Albert Blog

Last week was one to remember for German fans and hopefully something that will be repeated again :) Here it's why:

• Thursday, May 23: Wolfsburg won the UEFA Women's Champions League beating Lyon 1-0 courtesy of a goal from Muller (yes, again it's another Muller). It was the 7^th Champions League win by a German team in 12 seasons (Frankfurt 3, Potsdam 2, Duisburg 1, Wolfsburg 1) since it started.
• Saturday, May 25: The first all German Champions League final took place in London. Bayern won 2-1 against Dortmund and returned the cup in Germany after 12 years. It was the 7^th cup for Germany (Bayern 5, Hamburg 1, Dortmund 1) in 15 finals contested by German teams. Bayern moved to 3rd place in the all time ranking after Real (9 cups) and Milan (7 cups).
• Sunday, May 26: Nico Rosberg won the Monaco Grand Prix in Formula 1 in a Mercedes-Benz car. It was the first win of the season for Rosberg and the first for Mercedes in Monaco since they returned to Formula 1 in 2010. Additionally Rosberg took Pole Position on Saturday, Vettel set the fastest lap of the race and Rosberg/Vettel completed the first 1-2 German podium since 2004 Japan Grand Prix (Michael and Ralf Schumacher).

 So congrats and long may it continue :)

Bayern just beat Arsenal in the first match for the round of 16 in Champions League 3-1 and virtually sealed their place into the last eight. Schweini controlled the game, Kroos was everywhere and scored a great volley while Muller as usual the hard working, untraceable be-in-the-right-place-in-the-right-time striker. At the same time in Dortmund Reus and Gotze are in fire with the former scoring a hat-trick in the last Bundesliga game. On top of that add Ozil and it seems there are so many players and so few places in Nationalmaschaft. So how should Low pick the right players...well my suggestion is to play of all them :) Sometimes to win it all you have to make risky choices and it's time for Low to show he has the balls to do it. With time passing there's a growing opinion that Low is under-performing with all the talent he has. He has been very conservative and it has showed in the decisive matches (last example being the semi-final against Italy in Euro 2012). There are quite a few arguments to support the above selection:

1. Germany doesn't have a World Class striker. Low keeps playing Gomez and every single time it doesn't work. He makes the changes and the team is much better (Italy Euro 2012 anyone?)
2. The above players are actually the best individuals available to Low. He has to integrate them and create the best team.
3. A wining team should not copy the latest trend, but create the trend. Now the trend is to play two double-six players. Why not challenge it?

So how can the above players be fielded into the same team? My preferred formation would be:

-----------------------------Schweini-------------------------------

---------------------Gotze---------------Kroos----------------------

-----Muller--------------------Ozil-----------------------Reus------

Let's see if Low will read this and take note ;)

As a "hardcode" fun of Nationalmannschaft this is the ideal topic to get started. Today Bayern beat Mainz 3-0 in the Bundesliga (nothing unusual), but once again I was impressed by Kroos. He has developed immensely and in my opinion is a must for the  Nationalmannschaft. Check out below the assist for the first goal. Pure class.

[youtube:8nYJpLDh9xk]

The problem right now, is that Kroos plays in a similar position to Ozil and has seen limited playing time as a number 10. However Low really has to find a way and start Kroos as number 10, not only because he has qualities that no other player has, but also because of the synergy he has with other Bayern players, especially Muller and Schweini. I see these options on how this can be done:

1. Leave out Ozil. This may sound too harsh, but it's a situation similar to 1972 when Netzer and Overath were fighting for the same place and Schon opted for the later. It was painful for Netzer but the team is more important and Schon was proved right by winning both the European and World Championships.
2. Play no real striker. Klose is at the end of his great career and Gomez doesn't fit with the system. Schweini probably along Khedira play as double-six and the offensive players are Reus, Kroos, Ozil and Muller. They can interchange with each other and be very difficult for the opponents to mark.
3. Play the 3-4-3 system. Again double-six will be played by Schweini and Khedira while the attacking trio will include Rues, Kroos and Ozil (Muller will play in the flank).

It's a difficult situation for Low, but it's his job to find the best possible solution :)