Yeah, best form of his life. He is becoming a very good national team player. Or should I say, consistently very good. Trochowski is settling very well and I like how he can do the through balls and has very good ball skills. Ballack looked good today but sometimes missed a few passing opportunities. How was helmes? I was kind of writing an essay so I couldnt see the end properly
Well, I didn't see him that way and neither did the (supposedly unbiased) media. Everybody said that he made a good game. I haven't heard a single negative voice about Hitz's performance against Russia.
We should also not forget that Wales has fewer people than Berlin. Their bunker-days could be over once Ramsay will make his debut for the senior NT.
Even though I think Hitz is a good choice, I agree with you here. Hitz is a modern 6 who can control the game, but Jones is an old school destroyer. Both have their advantages, depending on the opponent.
1) Castro from Leverkusen, I and some others have been saying this for months. Hopefully he can keep being consistent for his club and starts vs England and shines. 2) Schweini nearly scored 3-4 times (missed by inches on most occasions) and made 2 easy goal chances from the right side. That Trochowski miss was embarrassing that Schweini basically made with some neat 1-2s and dribbling. I think with his current form, Germany is very dangerous on the right as well. I think with Castro is very intelligent on the attack, Schweini and him could make the right wing very, very hard to deal with. I love Trochowski at the moment, great dribbling and speed at times along with dangerous long range shots. Now both the wide players can shoot from far along with Ballack, and even Hitz/Frings if they both start. I also hope Jones gets a chance vs England too Kumars.
My best players of the match: -Lahm: I don't care how much people criticize this guy, he spends effort beyond imagination. He's very fit & got some good technical skills. He's very confident with the ball and he is always available and open option for the midfield players to pass to whenever they are pressed. He's very crucial to the German attacking system. -Trochowsky: One of the fine dribblers who Germany desperately need. He was instrumental in todays win of course and showed some excellent passing. But he's not that good in the defence. Leaving Lahm alone in the defence leaves us vulnerable on the left flank. -Adler: I say give him the number one spot. He deserves it and he needs to build confedence & experience. Sticking to Enke is like ignoring to invest in the future!
This I agree with. I don't mind if Hitz starts vs average teams, but when we play Finland/Russia in the qualifiers and the knock-out stages of the World Cup, I want to see Jones or Rolfes (obviously Jones if he is capable of adapting).
Exactly what I was going to say. Every time Germany crossed the center line, Wales had every player besides Bellamy behind the ball.
I wouldn't call his performances "negative", but they're nothing special either. It seems that all he has to do is hit one of his "hammer shots" and people forget everything that happened before or happens after. I like Hitzlsperger. I liked him well before he joined Stuttgart. However, I don't see where he or Frings have truly done anything that Loew can point to in denying Jermaine Jones a shot. But I will say Jones will probably never get that shot because despite Loew's declaration that players will have to fight for their positions, I don't think he has the courage to shake up that team. And I think the "comfortable" players know it........
It's always hard to judge defensive midfielders, especially on TV because they're just not very flamboyant. For example, I never really thought highly of Frings and didn't understand the praise he got, until I finally saw him in the stadium and saw what he actually did. Most of the work of a def mid is off the ball and hence off the cameras. If you look at Hitz, his positioning is great and he not only has a strong shot but also a good eye for his teammates. He's the one who often opens up the game through intelligent passes...but this is also not very striking when you watch it on TV because it's usually not the deciding pass that leads to a goal, but the one that sets up the play. I think the reason Löw now uses Hitz more often in def mid is exactly for the reason that he's a more modern player who can do those things and hence fits Löw's philosophy better than Frings or Jones. But again, I also think that Jones should get more playtime. I was also one of the few who were for taking him to the EURO.
That's not a correct or fair assessment. Hitzlsperger could not possibly be blamed. This can be pinned on Loew by tactically neglecting the need for a pure destroyer. He knows what Hitzlsperger offers. Nobody in their right mind believes him truly a destroyer. At the moment Germany doesn't have one in the National team nor does a good enough one play in the Bundesliga. It's easy to see why Loew has been experimenting with his central midfield and rotates since, and until a true defensive midfielder comes up worthy of playing in the National Team, we will continue to see this happen. As for the Russia match, Germany got overrun on the flanks not in central midfield. The Russians contained the ball and immediately took advantage of the space left on both flanks, especially on their left side and on occasion the right. Schweinsteiger and Trochowski aren't flank players who will track back and do the defensive work - they will almost always concern themselves with the break and countering because that's the nature of their game. Hiddink easily took advantage of this and you can't fault the central midfield which did its best to deal with the Russians. The only problem might have been their pace or lack of. Neither Ballack or Hitzlsperger are particularly fast. Germany's problem was also a problem to properly retain the ball and they constantly lost it in the final third. I still wouldn't blame this on Hitzlsperger.
I disagree with you on everything Manchester bar why Loew has changed his CM pairing several times. Germany got run in the middle and in the flanks, Jones is a destroyer and a good one for the Bundesliga and one Germany has an option for, Schweinsteiger being a player who doesn't run back and defend is just plain ignorant as he's proven this a lot of times and still does. He usually also is a player who can hold the ball. I think Schweini didn't do as much back tracking as he usually does the 2nd half though, that was evident. To say he doesn't track back just makes me laugh as it's a completely false statement. The problem was that Loew wanted to his team to defend and you cannot defend to a super power team like Russia without a destroyer, which Germany paid the price for. -- Benz, if you remember correctly Germany had Hargreaves on the team for years. I always admired him even though you would think he's not even playing. So I can definitely tell when a DM is actually doing the job or not. I do not agree Hitz's positioning is very good, I just seem him as a decent player filling a spot in the team that he's not really great at. He is not a great ball winner, his positioning for the DM is ok, and his reading of the game from that specific position is average at best. He does the job, that's all he does. Hitz as I stated before, will look good to very good in the qualifiers because almost all the matches are against piss poor competition where he won't be tessed in any of the games bar potentially Finland and Russia. I have nothing against him, I just see him as a limited player in the DM position. Personally, I could care less for his attacking abilities when he plays DM. The DM in Germany's team is there only for the defensive job, Germany have proven over and over again they have more than enough fire power to score. LOL, well you have to blame it to someone in the middle when you get run over like that!
Damn....I must have dailed the wrong thread. I could have sworn this was the Germany-Wales match thread, but I keep seeing the same lame arguments about the Germany-Russia game. My mistake.
Let's get a few facts out of the way. I said Schweinsteiger didn't do much tracking back in said game. Neither did Trochowski. I also don't think that's in his nature as he's an attack-minded player. However, Loew is trying to instil a workrate in him and when he does decide to actually play instead of loaf around he can be benefitial to the defensive game as he did today against Wales. I still wouldn't go as far as saying tracking back is indefinitely a part of his game, because we see it week in, week out at Bayern, it's simply not. Whether this is a personal problem for him is irrelevant. If he doesn't make up his mind about how he will contribute any team he's on, he becomes accountable. The same could be said about Trochowski. Germany have spend an enormous amount of time nurturing him. Obviously they believe in his potential. In other national teams, not nearly as much time would be spent on him, hoping that he will show promise, and it's risky because it comes at the cost of others. Having said that, Trochowski has a lot more to refine than he currently shows. I have however, become more trustworthy of Loew when it comes to him. Now, the last time Jones played for Germany he was abismal. It's not certain that he won't again, that's really up in the air. He hasn't had much time to adjust to the National team. He is the only pure destroyer in the Bundesliga but it is a big risk to bring him in and ask him to play one of the most important if not most important role in tactical football. It's an enormous task. Just look at some of the best in the game that have played in this role. The Roy Keanes, Redondo and Makaleles. They had just about everything needed, composure, an excellent tackling ability, the best ability to read the ball and in Keane's regard, the workrate of two players. And they did this on the biggest stages, against the best in the world. That's a massive task. If Jones is ready for it (I personally don't think he is that good, he's an above average Bundesliga player but not world class) then he deserves a chance. Methinks Loew has made his mind up about him already. Loew chose to play without a defensive midfielder at a high risk attacking game that's obviously prone to counters. I would like to see him get a shot though and how this Germany team functions with a defensive midfielder. Keep in mind the changes that will cause. The reason why Germany's counters are so effective and they can switch from defense to attack so seamlessly at times is because of Hitzlsperger and Ballack who are good on the ball and will always look to move the ball up. Jones by nature will stop the game and that can cause a risk of interrupting the game. It's all hypothetical of course, and I'd like to see Jones against England in all fairness. About the Russia match, Loew played the same high risk football, based on counters, except that the midfield was pushed back so there was little left to counter with and the ball was lost on all occasions. This isn't a flaw of the midfielders, as again, Germany got overrun on the flanks mostly, but moreso Loew's insistance to play right into their hands. In that particular game, I don't see how a destroyer would have helped. The only way I see it if he would expand his energy and track every single Russian down on the flanks, but that would leave even more space open in the middle. Jones also doesn have the engine of a Hargreaves for example and he relies more on his ability to read the game than on exerting energy.
While I disagree with most of what you said , I think this is the crucial point where we part. You're partially right if we talk about a midfield diamond. In that case you have an offensive midfielder and a defensive destroyer to back him up, although it doesn't hurt if he can open up the play as well. Germany however has adopted a 4-4-2 with two players in def mid. In this case you need a player with a more modern interpretation, someone who is also skilled going forward.
Here's a clip in higher quality: CLICK Congrats to Piotr on his first goal (and what a nice one) for the national team! It seems he finally manages to reach his potential in the DFB dress...
Another hard-fought & important win against an expected defensive opponent tonight (after every missed top chance, I feared the game would end with a goalless draw once again)! Congrats to the team. Here's a few post-game reports with stats, interviews, player ratings & pics: CLICK 1 CLICK 2 CLICK 3 CLICK 4 CLICK 5 CLICK 6 Bonne nuit.