For the first time since 1990, the
German National team has raised the World Cup trophy. A mixture of seasoned veterans, along with
the young future meshed together to become the “German Machine”. The road started long before July 13,
2014. Ridicule and criticism of the way
the Germans play was shown even by their fellow countrymen. The old Germany were sideline press and cross
in for the header. The new style is
possession based, with a lot of flare and pinpoint accuracy.
In the year 2006, the German
national team was favorites to win on their home soil. The Qualifying was quick and easy as
usual. The group stage and round of 16
and 8 were completed and then came July 4th against the
Italians. A game I’ll never forget. My Brother and I watched our team, Germany
alongside our friends and relatives who were rooting for the Azzurri. A true
stalemate of a game took an extra half hour to be decided. In the 119th minute a botched
clearance of an Italian corner led to Fabio Grosso scoring a goal in the corner
of the net. To add insult to injury a
minute later, Del Piero scored a goal of his own to leave myself and the other
Germany fans in disbelief.
Fast forward 4 years to the
tournament in South Africa, where yet again the German side was a favorite to
win the cup. As in 2006, the German
squad blew through qualifying and did well in the group stage. Then came the shock again when in the later
part of the semifinal match with Spain, the German luck ran out again. Carlos Puyol scored in the 73rd
minute ending the hopes for a World Cup final victory.
In all honesty, I didn’t think 2014
would be the year for Germany. With big
named players like Mario Gomez, Holger Badstuber, and Marco Reus falling to
injury, the roster seemed to be unfit.
Sami Khedira had a long term injury and Mats Hummels was injured a lot
this year. The big players were still
coming together for Germany, but would all the shake ups lead to failure?
The “Group of Death” is the group in
a tournament that looks the strongest.
The World Cup 2014 “Group of Death” consisted of Germany, Portugal,
Ghana, and the United States. The first
task was Portugal. In this tournament
Ronaldo and the boys would lose 4-0 to Germany.
The “Black Stars” of Ghana were next.
Trailing 2-1 later in the game German Coach Joachim Low had to make a
bold decision and bring on the veterans Miroslav Klose and Bastian
Schweinsteiger. A few minutes after
entry to the game, Klose’s presence would be felt. A Toni Kroos corner would be headed by
Benedikt Howedes and then slide kicked into the net by Klose. That goal would tie Klose with Ronaldo at 15
goals in a World Cup Tournament.
The final game in the group stage
was the game I had been waiting for between the United States and Germany. I was honestly rooting for a draw because
both teams would advance with a draw. I
ended up happy with the result. Thomas
Muller would score the only goal to make the game 1-0. But the US would get through as well.
Following the group stage Germany
would play Algeria. Algeria would give
the Germans a great challenge. Extra
time would be required and Schurrle and Ozil would have to score and give the
Germans the win. Following the extra
time thriller with Algeria, the German squad would face France in the
Quarterfinal. The game was a stalemate
which saw only 1 goal from either team as Hummels headed in a shot that was
sent in by Kroos. The feeling of “this
is our year” began to sink in after the victory over “Le Bleu”.
The next team for Germany on their
journey to the finals was Brazil. The
semifinal game was the game everyone wanted to see. The only downfall was the absence of Neymar
who was injured, and Thiago Silva, who was out due to yellow card
accumulation. The absence of the two
would prove to be a big blow for the Brazilians.
In the 11th minute Thomas
Muller scored off of a corner kick from Toni Kroos. The Muller goal I believe was a miscue by
match captain David Luiz. Twelve minutes
after the first goal Germany pressured again into Brazil’s box. This time history would be made as Miroslav
Klose would score World Cup goal #16.
Toni Kroos made an additional 2 goals in as many minutes. Brazil would score only 1 goal in a 7-1
blowout defeat.
The final chapter of World Cup 2014
was ready to happen. On one side of the
field Germany and on the other side Argentina.
Messi and Argentina was the only thing standing between Germany and
raising the trophy. The game was an absolute classic. Many close shots and many great saves from
Argentine Romero and German Neuer. The
seesaw battle wasn’t decided in 90 minutes so extra time was played. Until this point the only ball that hit the
net was a shot from Higuain after he was in an offsides position.
The first 15 minutes of extra time
had the same result of the 90. No goals
from either team. The second extra time
seemed like it would just be a chess match to set up penalty kicks. In the 113th minute Andre Schurrle
ran the ball up the left sideline and crossed in a gem to Mario Gotze who had
been substituted in a few minutes prior.
Gotze guided the ball with his chest, laid out and connected with the
ball before it hit the ground. Romero
seemed to be in good position but had no chance of blocking Gotze’s shot. The ball hit the back of the net and the
Germans were up 1-0. The score would
stay the same and Captain Phillip Lahm was finally able to raise the trophy for
his country. A 24 year journey for Deutschland
was finally over. Germany is the
Champions of the World 2014.
-Justin Zydor
