Kimmich, Sturm, sham dominance: Löw and his many problems


Joachim Löw has to find the right solutions to urgent problems as quickly as possible, otherwise his era will be over sooner than he would like. The key player these days is not Joshua Kimmich, even if he can alleviate many, many worries when he is at his best.

No, the opening game of the German national soccer team at the EM brought no points and certainly no euphoria. After all, the DFB team were occasionally quite satisfied with the game – and that was very surprising in view of the literally no chance against the world champions.

Of course, Joachim Löw also knows what the hour has struck. He begins the final training session before the game against Portugal with an energetic speech to his squad. The national trainer talks to his staff for several minutes before the final training begins. The early afternoon sun hits the scene mercilessly: In Herzogenaurach, the mood for the High Noon against Portugal on Saturday is underway.

Points have to be scored against the European champions, at least one. Because you got zero points from the game against the French, but you got a lot of problems. Joachim Löw and his team have to solve them quickly.

Joshua Kimmich can’t play everywhere

If Joachim Löw had eleven Joshua Kimmichs available, at least nine of them would probably always play. The FC Bayern professional is unique in his combination of dynamism, tremendous quality in a duel, sheer will and strategic brilliance. Against France, Löw moved his versatile leader to the right, which Kimmich plowed – and in view of the world champion, who had been badly low for almost the entire season, could hardly work effectively for the German team. “Kimmich is simply more important to me at the headquarters, because he can bring his potential and the way he plays football, the way he lives football more to the team than on the right side,” said Lothar Matthäus in the Conversation with RTL / ntv.

The problem: With Jonas Hofmann, who was just jogging around the square while his colleagues listened to the fiery speech by the national coach, and Lukas Klostermann, who is also out for the time being, there is plenty of specialist staff for the right-hand side. So it is quite possible that Kimmich will also have to work against the Portuguese from the edge.

The risk with Leon Goretzka

Leon Goretzka is someone who can help the German national team without any ifs or buts. The dynamism, the force, the sheer offensive power makes the Bayern professional a one-man roll command. The problem: The midfielder injured himself in the end of the season, a muscle fiber injury in his left thigh inhibited him for a long time. He wasn’t in the squad against the French. Goretzka still wanted to collect training units, only to regain full confidence in his own body and the rigors of competition. “He said he needed that to be completely free,” said Löw.

Is it time now? Goretzka has long been back in team training. If he is at 100 percent, he has to play in view of the lack of penetration of the rest of the German midfield. Goretzka feels ready, but the national coach is still braking. On Tuesday evening, Löw said: “Leon can certainly be a good option in the course of the game.” So the 26-year-old is probably not an option for a place in the starting line-up, at least in Löw’s deliberations. Or is the national coach bleating?

It’s a tricky game for Löw: If he builds Goretzka too slowly and reintegrates it into the team, he will lose valuable quality. And then the question arises: who would have to give way? If Kimmich Löw’s man remains for the right wing, Kroos or the pale Gündogan who tried against France would have to tremble. If Löw switches to a back four, Ginter could move to the right, Kimmich could become free for midfield – and with club colleague Goretzka complete the successful, well-rehearsed double-six for the national team. For Löw, that would be the least risky option, but the national coach has never been suspected of saying goodbye (prematurely) quickly to established convictions. Especially not under pressure from outside.

Solutions – or changes – are needed in a storm

“We weren’t the worse team, we dominated the game,” said Joshua Kimmich and stated: “There were relatively few chances on both sides. We would have deserved a goal. A point would have been deserved.” Whether they deserved a goal, the German national team, is debatable. You were only close once for over 90 minutes when Serge Gnabry caused a goal threat shortly after half-time. There were attacks in this important game when there wasn’t a single German attacker to be found in the penalty area. “It’s true that our line-up in the pits wasn’t 100 percent,” admitted left-back Robin Gosens, who was really not part of the problem. In the end, when Timo Werner, Serge Gnabry, Thomas Müller, Leroy Sané and Kevin Volland were supposed to provide five nominal attackers for the final offensive, not a single shot came on the goal of Hugo Lloris.

It was actually the plan to work on the offensive concept, details and processes in Herzogenaurach. How Löw and his team did it, nobody can say: The units are held in secret. The result of the joint efforts was sobering, even if the opponent was the “world champion in defense”. Whether Löw changes tactically or personally is still his secret, there are numerous variants. He doesn’t have a classic center forward in his squad, nothing will change that in the course of this European Championship. Why Kevin Volland, who would be most likely for the post, had to work from the left-back position against France at times, remained Löw’s secret.

Havertz out again – right?

It was one of the last big questions that the national coach asked himself before the group opener against the French: Can Kai Havertz, the Champions League hero, run from the start or the equally gifted, but all too often not ready for competition, Leroy Sané ? Löw relied on the flow, on the momentum that Havertz should have in his luggage. The national coach was disappointed, Havertz never got into the game, did not create a dangerous situation – and had to go out after a good 75 minutes. Sané came – and did not advertise himself either. That in turn took over Ilkay Gündogan and surprisingly offensively. “Leroy is a player who needs rhythm, who needs the feeling of being able to make the difference all the time,” said Gündogan. “At Manchester City he had this feeling, there was no getting around him.” What does the national coach do now? Completely open. Because the question “Havertz or Sané” is also part of the big “How will it get better at the front?” Question. A holistic solution is crucial here.

Löw has to take the risk

0: 1 against France, this ensemble of world-class people – that’s not a nice situation after 20 minutes of a European championship game. But it also means that there were still 70 minutes left to do something on the result. That did not succeed, also because the big final offensive failed. Braked by own inaccuracies, but also due to structural reasons. That annoyed Kimmich: “We missed taking the risk and opening the back.” With Timo Werner, Leroy Sané and Kevin Volland, Löw changed plenty of offensive personnel, but nothing changed in terms of the statics of their own game.

Kroos kept falling between the central defenders to drag balls forward. That means ways for the director and a decimated midfield. When Mats Hummels, Matthias Ginter and Antonio Rüdiger were three defenders on the pitch who guarantee a constructive build-up of the game. “Tactically, that was definitely not the smartest decision. I understand safeguards, but if you’re 1-0 behind I have to risk more,” said Lothar Matthäus in an interview with RTL / ntv.

And they really want: “I don’t know what’s going to go on in the head of the coach, whether something will change in terms of information technology or not,” said Ilkay Gündogan. “But I hope that we will play more against Portugal and create more chances. Because we can. Because we are a team that should also think offensively.”

Against Portugal, which will probably take part in the game much more offensively than the French, Löw has to think carefully about how courageously he approaches the encounter. It’s about points, but also about a little euphoria. Herzogenaurach’s speech was perhaps a hint.

“Well played, but …” is dangerous – and over

Even Toni Kroos let himself be wrapped up: “We played a good game and had no fewer chances than the French. An unlucky goal decided the game.” A bit snippy, he said succinctly on the ZDF microphone: “But I didn’t see many counterattacks from France. We just missed a goal. Kroos is a great player who has won everything (except the European Championship) and a very reflective one Athlete. The Real Madrid pro didn’t play a bad game himself, but the passing machine was all too often involved in exhausting duels with the French midfielders, and Kroos’ post-match analysis was wrong.

His colleagues were too benevolent with this game, in which the DFB troops actually defended themselves surprisingly well against the concentrated French offensive brilliance. Robin Gosens saw his team “definitely at eye level”. Ilkay Gündogan thought “that we were equal to the world champions” and that this game “didn’t deserve a winner”. Because the French had settled in comfortably in this game and granted the German team a sham dominance, nothing more. They had a lot of possession, around 60 percent. The decisive duels, however, were won by the outstanding Paul Pogba or the prudent N`Golo Kanté. Now it is about crucial points, no longer about “bonus points”.

“If you lose the first game and have three group games, the pressure is great. We don’t have to talk about that,” said Kroos. Löw, on the other hand, did not find the right words. “Of course we are disappointed, but nothing happened. We have to look ahead. We still have two games so we can straighten everything out,” commented the outgoing national coach on the unsuccessful beginning of his irrevocable end. If only one supposedly good game succeeds against Portugal, but no longer, it can be over early. Everything.

Insights into how the national coach will tackle the problems, what solution strategies he will develop tactically or personally, could not be gained from the sunny moments in Herzogenaurach: After 15 minutes, that is the agreement, the journalists have to leave the “Adi-Dassler Stadium” , the DFB entourage works for itself.

It is possible, if not very likely, that Joachim Löw will present one or the other idea tonight: The mandatory press conference before the game starts around 8 p.m. Then the national coach has Joshua Kimmich with him. Will he then already know which version of himself to send into the game tomorrow?

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