I'm definitely for Badstuber as opposed to Boateng. Boa is a fine defender, but on the left Badstuber is the best at what he does and I'm not surprised Loew agrees with me. Schmelzer has great pace and is intelligent enough to know when to burst forward, but he needs protection and I'm just not sure if he gets it with our style of play. In 2010, he would have made a great impact but now, he needs to know how to defend 1 v 1 and rely on himself to get the ball back. With BVB its more of a combined effort, thats the difference. I'd welcome another defender just because I don't feel Schmelzer is good enough.
I actually think that Boateng would be a better partner for Hummels, because he is athletic enough to cover behind him when he makes one of his forward tackles.
Well - he will definitely have spawned the most teenage haircuts by the next worldcup I swear every boy in germany tries to look like him
Kid's awesome, but I doubt it, IMO he'll still be behind Ozil and Reus for sure, and probably behind Schweini, Khedira and Hummels. Agreed, Boateng doesn't have Badstuber's passing range, but his vastly superior athleticism makes him a better fit in a highline with Hummels. Especially with the way he's broken out this year next to Dante, who is very Hummels like as a defender.
That is true. But he is still the most talented German player out there and if he keeps improving at the rate that he has been doing in the past 2 years he'll be the best player. The most striking thing is his confidence. When he emerged it went against the "loser" mentality they had at BvB. Guys like Sammer and Riedle said he was the best German talent in two generations and I think they are right.
Boateng played with Höwedes as his CB partner. I also think that Höwedes should be in the mix to form a CB duo, but somehow Löw doesn't seem to like him. If I recall correctly Höwedes has not once played as CB for Germany. Just as RB (or LB in the friendly against France)
He moved to FCB so squid's love of Kroos disappeared along with that move. I love that I'm not the only one here that thinks this "squad" guy is just squidward 2.0.
My mistake. I forgot that it was initially Höwedes and Hummels paired up, but Hummels was such a disaster at CB that he was benched after the group stage, and later played as a DM in the semifinal and final.
I would like to see a Hummels-Höwedes partnership at CB (followed by Hummels-Boateng and Hummels-Badstuber, in that order) and I think Götze is the most talented German player outside of Özil.
I wonder why so many rate Höwedes as a CB. He can't even beat out Matip or Metzelder for a starting position as CB in Schalke.
He's more athletic but thats about it, he can amend for his mistakes with his athleticism but as an all around defender he's just not as good as badstuber is. Badstuber makes clean tackles, minimal fuss and usually just prevents the striker from getting the ball, Boateng is a lot messier. This could all change after injury though. Badstuber being out for a year does him no good in 2014.
Then why is it? I really don't know why he's not a centerback for the club he's so mediocre going forward.
Reus seems to me to be slightly more complete than Goetze in my eyes right now. He is more clinical, has a better shot, has a bit more stamina and workrate, and can dribble more naturally and easily IMO. Goetze has better passing and vision, more creativity, better technique, and bigger potential.
Reuus can dribble more naturally and easily than Götze, what? Götze is already one of the best dribblers in europa, especially in tight spaces while Reus needs a lot more space for his "dribblings" which are more about using his pace than trickery. Götze is the player that comes closest to Iniesta and I'm certain that he can reach his level.
Pace works and often it is what makes or breaks dribblers, it is the rare dribbler that can dribble multiple defenders and truly be great at dribbling without it; Ronaldinho, Figo in his later years, Zidane, etc. Messi, for example, rarely beats his man through "trickery", although he is absolutely capable of it, don't get me wrong, but just through sheer acceleration, phenomenal close control, and changes in direction. Götze, I've never really seen anything that truly wowed me in terms of dribbling, whereas Reus seems to be better at beating his man. Götze compared with Iniesta? That's a pretty serious comparison, unless you mean simply stylistically. Götze is extraordinary, but Iniesta is practically already a legend, and although Götze COULD reach Iniesta's level, he needs to surpass the likes of Özil-Fabregas before we can even make comparisons between Götze and Iniesta.