I think this is a fun question to debate. It also makes more sense debating how many Germans could play for Spain, because the latter are the gold standard in terms of international football. Comparing today's Germany squad to the '96 is interesting, but it's always tricky comparing players and teams from different eras. I got to thinking about this, and, the honest truth is, I don't think more than two of our players could crack their starting eleven. I can definitely see Sami Khedira displace one of Sergio or Alonso. Mesut Oezil could make the squad and would be more than a capable substitute off the bench. He wouldn't be played ahead of Iniesta or Xavi (who plays deeper). Maybe he squeezes in place of one of the wingers. Silva maybe? Don't know. Silva is a damn good and as fast lightning. In terms of the rest of the squad, I don't think any would play for Spain ahead of who they have. I'd take Pique and Ramos over our two centerbacks in a heartbeat. Alba looks like he'll be a phenom, blazing speed and strong in defence. Real Madrid just bought him. Definitely better than Lahm. Arbeloa beats Boateng. Lars Bender would have been a better option for us but wasn't used except for once. Love Neuer but is he better than Casillas. Maybe a wash. They're six-man midfield was stacked: Iniesta, Silva, Fabregas, Xavi, Alonso, and Sergio Busquets are the best in the business. Which one of our midfielders could displace theirs? Sami Khedira could beat out one of Alonso or Busquets. Mesut Oezil is could certainly be used in place of one of their offensive midfielders, but beyond those two, I don't see any of our players who match up with the Spanish. What do you think?
Khedira is good enough but not to displace Busquets or Alonso or anyone in that midfield. All three are all-timers and Busquets the best in his role in the world. Khedira wouldn't be able to do his job. Right now I'd say Özil, that's about it.
Khedira is good but no he wouldnt displace anyone. Sergio is better. Xabi Alonso is a different kind of player so he is not competing with Alonso. Oezil is at least as good as David Silva and better than Mata. With maybe a bit more experience, Hummels would be on the same level as Pique and Ramos. He is going to Barca not Real Madrid. He is not as good defensively as you think he is. And no he is not definitely better than Lahm. I dont know. None of the 3 is really great as fullback. Same level. Also, a fit Klose is better than the Torres of the last 3 years. Ditto Gomez.
Neuer, one of Hummels/Bads, Lahm, Özil, Khedira and maybe Gomez would make the team but it's hard to say how many could be starters - maybe none of them.
I think Hummels can actually, he's so fast and strong - I'd say he lacks experience but not ability. I don't think Ozil, because he needs a Benzema/Klose/Ronaldo type striker in front of him. Reus could potentially make it actually, he can give Spain that extra dimension up front - replace Silva with Reus and you got an incredible team.
It's kind of demeaning to our players to ask such a question, maybe it's just me but more so because much of our team is younger, and with less experience. So the comparison is kind of invalid as experience is a factor and we surely lack that. It would surely also make more sense to compare players position&role vs position&role than trying to fit our players in their national team. What stupidity idea for a thread this is. I am sorry but I feel hurt as a fan that something like this has been posted in German Forum.
I think it just shows what a phenomenal team Spain is and the depth of their talent and how well developed all their players are. It's normal for every other team to be compared to held up to the standard of such a dominating and successful team. Everyone aspires to be on the same level as Spain now, nothing wrong with that.
Absolutely! Spain is the gold standard of international football. I can't remember a team having won three successive straight tournaments. They haven't surrendered a goal in a knockout game since 2006. Truly remarkable when you think about it. To beat these guys, we'll need to put eleven players on the pitch that are at least as good as their best. We're not there yet. I think, sometimes, we get caught in the hype when a young player breaks into our squad, like a Reus. Spain, too, are introducing young players into their team. The impact of Jordi Alba should not be understated. That kid is electric. Six months from now people will start talking about him as one of the best left-backs on the planet. Good on their coach for wasting no time integrating him into the squad. At the end of the day, for every Fabregas, Silva, and Alba that Spain produce, we need to develop the same number just to keep up. Spain is football factory of talent at the moment.
I am as open-minded as probably any fan out here but some things are subtle which maybe don't hit out to everyone. The problem is no matter what, we keep bringing the youngest teams to the FIFA tournaments recently and it's been going on for a lot of time. I wonder when can we have finally a stabilized core of players with enough experience through several tournaments. The debate you put on is also kind of invalid. When you have two around somewhat equally talented players for a single position, the one younger and the other who has far more experience at tournament and international level, the image that would come to your mind of being "better", would definitely be the later one. So a lot of the German players dropout of this comparison except for maybe Piggy, Lahm and Gomez which do prevail in these comparisons. Solely by Euro tournament perfomance, I am sure Hummels was one of the top defenders of this tournament and I am even more sure that as Hummels peaks, he will definitely phase past Puyol, Pique, Ramos' all those in terms of greatness. The only thing that might take that greatness away from him is not winning trophies, which might also be why we will not be acknowledged. Just look at the UEFA nominations. People are just incapable of comparisons.
Sure, Spain is definitely the gold standard and our German Football team should aspire to reach their standards but with that being said, context is important.
Yes of course. That context is that this team is simply not at that level yet and shouldn't be expected to be. Hell, I don't think we'll ever see a team like Spain again. Not for a long time anyways.
Absolutely correct, I thought that their lack of a striker and the absence of puyol would be detrimental to their chances - but alas, they've looked even stronger. I like to think however that Germany is catching up, over the next 5 years there will be an enormous influx of german players into the premiere league and la liga. Khedira, Podolski, Oezil, Marin are just the beginning. Wait for HUmmels, Gotze, Grosskreutz and Lars Bender as well.
U mad bro? Puyol is one of the greatest defenders in the history of the game. He is a legend, 3 CL titles, a world cup, euro 2008 and not to mention a member of the sextuple winning barcelona - thats some serious record breaking he's done. Puyol is a once in a generation type player. I am not too sure about pique and ramos, but hummels has a lot more to win than just the BL to even begin to be considered as a candidate for greatness. He needs to move to a far bigger club, preferrably barcelona - to actually win something.
Considering only the starting XI, Lahm could easily replace arbeloa and probably just about edge out Alba. Schweini and Neuer could fight it out with Alonso and Casillas. Ozil over Mata/Silva any day. our other good players like Kroos, Goetze, Hummels, NT Klose, Khedira, Mueller n Reus could easily make the spanish bench and displace some of their subs.
Hummels has some serious competing to do, Pique and Ramos are definitely no slouches, they're both young but incredibly experienced. And we're assuming Puyol is out of the equation here.
So true! I thought that they wouldn't be as good at the World Cup because they were missing Marcos Antonio Senna who was a rock in the middle of the pitch for them at Euro 2008. The Spaniards didn't miss a beat. I didn 't think they'd be as good in this tournament as in the last two. Missing their best striker, losing Puyol to old age. Again, they have even better players coming up through the ranks. Smart move by the coach to bring in Alba put him on the wings and play Ramos as a center-back who has often played out on the wing...Fabregas and Silva transition into their starting eleven and presto! They're even better than before. It was like men against boys in the final to see how they dominated Italy. They're were stretches for two to three minutes where the Italians didn't touch the ball. Wappy, Schweini was atrocious in this tournament. Honestly, he was playing based on his name only. Any other coach would not have started him. Did you watch the games against Greece and Italy? No way in hell that the Schweini of 2012 gets anywhere near a Spain team let alone displaces their top players. After the season, he's had Bayern must be looking for his replacement, and I think they already are. Lots of talk about them going after another CM.
Well, looks like at least one person agrees with me that Sami Khedira is the best player in the world in his position: http://www.goal.com/en/news/12/spai...ira-is-the-best-in-his-position-says-mourinho
Lahm, Oezil and Khedira would likely start for spain, while Hummels, a healthy Schweinsteigher and Reus could well start.