The crisis will also strike in 2020: Everything goes wrong with the DFB team

Tuesday 29 December 2020

The crisis will strike again in 2020
What goes wrong with the DFB team

By Constantin Eckner

This year is anything but optimal for the German national soccer team. The 0: 6 against Spain in November is a new low point on the way to the attempted reconstruction. The arguments that the association provides for the poor performance are not satisfactory.

The German Football Association (DFB) likes to boast that, with seven million members, it is the largest national sports association in the world. But what the DFB top doesn't like is when they are under too much media observation. The criticism of the association was more harsh than it had been for a long time after the 6-0 disgrace against Spain in November. Probably the last time in the Erich Ribbeck era in 2000 was the national team and those responsible.

The premium project, often dubbed "The Team" for marketing purposes, did not shine in the desired splendor, but looked like junk goods. The DFB management level met intensively and developed a corresponding crisis communication plan. A few weeks after the defeat in Seville, Oliver Bierhoff, DFB director, first appeared in public. National coach Joachim Löw later commented, but only when Bierhoff had prepared the ground.

The ex-national player, who experienced the crisis era of 2000 as an active player, shared an interesting, albeit dubious, analysis of the national team's situation using numerous graphics and charts. In summary, Bierhoff said:

• Löw had met all requirements with the successful EM qualification, relegation in the Nations League and the jump into the first pot in the upcoming Monday draw for the World Cup qualification.
• In addition, Löw has further developed the team's style of play since the 2018 World Cup and is now playing more active football. The style of play is accepted by the team, but can not always be implemented physically in 2020, especially under the load. This is the result of the corona pandemic and the extremely tight schedule after the restart, which requires precise load control.
• The assessment of the work of a national coach can "not be tied to a game". Other teams and other coaches would also be confronted with unexpected defeats and form fluctuations that were not always understandable. When it comes to the DFB team, one also has to consider that it is an "inexperienced team". The current team has "played 145 percent fewer international matches" than the 2014 world championship team.

Straight football is not automatically more successful

Bierhoff concluded his analysis, which at the same time constituted a kind of statement by the DFB, saying that the association would like to "unreservedly continue the path of renewing the national team with national coach Joachim Löw, which it has taken since March 2019". Now it is not a bad sign per se if those responsible for sports do not immediately pull the rip cord after a shameful defeat and fire the coach because of this one result. This happens far too often in professional football, too often results being overestimated and the team's performance being underestimated.

In the case of the German national team, neither the performances nor the results are correct. The further development in sport diagnosed by Bierhoff happened at best in rudimentary trains. In addition, there are still questions about the extent to which the direct and faster style of play matches the offensive and creative forces of the national team. After the embarrassing World Cup in 2018 and the first mixed performances in the aftermath, Löw wanted to use his lightning fast attackers like Serge Gnabry and Timo Werner more in the counter game. The result was a football with long balls and no creative midfield.

The headquarters around Toni Kroos and Joshua Kimmich could only intervene to a limited extent because the ball was often hit forward so quickly. Incidentally, long balls were also an attempted remedy against Spain's pressing in November. Only the passes rarely made it to the front and instead flew over the heads of Werner and others. It remains unclear why the German national team with its technically well-trained but by no means beefy offensive players now has to play this wide-ranging game.

Arguments don't work

The only possible explanation is that the DFB selection takes less risk and at the same time can play more straightforward – the latter is often viewed as a "typically German" style of play for historical reasons. However, in games against top teams, the German team surrenders all control and has to constantly defend. But that's exactly what she doesn't like at all.

Germany may not currently have a new golden generation, because on the defensive you are far from the top compared to France or Spain. But with Kimmich, Werner and Gnabry as well as Leroy Sané, Kai Havertz, Leon Goretzka and a few others, a little more should be possible. The argument that this team does not have the necessary experience is only partially correct. After all, there are a few reigning Champions League winners and just under a dozen players who have proven themselves on the international stage. Or does someone have doubts about the experience of a Sané, because he has so far "only" completed 25 international matches?

The corona pandemic should also not serve as an excuse. Of course, the circumstances are not ideal for developing a team. However, the core of the team has been together since 2019 and other national teams have to work under very similar conditions. The Spaniards also had a converted team on the field in the 6-0 victory, which was not necessarily only made up of world stars. The upheaval is working elsewhere, but not (yet) in Germany.

EM as a test for Löw

The DFB got behind Löw, which was not surprising given the timing of the defeat in Seville. Germany will be playing at the European Championship in around six months. A change of coach would have caused chaos, but certainly not in the context of a national team to a quick impulse, as you see it more often with clubs. The new coach had almost no time to exert a positive influence.

In addition, the upcoming EM could be a kind of last test for Löw, who then has to prove that he is on the right track with the DFB selection, at least in terms of performance. At some point Bierhoff and other association superiors will run out of arguments.