After three unsuccessful tries (2002, 2006, 2010) when Germany lost in the final hurdle (Brasil, Italy, Spain) finally they achieved the most important, glorious reward in Football, THEY ARE WORLD CHAMPIONS for the fourth time in the history! It was a well deserved victory culminating the hard work started by DFB in the beginning of 2000 when Germany hit the lowest point. It has proved once more than with hard work, persistence and a high team spirit you can achieve the maximum.
There's already a lot of information on the web about the final, the statistics, etc, so I'm just putting some links below:
After the World Cup, there are two important news related with "die Mannschaft": First that Toni Kroos moved to Real Madrid, which I believe it will be a huge loss to Bayern. Kroos has really matured in a World Class level.
Second and most important, the captain Philipp Lahm announced his retirement from "die Mannschaft". It will be a huge loss to the team, but it's the perfect choice to retire after winning the biggest price. So I would like to say thank you to Lahm for 10 great years in the National Team and wish him all the best!
After 62 mostly spectacular matches, we now have the finalist of the 20th World Cup, Germany vs Argentina. To most people born before the 80s it will ring bells of the two classic finals in 1986 in Mexico and 1990 in Italy. I was only 6 years when Germany was beaten by Argentina in 1986, but I still remember it and it's one of my first memories. However this time, I hope history will repeat 1990 instead :) Getting back 24 years ago there are quite a lot of similarities:
- In 1990 Germany started the tournament by demolishing Yugoslavia 4-1, while in 2014 they demolished Portugal 4-0.
- In 1990 Germany was for the third time in a row in the Final (first time in history), while in 2014 they are for the fourth time in a row in the semi-finals (first time in history).
- In 1990 Argentina was completely depended on Maradona, in 2014 they are completely depended on Messi.
- In 1990 Argentina was missing Caniggia in the final, in 2014 they will most probably miss Di Maria.
- Finally, Germany won the World Cup in '54, '74 so they have to win it in '14 :)
So Good luck to Germany to add that missing fourth star!
Tonight at 18:00 CET Germany plays the last game in the group stage against USA in Recife. Germany is almost guaranteed to qualify, unless they loose by several goals and at the same time Ghana or Portugal win by a big margin (very unlikely). On the other hand depending on the tonight result Germany can "choose" the opponent for the next game as well as the "road" to the final. This raise the question: Should they play for the win, or should strategy come into play and calculate the best "route" to the final. First let's see possible opponents:
If Germany draws or win, they will qualify at the top of the group and the "leg" includes:
- Brasil
- Chille
- Uruguay
- Columbia
- France
- Nigeria
- Algeria/Russia
On the other hand, if they loose, they most likely qualify and the "leg" includes:
- Netherlands
- Mexico
- Costa Rica
- Greece
- Argentina
- Switzerland
- most likely Belgium
On paper the second group of teams looks easier. However to have a better picture let's analyze most likely team to face in each round, as well as the place/time where the game will be played.
In the first scenario, we have:
- Last 16: 30 June, Against Algeria/Russia in Porto Alegre, 17:00 local time. Rainy, Temperature 16°, Real Feel 13°, Humidity 80%
- Quarter final: 4 July, Most likely against France in Rio de Janeiro, 13:00 local time. Cloudy, Temperature 26°, Real Feel 28°, Humidity 68%
- Semi final: 8 July, Most likely against Brasil in Belo Horizonte, 17:00 local time. Cloudy, Temperature 26°, Real Feel 25°, Humidity 40%
In the second scenario, we have:
- Last 16: 1 July, Against Belgium in Salvador, 17:00 local time. Cloudy, Temperature 25°, Real Feel 26°, Humidity 79%
- Quarter final: 5 July, Most likely against Argentina in Brasilia, 13:00 local time. Sunny, Temperature 27°, Real Feel 27°, Humidity 31%
- Semi final: 9 July, Most likely against Netherlands/Mexico in Sao Paulo, 17:00 local time. Cloudy, Temperature 16°, Real Feel 15°, Humidity 66%
With this comparison, the differences between the two routes are small. If we take into account the positive energy of a win then the best options is first one. So no strategy this time...just go out and play for the win :)