Germany Squad Report: Team trains at Campo Bahia for the last time
After a month in their homemade home base in Campo Bahia outside Santa Cruz Cabralia, the German national team had their final training session together before packing up to leave for Rio to prepare for the final against Argentina on Sunday.
Despite the tired stereotypes of a stern, efficient Nationalmannschaft ruthlessly preparing to lift the World Cup trophy, player tweets and photos from the last few weeks have a summer camp vibe. The team appears to genuinely enjoy each other’s company, and the move from the DFB in constructing their training camp seems justified. It can take some teams ages before they finally work well with one another—some never quite manage it.
After the 1-7 drubbing of Brazil, a wonderfully coordinated attack featuring Kroos, Ozil, Mueller and Klose, players who’ve now featured in at least three international tournaments, the midfield appears to be at its peak.
Still, the team showed a humble face to the media, spouting a familiar boilerplate after the epic semifinal match. Per Mertesacker spoke with the media:
"We must stay focused and play the same way that we did against Brazil, otherwise we have no chance.
"Our performance against Brazil was nearly 100 per cent. If you look at the stats, the passing, the goals we scored, everything was so fluent. But if we drop five per cent then we will have no chance."
It’s all training ground hyperbole however and it barely needs repeating. Germany has known this for years.
ESPNFC’s Rafa Honigstein wrote on Toni Kroos yesterday, noting how despite our need for a redemption story, Kroos is the same player as the one who couldn’t find a way past Spain four years ago.
One could say the same thing about Germany. Football is a process, and sometimes the quality of the process isn’t always reflected in the results. Whatever happens tomorrow, the German program has produced a team which has made the finals in 2002, the semifinals in 2006 and 2010, and now a final again. They are almost certainly here to stay, until the next reinvention.
Fixtures/Results
Group G — June 16 — Germany 4-0 Portugal
Group G — June 22 — Germany 2-2 Ghana
Group G — June 26 — United States 0-1 Germany
Round of 16 — June 30 — Germany 2-1 Algeria aet.
Quarterfinal — July 4 — France 0-1 Germany
Semifinal — July 8 — Brazil 1-7 Germany
Final — July 13 — Germany vs. Argentina
Squad News/Rumors/Injury Report
Argentina MF Angel Di Maria may be fit and able to play in the final.
Four Quick Notes
1. Four German players are on the Golden Ball shortlist.
2. Germany must give Jurgen Klinsmann credit should they win the World Cup, writes Joe Lago.
3. The view from Germany on the impending final.
4. Italian referee Nicola Rizzoli to take final, according to FIFA.