On the other hand, La Seleccion may well appear to be plagued with problems to the trained eye: exhaustion, inner rivalries and David Villa’s questionable fitness may leave some in doubt whilst Carles Puyol is definitely missing the tournament. The overwhelming feeling however, is that Spain will be there to win it, just as effectively and in the similar inspirational manner that drove them to lift the previous two major trophies available to them. Possibly their most admirable attribute is one replicated throughout Spain-firmly sticking to their beliefs and keeping the ball on the floor.
On first impressions, Germany are majorly contrasting: Joachim Low’s side look fresh and have matured since their previous two convincing tournaments, where Low’s force has began to take shape, reaching 2008’s final and 2010’s World Cup semi-final, finishing 3rd overall in the competition after defeating Uruguay 3-2. Since then, the momentous, multicultural force has had time to plan and develop-into what exactly, is the question. The only answer is that we will understand the scale of this construction soon enough. Utilising the 4-2-3-1 formation in a very attacking sense, their style has been likened to that of Latin American teams: similar to the bold Uruguay (who can forget their World Cup?) and the way Brazil are famed for playing in the days of Pelé and Socrates right up until winning their 5th world title in 2002 (against, unsurprisingly, Germany). In addition, their possession and passing game in midfield is a clear take on Spain and Barcelona’s model-which is a large factor in what makes them so intriguing.
Littered within Germany’s squad and becoming integral parts of the clockwork are, well, foreigners. Everybody is aware of the son of Turkish parents, Mesut Özil, who is a regular for Real Madrid. Lucas Podolski and Miroslav Klose were both born in Poland whilst Cacau (a striker who has been making a name for himself in the German squad) is Brazilian, earning his German citizenship in 2009. Jerome Boateng has a Ghanaian father whilst Sami Khedira’s is Tunisian. There looks to be more of this to come, too: Shalke’s Lewis Holtby (who has an outside chance of making the squad) is the son of a Liverpudlian. Most notably, the under-21s side that beat England’s in the 2009 Euros consisted of 8 players who, somewhere down the line, had somewhat of a non-German background, piling more anticipation upon the future. Germany are not just a force for this summer-as Spain grow older, Die Mannschaft ready themselves to smother world football for the considerable future.
Comparing these factors, we may soon be witnessing Spain’s last hurrah for now, whether that be this July or in Brazil at the 2014 World Cup. Whatever the case, the Germans look set to be on the overtake at 100 miles-per-hour, with no intent of braking. We have no way of definitively proving and therefore can only excitedly predict which nation will return from Poland and Ukraine to a parade of open top buses. Holland are hungry to prove a point they never made in 2010, whilst France have been revived under Laurent Blanc since that embarrassing summer. Just remember: if you learn anything from this article, it’s that I would refrain from squandering any money by placing an optimistic bet on England any time soon.
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