I have all these feels.

[shinexinhua]

It's not easy being a fan, especially when loss is involved. While victories are always easy to experience, one also has to go through the bitterness of defeat. It is in these moments that we stick with our team with utmost support and thank them for what they have achieved.

The Euro 2012 finals will take place this Monday morning, and Germany will not be there. Looking back at this season, the team has indeed grown, but so did certain flaws. As fans, we do get frustrated when these mistakes amplify throughout the games. But we must learn to overcome this hurdle together with the team.

It was difficult to watch them lose to Italy yesterday. Watching Ozil take the penalty and the boys falling into despair after was simply heartbreaking. The feeling of lost still lingers. We fans know the boys put in so much of themselves, hence that is why we only love them even more. No fan can ask for a better team, and no team can be better than Die Mannschaft.

My friends know I've been harsh to the boys (I'm like a freaking Tiger Mother) throughout the season. I love them to bits, but we cannot be blind and must face our mistakes as honestly as we can. Here are just some of my thoughts overall:

1. Personally, I felt the spark of brilliance that was in WC2010 painstakingly absent this season. Of course, there are individual players that have definitely improved in terms of strength, technique and skill set. Football is a team sport and that means all players must equal in standard - we cannot afford loop holes.
2. Which leads me to say (this is difficult to admit), our defence really sucked big time. We have really good players at the back, but whenever the opposite team attacks, our stronghold just seem to crumble. Just look at the game with Greece, we should not have conceded those 2 goals. It was plain simple errors that could be stopped.
3. We have incredibly amazing players. On. The. Bench. To be exact, we have 23 excellent players and if I'm Jogi, I'd be spoilt for choice too. We have fresh young players as well as experienced ones. I may be no expert but seriously, I do question Jogi's judgement and choice sometimes. But he's our coach, and who do we follow if not Jogi himself.
4. Kudos to Mesut Ozil who carried the team on his shoulders with all his heart. Philip Lahm who led the team with courage and determination. Mats Hummels who surprised anyone who doubted Germany. Macro Reus who showed the world Germany's true potential now and many years to come. Manuel Neuer who was a fearless guardian duck angel (though sometimes he does like to fly out of his nest). The whole team did well, but these individuals really stood out for me. (I'm not going to do criticisms. Too raw.)
5. I never felt that the boys were overconfident or complacent. They do buckle at times of pressure, but they always rise up to the challenge. We have to admit that Italy did play a lot better than we did. The boys sometimes tend to respect the other teams way too much. WE NEED TO BE FIERCE, BOYS.
6. We need to clone Miroslav Fucking Klose. (Well, we have his twins. But that's for WC2026.)

I would have loved seeing them hold up the cup this Monday, but alas, perhaps we are not ready for it yet. We need to remember that this is a very young team and there is always room for improvement. One does not become world champions overnight, but I believe we don't need to wait long for destiny to be fulfilled. A big danke to the boys for they have showed us true sportsmanship and class.

I will continue to wear my number 8 German jersey with pride and wait for WC2014. In the mean time, can I just hug my precious Ozil?