German National Team News & Discussion Thread - EURO 2012 & Beyond [R] II

Exactly, strikerless formation is an alternative for the current Germany NT , and possibly not a bad choice. I hope Loew would spend some time practicing it among the players and test it in another some matches. After all, if you don't try, you will never know whether it works or not. One friendly match can't say anything.

 

Especially when it's a friendly played without all of the players the formation is designed to benefit, against a team parking a bus.

 

of course there's still room to experiment in this group, and it needs to be tested with our best players in a competitive environment. Not a B-team friendly where no one played in the second half. And there's always protection for it, bringing Miro or Gomez off the bench.

 

The friendly against France and the khazakstan series should be used to test this.

 

What will Nuri's return mean for Gündogan and Bender (Bittencourt, Leitner)?

 

He flopped in Madrid, and in the Premier League (playing for a mid-table team no less). Unless the injury bug hits Dortmund, he will have to earn playing time the old fashioned way IMO.

 

Sahin didn't "flop"

 

I'd say that Gündogan and Kehl/Bender keep their current status, with Sahin simply being added into the mix to give that position some much needed depth (seeing as at least one of the first 3 is usually injured at almost all times). All 4 of them would get sufficient minutes, especially considering the fact that Dortmund are still participating in 3 competitions. Some rotation is needed, particularly with Klopp's exhausting, energy-driven system.

When all players are actually available and 100% fit for once and there's a big game coming up, I guess that Gündogan & Bender would probably be the first choice starters. Of course, if Sahin impresses big time, he might earn a better status, but currently I can't see him permanently displacing Gündogan.
Gündogan at his best is probably better than Sahin at his best, or - at the very least - on par with him; and Gündogan, by now, has settled in very well and is an integral part of the team that won't simply be replaced.

Additionally to depth, Sahin offers more variety, since now a 4-3-3 is easily possible:
------------ Bender
--- Gündogan ----- Sahin
Götze -- Lewandowski -- Reus

I'm not sure if that will become a permanent option (infact it would become an option if Lewandowski indeed leaves [which he probably will] and there will be no big time striker replacement). In any case, it's definitely good to have some tactical options.

Also, Sahin's return solves the Perisic situation, since Leitner can move to a more offensive position and cover for Perisic's loss, while Sahin takes over Leitner's CM place. Leitner can play anywhere in midfield, but his attacking game is clearly better defined than his defensive one; at least at this point in his career. He can be a valuable option as a substitute for Götze/Reus/Kuba/Großkreutz.

As far as Bittencourt is concerned, I don't think Sahin's arrival changes anything for him. Maybe he'll become a regular part of the first team squad and gets some more minutes than he has so far. His best position is OM and I could see him getting more sub appearences, regardless of Sahin. In recent weeks before the winter break, Bittencourt was starting to get a few cameo appearances and I think that trend will probably continue if he does reasonably well. His role might be extended to a full-fledged sub player for either of the 3 offensive midfielders.

Full team, in default 4-2-3-1:

---------------------------- Weidenfeller
----------------------------- (Langerak)
Piszczek --------------- Hummels, Subotic --------- Schmelzer
(Kirch) ----------------- (Günter, Santana) --- (Löwe/Großkreutz)
-------------------- Gündogan --------- Bender
---------------------- (Sahin) ----------- (Kehl)
-- Kuba ----------------------- Götze ----------------- Reus
(Leitner) ----------------- (Bittencourt) --------- (Großkreutz)
---------------------------- Lewandowski
------------------------------ (Schieber)

Of course, there would be some rotation, particularly on the double pivot, as described above. Also, one additional option would be to use Gündogan on Götze's position if Götze can't play (which will hopefully never happen again), with Sahin and Bender/Kehl behind him. That, of course, would push Bittencourt back in the pecking order, but he still wouldn't be "worse off" than he's now.

 

Right, third team in 14 months and a significant reduction in his market value, sounds like a brilliant success story to me.

 

Yea he also didn't "succeed".

Football is also not about black or white.

 

Sure...but who can blame him for taking it that chance?

 

There's a difference in the player "flopping" and the circumstances of the move not being ideal.

Totally agree, it was too early for him to move and too ambitious a move to boot.

 

Well said.

Let's agree on that, shall we?

 

agreed.

 

Anyone with a brain? He has one good season and then decides to jump ship to Madrid? Even when he was fit and hitting form again, Mourinho had a strong preference for midfielders who fought for the ball harder. I remember posting about this numerous time, but he didn't even have experience in Europe before making a move to probably the most intense and demanding club.

I thought he was a great player and had a magnificent season but what a stupid, stupid move. Same with Marin to Chelsea and to a lesser degree, Kagawa (but in this case he actually had some experience in europe and had about 1.5 seasons of top quality football).

No one can blame anyone for anything, but when it comes to young players making a big move it is always empirical that they get experience at the very highest level before trying to go to those big clubs.

 

I will disagree.

 

Podolski on twitter : ''Hey fans, shit happens. You've seen the match. It was a far cry from what we have imagined.
But we need to move on, we have many more difficult matches to play. Be with us, we need you! Come on Arsenal! Yours, Poldi."

 

Shit happens, like his performance. The worst ive seen of him since his move and thats saying something.

 

It's still the same pattern, he doesn't perform well vs top sides.

 

When?

 

Wrong.