The future of German football appears to be in the making with the Under-17, Under-19 and Under-21 sides all winning the European Championships.  The most recent silver won by the U-21 side was not a display of super talent or beautiful play but more one of grit and determination and Soccer 365’s Clark Whitney looks at the results and evaluates what it means for Die Mannschaft.

By Clark Whitney

When Germany won the 2008 U-19 European Championship, I, like many of the pundits at Sky Sports, dismissed the result as an example of how discipline, organization, and physical strength can trump technical skill in a youth tournament.  The German lads worked well together, but surely they lacked the individual brilliance that players like Tomáš Necid, for example provided.  Ultimately, a few of the German U-17’s would graduate to the senior side, but none would be a world-beater.  The senior side would continue to play well in major tournaments, but would not soon have the individual class brought by the likes of Franz Beckenbauer and Lothar Matthaus, and accordingly would fail to secure any trophies in the near future.

A year passed, and in May I followed the U-17 European Championship.  Again, Germany won emphatically. Again, their squad included no players hailed as the second coming of Beckenbauer or Gerd Mueller, or even individuals linked to Arsene Wenger’s nursery, Arsenal.  Not to mention, it was just a U-17 competition.  After all, two to four years of development (or a lack thereof) can totally change the value of a player—just ask Toni Kroos, who won the golden ball at the 2007 U-17 World Cup, but recently failed to make his way into the German U-21 squad.  My devaluation of Germany’s youth system persisted.  In the advent of the recent U-21 Championship, I figured that, in a pseudo-youth tournament with many rising and established stars, Germany would surely fail to reach the great heights of their younger predecessors.
 
Perhaps, as a resident of the United States, I hadn’t grown up with the same kind of paranoia that is so prevalent among English households: to never write off the Germans.  Surely enough, in this year’s U-21 European Championship, Germany fought their way out of a difficult group and strolled to a 4-0 victory over England in the final.

It seems an enigma that a team that, according to the most prevalent statistics, played so poorly could have won a major U-21 title.  Germany only managed to earn 45% of possession once—48% against Finland—and their only starting striker, Ashkan Dejagah, scored just one goal in the tournament.  In only one match did the Germans exceed a 70% pass success rate.  Germany lacked the panache and star power of Spain and Italy, and were almost always out-shot.  And yet, they were never outscored.

What, then, was it that won Germany the U-21 Championship?  Many would attribute it simply to organization and a bit of luck.  I’ll avoid the clichés and propose that it was the Germans’ willingness to run, coupled with phenomenal defense, that won them the title.  A look at the statistics reveals that Germany always outran their opponents, and not just in central midfield.  With the exception of Marko Marin, all the German midfielders, Dejagah, and right-back Andreas Beck played with unbelievable energy.  By having so many backtracking midfielders, Germany were almost never caught on the counterattack, but always threatened to break away.  Beck, following the Brazilian fullback model, was able to cause his opponents all sorts of trouble.  Even as he had the massive task of shackling Italy’s Mario Balotelli—which he did to great effect—in the semifinal, Beck proved the match winner as he bombed forward to score the deciding goal.  In midfield, Sami Khedira, Dennis Aogo and Gonzalo Castro may not have been the most technically skilled players in the tournament, but they made up for their deficiencies with their work rate and pure physicality.  Their willingness to run produced acres of space in the middle of the park in the final, leaving them with plenty of room for out-of-control dribbling and sloppy passing as they ran out on the break.  In this regard, Germany out-Englanded a scrappy but tactically inept England side in the final.

Admittedly, the Germans have plenty of problems to solve (ball-control, ball-control, and ball-control are the first thoughts that come to mind), and were somewhat fortunate to advance past Italy in the semifinals.  Goalkeeper Manuel Neuer had an incredible tournament—his performance against Italy bordered on superhuman—and, along with central defenders Benedikt Höwedes and Jerome Boateng, was the only reason Germany’s offense-deficient team was able to go so far with so little offensive potential.

However, the German youth teams’ successes do provide some hope for Jogi Löw, Oliver Bierhoff und co: that classic, physical German football can still win tournaments, even without the catalysis of an Übermensch.  A year ago, Löw’s senior side had trouble coping with their status as favorites at the European Championship, and generally underperformed despite managing a spot in the final.  Critical weaknesses in central defense and striking were exposed, but most influential to the team’s poor performance was its lack of identity.

Looking ahead to next year’s World Cup, Germany will revert to the more comfortable role of contenders but not favorites.  Michael Ballack, never an Übermensch, will be back for one last attempt at any sort of glory.  Andreas Beck will likely start, adding a crucial attacking dimension on the right side of defense, and the likes of Ozil, Neuer, Hoewedes, and Marin will offer fierce competition as they try to displace the regulars in Löw’s starting XI.

Given Germany’s lack of a deputy field general, many have questioned the future of German football after Ballack’s retirement.  Considering Germany’s recent treble of youth titles, the answer is clear: time is on Germany’s side as a new generation blooms.