Germany’s triumph, collective triumph
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: July 15, 2014 -
Finally they did it. They did it with elan and gusto.
Germany is now the world champions and they have proved before the whole world they are the best team. It was not that they came, they saw and they conquered.
It was like they envisioned, planned, came to Brazil and conquered everything on their way to the ultimate prize. In their first match, they crushed Christiano Ronaldo’s Portugal.
Then they showed the way out for Algeria. Next, they knocked out fellow European soccer powerhouse France, and in the semi-final, Die Nationalmannschaft decimated host Selecao by a record breaking margin of 7-1.
Then came the grand finale against South American giant Argentina led by super star Lionel Messi.
The Germans, always confident as they are, were undaunted by Lionel Messi’s presence. But it was no push over against Messi’s team unlike Ronaldo’s Portugal.
The final match, as everyone saw, was evenly matched and the way the match unfolded and ended had all the characteristics of a battle royale.
Upfront Lionel Messi was effectively stifled by the well orchestrated German defence and at any point of the match he was not able to take a crack at German custodian Manuel Neuer who was deservedly awarded the Golden Glove (for Best Goalkeeper).
At the other end, the German forward line had a tough time in their search for an opening against the Argentinian solid defence marshalled by formidable Javier Mascherano.
The defenders did their job well to keep off the marauding German forward line until the superb strike of Mario Goetze in the 113th minute which sealed the contest.
If one must blame someone for the Argentinian defeat, the blame must go to their forward line led by the super talented Lionel Messi.
Whereas Argentina had the advantage of having the world’s finest striker in the name of Lionel Messi, Germany has a master strategist in their head coach Joachim Loew.
No doubt, Argentina has some match winners in Lionel Messi, Higuain, Sergio Aguero and Rodrigo Palacio but their individual brilliance was not enough to disorient the well-disciplined German midfield and defence manned by the likes of Bastian Schweinsteiger, Philip Lahm, Mats Hummels and Jerome Boetang.
Yes, Argentina played well and fought hard but everyone noticed it as the match progressed that team Argentina was not as organised or cohesive as their European rivals.
Simply put, the Germans had more appetite for the World Cup glory and this is understandable given their consistent performances in the previous World Cups and European champions.
They lost to Brazil in the summit clash of 2002. Again they could secure only the third position on their home soil in 2006.
They were knocked out by Spain, the ultimate champions in the semi-final of World Cup 2010 and again they lost to Spain in the final of European Cup in 2012.
Germany, after winning the World Cup trophy, on Brazilian soil outside their home continent after a long wait for 24 years, has successfully redeemed all its pride and re-established themselves as a preeminent soccer powerhouse not only in Europe but in the entire planet.
Germany has no Messi, no Ronaldo, no Neymar but they have a very determined, hard working and well disciplined team moulded by master strategist Joachim Loew.
Germany’s triumph in FIFA World Cup 2014, in short, is a victory of collective team efforts against individual exceptional skills and brilliance.
* Comments posted by users in this discussion thread and other parts of this site are opinions of the individuals posting them (whose user ID is displayed alongside) and not the views of e-pao.net. We strongly recommend that users exercise responsibility, sensitivity and caution over language while writing your opinions which will be seen and read by other users. Please read a complete Guideline on using comments on this website.