By: Nancy Armour
Monday, July 14, 2014
RIO DE JANEIRO — This won’t be the last time you see Germany standing atop the podium.
Whether it’s the European championship in two years or the World Cup in Russia four years from now, this German squad has more titles to win. After taking so much grief the last few years for falling short, Germany has all the makings of soccer’s next great dynasty.
“We have lots of great players in Germany who are very young,” coach Joachim Low said. “Lots of young players who are still able to do lots of things during their career.”
The rest of the world should consider itself warned.
CHAMPIONS: Germany wins its fourth World Cup
Of Germany’s starters, Miroslav Klose is the only one over 30 – though Philipp Lahm turns 31 in November. Mario Gotze, who scored the game-winner Sunday in the 1-0 victory against Argentina in extra time, is all of 22. Thomas Muller, whose five goals were second most in the tournament, is 24. Same for Toni Kroos.
Andre Schurrle is 23, while Mesut Ozil is 25.
And that’s just the players who made it to Brazil. Marco Reus, 25, was all but assured of a spot in the lineup until he tore ligaments in his ankle.
Whether it’s two years from now or four, they’ll all still be in their primes. And the elation that came from this victory will only drive them to want more.
“It is absolutely sensational,” Gotze said, unable to stop smiling more than an hour after the game ended. “It is an indescribable moment.
“We, I think, deserve this trophy.”
There is no question of that.
Germany was far and away the best team in this World Cup. It wasn’t built around a single star, like Argentina or Brazil. Its success wasn’t based on a style of play or formation, like the tiki-taka style that made Spain’s dynasty so formidable. (Though having players such as Xavi, Andres Iniesta, David Villa and Xabi Alonso sure didn’t hurt as Spain was rolling to an unprecedented triple crown of European titles in 2008 and 2012 and the World Cup title four years ago.)
What Germany had was a roster so deep you could barely see the end of it, giving Low option upon option.
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Eight different players scored, and six had two or more goals. Germany’s riches were so great that Loew could take off Klose, the World Cup’s all-time leading scorer, because he had a player such as Gotze on his bench. And when the defense was struggling midway through the tournament, Loew could shift Philipp Lahm back.
“Whether we have the best individual players or whatever does not matter. You have to have the best team,” Lahm said. “We stepped up time and again in the tournament and did not let ourselves get distracted by any disruptions.
“And at the end, we stand there as world champions.”
Germany has been building toward this World Cup title — its fourth, for those counting — for what seemed like forever. In shambles after the 2004 European championship, when it failed to win a game, it turned the team over to rookie coach Jurgen Klinsmann, who shook up Germany’s stodgy old way of doing things.
“Just having the German virtues is not enough, because all the other countries have them,” said Low, an assistant to Klinsmann in 2006. “We would not be able to move forward.”
The young team Klinsmann brought to the 2006 World Cup made it all the way to the semifinals, raising hopes that a title would not be far behind. And when Germany reached the 2008 Euro final, it seemed a certainty.
And then Germany stalled.
It lost in the World Cup semifinals in 2010. Two years later, it was bounced in the semifinals at the European championship. By the time Germany reached Brazil, there were grumblings it was squandering its potential.
But the team knew better. Those other tournaments weren’t Germany’s time.
Brazil was.
“Champions will do what you have to do and bring this thing to its final end,” Low said. “I told them before the match, ‘You have to give more than you’ve done before because we want to achieve something we’ve never done before. And that’s to take the Cup home.’”
It won’t be the last.