosts fail to find winning formula

GARY LINEKER once claimed that football is a simple game. A group of 22 men chase a ball for 90 minutes and in the end the Germans always win.

It was a nice expression that summed up Germany’s involvement in major tournaments at the time.

However, in recent years they have been conspicuous by their absence from the business side.

During the last two World Cups, they were eliminated in the group stage, losing to opponents such as Japan, Mexico and South Korea.

They were eliminated in the last 16 at Euro 2020 after losing 2-0 to England at Wembley.

The atmosphere of invincibility has disappeared from Die Mannschaft. As they prepare to host their own celebration in the coming weeks, Germany is a fallen giant of the world game. The country has fallen in love with its football team due to repeated recent failures.

Success in these euros would change all that. But any idea that Germany will surely reach the final stages feels clichéd and misplaced.

“Winning the World Cup in 2014 was the highlight for that generation,” says German football expert Derek Rae. ‘They did well at the European Championship in 2016 and then won the Confederation Cup in 2017.

‘Then the rot seemed to set in. It all started to fall apart and they crashed out in the group stages of the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

‘I noticed that many German fans were no longer enthusiastic about the national team. I think that is still the case for many people in Germany. If you go to a home game in Germany, you will often be quite impressed by the atmosphere.

‘You would expect that to be different in the coming weeks. Maybe the European Championship can help rebuild that relationship with the fans.

‘There is a big gap between club and country in Germany. The club game has grown enormously in recent years. It has the highest average attendance of any league in the world.

‘The national team has had to play second fiddle. The European Championship is clearly an opportunity to repair the damage of what has happened in recent tournaments.’

Following the departure of long-serving Joachim Low, Germany endured a disastrous period under former Bayern Munich Treble-winning coach Hansi Flick. Now under the leadership of Julian Nagelsmann, there will be pressure and expectation to break the trend of repeated failures over the past few tournaments.

When they beat France and the Netherlands in friendlies in March, there was a sense that Germany had perhaps turned a corner. However, their performances in the two warm-ups before the European Championships suggest these claims may have been premature.

A 0-0 draw against Ukraine was followed by a sloppy 2-1 win over Greece, with Germany looking labored and unimpressive.

Rae, a popular Scottish commentator who covers the Bundesliga extensively, says the jury is still out on Nagelsmann.

‘Nagelsmann is very open about what he is trying to do tactically. He was a sensation at Hoffenheim,” says Rae. “He came in when they were in relegation trouble and not only got them out of it, but did so while playing some really scintillating football.

‘He then got the job at Leipzig and pushed them to a new level. Tactically he took them to another level and played more possession games.

‘He then took charge at Bayern and, to be honest, he didn’t do much wrong. But circumstances at the time dictated that he had to leave his post. It was towards the end of the season, they lost to Leverkusen and Dortmund had gone top of the table.

‘On second thought, I think Bayern panicked. Oliver Kahn and Hasan Salihamidzic, the decision makers at the time, decided to throw Nagelsmann overboard.

‘When he got the job in Germany, most people thought it made sense. He is one of the better football minds in Germany and he was available. So far he has gone for what the Germans call the performance principle, where players are chosen on form rather than purely on reputation and ego.

‘He does things that were previously thought to be unworkable. Probably the most prominent example is the playing of Florian Wirtz and Jamal Musiala in the same line-up. Against France and the Netherlands it was something of a light bulb moment. Many people sat up and took notice. It was like, “Oh, this is how Germany can play and maybe should play from now on.”

‘But the warm-up matches were a step back. There were more questions than answers, so the jury is still out on Nagelsmann at this point.”

Whatever success Germany will have at this European Championship will certainly be determined by the dynamic duo of Wirtz and Musiala.

Wirtz is the Bundesliga Player of the Year after leading Bayer Leverkusen to an undefeated domestic season in which they won both the league and cup doubles.

Musiala is already firmly established at Bayern Munich and much will depend on whether the two 21-year-olds can find some kind of chemistry in attack.

At the other end of the age spectrum, Rae sees the inclusion of Toni Kroos as a key role in the German puzzle.

At the age of 34, Kroos has come out of international retirement for one last hurray. Winning the European Championship on home soil would be a great way to say goodbye to a player who has won the World Cup and six Champions League titles with Bayern Munich and Real Madrid.

“Wirtz and Musiala are the present and also the future for Germany,” Rae adds. ‘They are two incredibly talented players who we will be talking about for the next ten years, they are that good.

“They can control every play. Nagelsmann uses a system where they play as twin No. 10. It can be somewhat unorthodox and you will need support.

‘Kroos’ return will play a major role in this. It will be crucial to have him as an anchor in midfield, along with Robert Andrich. Kroos will be the orchestra’s conductor.’

If midfield maestro Kroos can ensure the orchestra is in tune, it would go a long way to changing the mood music that has built up around the German national team in recent years.