Wow, what a perfect analysis ... so it's worth a full quote. Now that was a good counter! Btw: Let's call him Hennes Schaaf. )
That was a hell of a play...I actually stood up and yelled! Was wearing my "Lahm" jersey...by the way!!!
The refrigerators comment was actually juxtaposed by the comment that the footballers have twinkle toes or something. They were totally drooling and were saying that german teams always played like this down the years (decades).
That was unbelievable. He did a similar tackle to Camoranessi in the World Cup in 2006 in the semi final. What a super tackle. You're right, no other player can do that certain tackle. What a player!
Ah no, it's fast enough but we have montly quota. And since the internet is shared here, I forbid myself to watch the live stream.
I probably like Lahm more than anyone, for me he is the best LB in the world, but despite the great first half he played, and despite that great tackle against Arshavin mentioned earlier, he was to blame both for the goal we conceded, and for a couple of great chances created by Anyukov on his side. That's a fact, and while it didn't help that Trochowski didn't give him much defensive cover in the second half, it can't and should not be denied just because of sympathy. Lahm's bad touch, something you rarely see from him, lead to the goal. And Westermann could not really be blamed for playing the ball wide, because that's exactly what Löw (rightly) wants the defenders to do, stay calm and try a patient build up instead of panicking and hoofing the ball right to the opposition - that only makes sense in the last few minutes of the match.
That makes no sense. You don't pass when there is another player marking the full back, I don't think Loew would want the players do something that stupid. Also if you watched the replays, you notice that he half shoots the ball which why Lahm couldn't even stop it. Besides making a dumb decision and pass to a marked player instead of clearing it, he passes it too hard to be able to control. Westermann f#cked up here and the Finland goal, Lahm is basically being blamed for not expecting someone's major f#ck ups. Reality of the situation.
Westermann did not have any other option. If he had hoofed it in that situation, he would have played into the Russians hands, who were in control of the game and constantly putting pressure on the German defence. And sorry, the goal was not the only time when Lahm looked bad defensively, Anyukov seemed to have a field day on his side in the second half. I wonder if these double standards are the usual practice here when it comes to rating player performances. Lahm is a great player, but you can't constantly blame others for their mistakes and 'overlook' his.
Was that a pass by Westermann? I could have sworn he tried to shoot it at Lahm who didn't even see it coming. If you're a defender and you're under preasure (as was the case with Germany when the second half started and the Russians came at them gung ho) you do not do something dangerousl ike giving the ball away in your half, let alone in the 18. He may have given it right back to the Russians if he hoofed it away but that would have been less risky than what he did. And it would have given Germany time to drop and regroup. I don't think this has anything to do with Lahm getting preferential treatment from supporters either. Had it been Fritz in Lahm's position last night I would have argued the same thing. And you're right about Lahm being exposed by Anyukov, he rightfully deserves criticism there as does the whole team for being outplayed in the second half. That said, I don't blame Lahm for that goal, that to me looked like a panicked Westermann.
I don't think so, we're quite some Lahm fanboys here, but he did have a poor second half. As said, he just gets zero rest at Bayern with Jansen having been sold.
Lahm more or less confirmed himself that he didn't look good in the situation that lead to the goal after the match, while he emphasised that it is a team game, and mistakes happen. Nothing more to add really.
Actually, Lahm couldn't possibly be blamed for this, it was purely Westermann's for several reasons. Russia began the second half strong and put a lot of pressure on Germany. The last thing Loew and his men want to do is invite that pressure and that's one of the fundemental flaws of this German side, they don't know how to deal with pressure well and are far too prone to conceding in moments like this. Arshavin's goal was a perfect example. As a defender, when it's so hectic you want to get rid of the ball. And in all fairness, Westermann and Mertesacker are no Ferdinand or Carvalho, they aren't so good on the ball and don't have the neccessary personel to play it out, so the immediate thing to do is to clear it. Westermann put Lahm in a terrible position. Not only was Lahm not open but he his body language as the pass came suggested he was on his way up the pitch, like he waited for the ball to be cleared or thrown upfront for a counter. Under pressure, you want to stop the opposition's momentum and clearing the ball is a better choice than risking a turnover, which is exactly what happened each and every time Germany lost it in the final third. Usually retaining-based teams are best suited to stop teams with great momentum and Germany isn't one. Ballack did the job of two men last night and was easily the man of the match, by not only covering ground to tackle and turn over possession but also to try and control the tempo, and he was the only one who seemed to know what he should have done, considering Russia's resurgance in the second half. Not to steer too much off topic, since this reply is about Lahm. It was not his mistake. Westermann made the wrong decision. He should have cleared the ball and at least stop play. That gives Germany a bit of time to calm down and organize and it stops Russia's momentum. Secondly you just do not pass it square across the backline when you're under pressure. Westermann got nervous and made a mistake, it wa a moment of bad judgment, that's all. Otherwise I thought he had a decent game, made a couple of important tackles and walked the ball out of the box better than Metzelder has done in the past two years.
Watch the goal again, it wasn't even 'hectic', Westermann did not panic either. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21xJVMfedC4 You could pobably blame him for 'passing too hard', but a soft and sloppy pass would have probably been even more dangerous. There was no Russian player near him to justify a 'clearance', and he did not have a better passing option than Lahm. Besides, there is nothing wrong with passing the ball to the fullbacks and start your buildup there, I really don't know where you got that idea from. Lahm put himself in a terrible position with that terrible, and very unusal, touch. Yes, Westermann's pass could have been more precise, but Anyukov was about 5-10m away from him. Anyukov simply anticipated the situation much better than Lahm, who seemed to be 'asleep' indeed, despite the constant pressure by the Russians in that phase.
BUT: 3. Ballack, Ferdinand and Carvalho are PREMIER LEAGUE PLAYERS -> Gods I remember how a British journalist suddenly declared Özil and Westermann "the best left-sided combination in Europe" on the grounds of doing the unbelievable - outplaying Chelsea's gods in a CL match.