let's all play jogi...
As you might know, Jogi Löw has announced his squad for the performance test in Sindelfingen next week. The players who didn't make the list are very unlikely to have even the slightest chance to enter the World Cup squad for South Africa. Exceptions are Michael Ballack (no clearance from Chelsea because of the FA Cup), Robert Huth (no clearance
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I thought long and hard whether to pick Boateng or Badstuber, and I actually agree with everyone who says that a World Cup comes a bit too early for Badstuber, but seriously, he's been so reliable for Bayern, doesn't show any stage fright, and plays as if he's been in Bayern's first team for years and years. Also, compared to Westermann, he can play every defense position extremely well. ;)
You're right, Metze deserves at least one match to prove himself. If he underperforms, his understudy Hummels can do the job. *nodnod*
HAHAHAHA, "O.O". XDDDDDD Ahem. (I don't like him, but I couldn't NOT put him in my line-up.)
I just couldn't bring myself to put faith in Ballack for yet another tournament. He's disappointed me in 2006 and (most of) 2008, and I'd rather give Rolfes a chance. But that doesn't mean it'll actually happen because he's captain and Jogi can't very well bench him.
Funny how we both agree that Schweini is a better 6-er than anything else. ;)
Jansen would be a good alternative to Kroos, definitely. And he's better off in the midfield than the defense.
Honestly, I think I fucked up my starting line-up a little. Maybe my brain was already in bed when I posted this. I don't even have a proper explanation for it. I guess I was just thinking about the players' current performances for their clubs and completely forgot about their NT history. (Well, at least in this case I was consequent. Jogi, pay attention! XD) No, but seriously, you're right that it doesn't make sense to put two players in the starting line-up who either haven't played often enough for the NT or have mostly sucked when wearing the white shirt. So yes, make that Klose and Poldi in the starting line-up and Kieß and Gomez on the bench.
I think I must redo my team. Fail, Bill.
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Dude, we'd so make the best of all our preparation friendlies, wouldn't we? And the team wouldn't underperform and disappoint the audience because they'd know that everything's at stake. ;)
I see what you mean about the current personnel. The problem is that there isn't really a lot of individual talent in the entire list we got to choose our squad from. So no matter which combination you choose, you'll always have to worry about talent. You can go for experience and risk having a squad of grandpas, slow, predictable, non-threatening. Or you can have a squad of youngsters who might drop out of the competition early because of stage fright.
Löw has never made a secret out of loving the 4-4-2 system, and I'd rather have my line-up in this system than some sort of Stuttgart II which Löw is undoubtedly planning to have in South Africa. And sometimes heart and passion can make up for lack of individual talent rather beautifully, especially in a big tournament. ;)
As for that GröFaZ thing:
Deputy, of course, only to the GröBaZ - the groessten Bundestrainer aller Zeiten, Herrn Joachim Loew.
I should do something about this if I were you. ;)
And yes, in fact Löw mostly owes his success to Klinsmann - which is rather weird when you think about it but very true. How funny that things started to get wrong when he wanted to bring in his own ideas. ;)
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I must admit I'm not 100% satisfied with my central defense - mostly for the reasons you mentioned. Metze hasn't really had much match practice, so putting him in the starting line-up is risky, but Merte, even though he's had lots of practice, has left a lot to be desired recently. I guess I'd have a friendly with my line-up and see what happens. If one of them underperforms, he's out and Hummels is in. I agree with everything you wrote in the last comment - Hummels has become a damn fine player in Dortmund (one of the few things I compliment them on XD), and I think he could do a World Cup. Especially when it's alongside a veteran like Metzelder. :)
You have a very good point with Ballack and the leader question. There isn't really anyone completely suitable to take over his job as a captain for good. Maybe Rolfes, he's doing a good job at Leverkusen, but he hasn't really got much NT experience, and sadly he's now injured. I'd say Lahm is probably the closest, but he's not quite there yet - though I don't think that because of what he did at Bayern recently. The problem there is that they have a captain who isn't really an example for his teammates on the pitch. He might have a loud, commanding voice, and he's good at bellowing out orders, but he doesn't set an example with his performances. Despite what everyone keeps saying, I don't think van Bommel is in a safe position, and Lahm has probably realised that the competition. If he hadn't tried to gain more influence, he probably would have been ignored completely. There are still lots of people who think he's too small and too quiet to be captain. But I think he's got a good head on his shoulders - despite having much to learn yet - and he could be a good captain in a few years' time.
So I suppose you're right when you say that Ballack should be in the starting line-up. However, I think it's just for this one reason that I agree. His performances for Chelsea might not have been bad, but Gomez and Podolski have shown us that club performances don't really say much. I doubt he'll be any better than in 2006 or 2008, and that's why I'm still reluctant to let him start.
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