Germany at World Cup 2014
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Funnily enough I actually enjoy Matthäus talking about football when he does not want to profile himself with some kind of stupid story. When he just analyzes things without an agenda he says some pretty sound things. Probably also one of my favourite co commentators.
lil' erik makes it to the WC, looking like a regular starter or what? i find this hilarious. and great! what a story.
ps. HIS HELIUM VOICE WTF
ps. HIS HELIUM VOICE WTF
Helmer is a bad show man, he talks jokes and so on. Pitty.
Cant agree with the others here so.
Matthäus really shows off sometimes. He really knows his footy.
Kahn did a fine job for me in his time for German TV for example. Lehmann has great insider infos from time to time.
In the end we shouldnt be so hard: after all its a simple game and you cant talk soo much about it.
Even Beckenbauer gets ask so many stupid questions about the same stuff that some anwers arent that right on spot.
For Löws choices: Perfect for me. Schmelzer is average, we have Großkreutz there, Mustafi is okish and Volland is a worse Thomas Müller.
Löw(besides having a monster record) had his years where the "experts" didnt attack him. But now, after 3! tries he is a loser and so on. Honestly I would get sick of that sh** if I wouldnt know that Löw is making big money and history and is laughing on the haters.
He is a nice man and a great coach. Hope that he has a fine world cup.
Would be a shame if some idiots would take nonsense just to be in the press.
(talking to you Thon and Strunz)
Cant agree with the others here so.
Matthäus really shows off sometimes. He really knows his footy.
Kahn did a fine job for me in his time for German TV for example. Lehmann has great insider infos from time to time.
In the end we shouldnt be so hard: after all its a simple game and you cant talk soo much about it.
Even Beckenbauer gets ask so many stupid questions about the same stuff that some anwers arent that right on spot.
For Löws choices: Perfect for me. Schmelzer is average, we have Großkreutz there, Mustafi is okish and Volland is a worse Thomas Müller.
Löw(besides having a monster record) had his years where the "experts" didnt attack him. But now, after 3! tries he is a loser and so on. Honestly I would get sick of that sh** if I wouldnt know that Löw is making big money and history and is laughing on the haters.
He is a nice man and a great coach. Hope that he has a fine world cup.
Would be a shame if some idiots would take nonsense just to be in the press.
(talking to you Thon and Strunz)
You're a very very strange Dortmund supporter. Shouldn't there be a natural hatred towards Matthäus that can't be overcome?
For a man who led us to a world cup? Would love him if he would be a ex Dortmunder...(thinking of Sammer)
I hate Matthäus despite being a Bayern fan while I actually respect Sammer a lot, always have, even before the Euro in '96.For a man who led us to a world cup? Would love him if he would be a ex Dortmunder...(thinking of Sammer)
Oh, I heavily dislike Matthäus as a person, but I still view him as a knowledgable bloke. I also really, very deeply dislike the sorry excuse of a captain that is Philipp Lahm, but damn is he a good football player. One of the best RBs I have ever seen and pretty good CM aswell. It was similar with Oliver Kahn, who I view to this date as the best German keeper I have ever seen live, but the moment he stepped in front of the camera I had the urge to punch the screen.
Hate is always a bit strong for a footballer. Why do you hate him if I may ask? For me just a hero for 90 and the 90s overall.
Lahm ain't that bad - just boring and somewhat colourless.
Whereas I was not even a Kahn fan when he was playing.
i think its hilarious that 99% of the posters on this thread are Germans writing to each other in english on an english message board .
Back to topic: I once was a Löw Supporter but he really seems to lose the grip in the last years.
Höwedes shouldnt be close to the NT in the first place. But as a LB? You gotta be kidding me. He is immobile (no not the Dortmund Striker) and slow as feck. He offers nothing when it comes to offense and crossing.
After seeing pretty much every game of Boateng in the NT i still dont know why this guy gets so much praise. I cant remember a single outstanding game from him. All i remember are sloppy efforts paired with mental mistakes. Hes also a sent-off waiting to happen in most games.
Özil shouldnt be close to the starting XI but he is Löws petcat so i expect him to start every game. I just hate the guys effort. He really seems to have no fight in him. He doenst bother to defend and is offense is shit since he joined Arsenal.
Khedira showed that he isnt match ready. With 40 degrees+ coming up in Brazil i dont think the guy will last.
Same probably goes for Schweinsteiger.
If Löw would stuck to his words (he never does it anyway) "we only use players that are completely fit and ready" then he has to start with Kramer/Kroos. Nevertheless i expect one of Khedira/Schweinsteiger or maybe both starting, you never know.
One can only hope that he leaves Lahm at RB. He is still the best in the world at this position and playing Großkreutz or Boateng there would be a nightmare.
.Back to topic: I once was a Löw Supporter but he really seems to lose the grip in the last years.
Höwedes shouldnt be close to the NT in the first place. But as a LB? You gotta be kidding me. He is immobile (no not the Dortmund Striker) and slow as feck. He offers nothing when it comes to offense and crossing.
After seeing pretty much every game of Boateng in the NT i still dont know why this guy gets so much praise. I cant remember a single outstanding game from him. All i remember are sloppy efforts paired with mental mistakes. Hes also a sent-off waiting to happen in most games.
Özil shouldnt be close to the starting XI but he is Löws petcat so i expect him to start every game. I just hate the guys effort. He really seems to have no fight in him. He doenst bother to defend and is offense is shit since he joined Arsenal.
Khedira showed that he isnt match ready. With 40 degrees+ coming up in Brazil i dont think the guy will last.
Same probably goes for Schweinsteiger.
If Löw would stuck to his words (he never does it anyway) "we only use players that are completely fit and ready" then he has to start with Kramer/Kroos. Nevertheless i expect one of Khedira/Schweinsteiger or maybe both starting, you never know.
One can only hope that he leaves Lahm at RB. He is still the best in the world at this position and playing Großkreutz or Boateng there would be a nightmare.
You talk about Boateng and don't understand why he gets so much praise and the resti think its hilarious that 99% of the posters on this thread are Germans writing to each other in english on an english message board
Back to topic: I once was a Löw Supporter but he really seems to lose the grip in the last years.
Höwedes shouldnt be close to the NT in the first place. But as a LB? You gotta be kidding me. He is immobile (no not the Dortmund Striker) and slow as feck. He offers nothing when it comes to offense and crossing.
After seeing pretty much every game of Boateng in the NT i still dont know why this guy gets so much praise. I cant remember a single outstanding game from him. All i remember are sloppy efforts paired with mental mistakes. Hes also a sent-off waiting to happen in most games.
Özil shouldnt be close to the starting XI but he is Löws petcat so i expect him to start every game. I just hate the guys effort. He really seems to have no fight in him. He doenst bother to defend and is offense is shit since he joined Arsenal.
Khedira showed that he isnt match ready. With 40 degrees+ coming up in Brazil i dont think the guy will last.
Same probably goes for Schweinsteiger.
If Löw would stuck to his words (he never does it anyway) "we only use players that are completely fit and ready" then he has to start with Kramer/Kroos. Nevertheless i expect one of Khedira/Schweinsteiger or maybe both starting, you never know.
One can only hope that he leaves Lahm at RB. He is still the best in the world at this position and playing Großkreutz or Boateng there would be a nightmare.
Can I ask you what are your thoughts on Khedira?
What does Khedira actually do?
I was very worried on deadline day hearing rumours we made a last ditch bid to sign him for some stupid amount of money and very relieved that is turned out to be false
If I wanted a midfielder from Germany or from Real Madrid, Khedira would be last choice out of all of them
Khedira is a very solid CM. Nothing more, nothing less.
When completely fit he is very good when it comes to tackling and destroying the oppositions midfield play. The problem is, he doesnt really fit in most modern football tactics. He's an oldschool No.6 destroyer. He can control the pace, but he isnt the 98% accurate passer like Kroos for example. Sometimes he forces to do a run in the offense and loses the ball.
He isnt fast, creative or a goal threat.
If you need a destroyer he is perfect. He fits Real Madrids system because they have so many creative and fast attacking midfielders. Still i rate him not as high as Xabi Alonso in his prime.
I dont think he would fit in Uniteds system. I would suggest a more creative passer that can open up the offense. You dont have real threats on the wings so i guess a CM who can play the deadly pass would be better.
I still believe Khedira is the biggest midfield fraud of this decade. How did he trick so many into believing that he's actually good at defending 
. He's most of the time a headless chicken, but has enough energy to look like he's doing a lot, but is so often caught out of position that it's just sad. I will never understand why he got so much praise for his performances at the Euro 2012. Schweinsteiger got stick for complaining that he had to run so much to make up for the lack of defensive contribution around him, which was obviously true and clearly down to Khedira's lack of tactical discipline while Khedira was hailed as the new leader of the team because he fluked a goal against fecking Greece, but watched his team get overrun in midfield on the counter because he never is where a defensive midfielder should be.
Khedira is the epitome of what's wrong with Löw's team, it's beyond ridiculous. Hell, even Kroos tackles more than Khedira does.
. He's most of the time a headless chicken, but has enough energy to look like he's doing a lot, but is so often caught out of position that it's just sad. I will never understand why he got so much praise for his performances at the Euro 2012. Schweinsteiger got stick for complaining that he had to run so much to make up for the lack of defensive contribution around him, which was obviously true and clearly down to Khedira's lack of tactical discipline while Khedira was hailed as the new leader of the team because he fluked a goal against fecking Greece, but watched his team get overrun in midfield on the counter because he never is where a defensive midfielder should be.Khedira is the epitome of what's wrong with Löw's team, it's beyond ridiculous. Hell, even Kroos tackles more than Khedira does.
I came here because the Löw hatred on the german boards annoys me. Every little decision gets heavly criticised. Thought on here it would be a little bit more relaxed. Guess I was wrong.i think its hilarious that 99% of the posters on this thread are Germans writing to each other in english on an english message board
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Khedira is good when it comes to covering a radius of 20 m from centre line but he is offering next to nothing for the offense and he fails to chase down players up to the goal.
He just lets them go when they break through him and hopes for the best more often than not.
Still given our current CM Situation he is still pretty much a bet for a starting spot
He just lets them go when they break through him and hopes for the best more often than not.
Still given our current CM Situation he is still pretty much a bet for a starting spot
Khedira is the German Scott Parker, he runs around a lot but is constantly out of position.
Agree 100 percent, he is not a destroyer and I would never play Khedira as number 6 in front of the defence. He just hasn't the discipline to do that, you can't compare him with someone like Makelele. Khedira is just a little bit useless for me, he can do a little bit of this and a little bit of that, but nothing really good. Khedira in a RM dress just looks so wrong to meI still believe Khedira is the biggest midfield fraud of this decade. How did he trick so many into believing that he's actually good at defending
Khedira is the epitome of what's wrong with Löw's team, it's beyond ridiculous. Hell, even Kroos tackles more than Khedira does.
In all the criticism of Khedira I have to say, none of you have to bring up something really substancial against him. He made an box-to-box player in 2012, which he clearly isn't and so he was out of position sometimes, but it's not like that has always happened with him. In 2010 an in most of the games till 2012 he played a rocksolid DM. If he does what he can do best, he's one of the best of the world in his position. After all the criticism you give him one fact still stands: he's near 100 games fo Real Madrid, reigning CL-Champion, and was part of the first XI under Mourinho and Ancelotti. All in all, even if you don't like Löw, these two should be consensously great at what they are doing.
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Khedira is underrated, but agree he's not a defensive minded midfielder. Can't believe some German guys not only rate Boateng but say hes excellent. Average at best imo. Ozil shouldn't start for Germany and I must still be the only one that doesn't rate Gotze! Never understood they hype..
Even at the worldcup in 2010, Schweinsteiger played the DM role with Khedira constantly making runs forward. The whole team was playing deeper and trying to attack on the counter, that's why it wasn't as big a problem as it is in the more possession based tactics now. Khedira usually played for Stuttgart at the tip of a 3 man midfield, he was always a poor man's Ballack and never a defensive midfielder, let alone a holding midfielder. He also had the same problems at Real.
Goetze flatters to decieve every time I see him, where is his best position? Anyone know?
Ah, I think I belong in this thread. Finally a place that everyone agrees with me on how useless Khedira is.
The German Ramires, great at running but awful at playing football.
The German Ramires, great at running but awful at playing football.
As a 10, I would say. He delievered some very good games in this position this season and it was his position in his last season for Dortmund. Guardiola seems to think he's a CM though.
Khedira's main weakness is that he is keen to get involved in attacks all the time but is shit at scoring and assisting.
That being said his defensive contribution isn't really great either because he gets involved in attacking so much. Imo he could develop into a half decent player if he would recognize that he has no business going forward.
That being said his defensive contribution isn't really great either because he gets involved in attacking so much. Imo he could develop into a half decent player if he would recognize that he has no business going forward.
Sorry, not everybody. I do not. Khedira has a mentality that team lacks without him. It is not always the guys that are technically the best. Khedira is the guy for the Tuesday nights at Stoke or ugly evenings in Austria. There has been a couple of matches in which the really needed somebody with his mentality and fight. He does not score often - but when he does it is an important goal as equalizer or winning goal.
You do not win a competition only with the muppets...- but Khedira has to get really fit and match practice to work well.
And yes, he is no sweeper. But maybe you always have to look at the pairing in central midfield and not only on his role alone. It is getting difficult when you e.g. pair him with a Kroos who even if he started to get more bite in his duels still has a lot problems on his way backwards. Kroos would need a sweeper behind him - and for Khedira probably a fit Schweinsteiger would be the ideal partner.
Or he simply doesn't have any room for him upfront at Bayern.
I thought his best matches were the ones in which he was only playing with Robben and Müller in attack - in different roles. I remember the Hamburg match, Moskow, Hertha and the first match against Dortmund in the league that were really fine in that formation.
this "right mentality" crap again. If Khedira would have the right mentality, his defensive contribution would be better.
The problem with Khedira is, that there is almost no german midfielder, that you can pair him with. He needs a deeplying playmaker, who is also defensively exceptional (workrate + tactical awareness). There is a limited amount of player in the world who combine these skills. In Germany only Schweinsteiger and maybe Gündogan can do that. The problem is, they can only do it, if they are 100% fit and in their best possible form. Since two years Schweinsteiger has one injury after another and the climate in brazil will be tough. I dont think that he can carry us through the tourney. If you dont have fit, versatile top players like Schweinsteiger, the best plan is to use one defensive and one offensive central midfielder. Khedira doesnt have the skill set and tactical awareness to play either of these roles. Khedira is solid in a 3-men midfield, but Özil+Khedira is waiting for an accident to happen.
In the current situation I´d pair Schweinsteiger with Hummels. Hummels would fix our defensive problems while he is also good enough to link offense and defense. He is in great form and never hides. If we talk about mentality, Hummels has to play, because he is the prototype of a modern leader on the pitch. Kroos/Kramer would be my "back-up" option. Kramer is too inexperienced and unproven to use him as starter. If Schweinsteiger isnt 100% fit, Kroos can take over.
Having the "right mentality" for sure is no crap... It is more often the difference between winning and not winning... Youtube Vids and Fifa 14 just do not let you win real matches... Khedira does his job when he is fit - and even if we would give him different tasks he seems to work the way his coaches want him to play. Else he would not have been a starting player for Mourinho, Ancelotti and Löw...
And Hummels - Klopp will tell you that this does not work anymore - tried out at Dortmund and really failed. Hummels has built up his body for a defender job.
And Hummels - Klopp will tell you that this does not work anymore - tried out at Dortmund and really failed. Hummels has built up his body for a defender job.
Yeah, he is past that position now. There some really rare cases like Lahm when something like this can work, but that's far from common.
Ginter would probably work, but he has zero experience. Same for Kramer, but I have the feeling this may be his tournament....watch out for that guy!
Protecting the centre backs, winning challenges and actual playing an DM if you are positioned as such also is often the difference between winning and not winning...
You may be right that Khedira does the job he is given, but the problem is that Löw has a weird perception of Khediras abilities. So he assigns him to taks he is not perfect for. Khedira plays way to offensive and ruins a lot of attacks.
If he would just sit deep an does what a DM is supposed to do our team would be a lot more compact. But thats not gonna happen. So it would be best to leave him on the bench.
This is how 5 of the Real Madrid midfielders compare with each other this season
Creativity, tackling, passing and dribbling - 4 of the most important aspects for a midfielder
Creativity
Chances created per game
3.08 di Maria 109
2.94 Isco 86
1.82 Modric 73
0.94 Xabi Alonso 28
0.85 Khedira 13
Tackling
Number of successful tackles per game
2.25 Xabi Alonso 67/175
1.72 Modric 69/140
1.33 di Maria 47/129
1.20 Isco 35/105
0.85 Khedira 13/39
Passing
Number of accurate long passes per game
7.53 Xabi Alonso 224/292
7.20 Modric 289/328
4.29 di Maria 152/204
2.60 Isco 76/92
2.37 Khedira 36/41
Dribbling
Number of successful dribbles per game
3.04 Isco 89/155
1.94 Modric 78/111
1.89 di Maria 67/135
0.66 Khedira 10/16
0.07 Xabi Alonso 2/6
Number of minutes played in la Liga and Champions League this season
Modric 3612
di Maria 3187
Xabi Alsono 2677
Isco 2632
Khedira 1369
Creativity, tackling, passing and dribbling - 4 of the most important aspects for a midfielder
Creativity
Chances created per game
3.08 di Maria 109
2.94 Isco 86
1.82 Modric 73
0.94 Xabi Alonso 28
0.85 Khedira 13
Tackling
Number of successful tackles per game
2.25 Xabi Alonso 67/175
1.72 Modric 69/140
1.33 di Maria 47/129
1.20 Isco 35/105
0.85 Khedira 13/39
Passing
Number of accurate long passes per game
7.53 Xabi Alonso 224/292
7.20 Modric 289/328
4.29 di Maria 152/204
2.60 Isco 76/92
2.37 Khedira 36/41
Dribbling
Number of successful dribbles per game
3.04 Isco 89/155
1.94 Modric 78/111
1.89 di Maria 67/135
0.66 Khedira 10/16
0.07 Xabi Alonso 2/6
Number of minutes played in la Liga and Champions League this season
Modric 3612
di Maria 3187
Xabi Alsono 2677
Isco 2632
Khedira 1369
Probably not fair given he was injured most of the season. Do you have figures for last season?
Whenever I compare players I always factor in how many minutes they have played to make the comparison fair
Last season Khedira LL and CL
Minutes played = 2504
Chances created = 31
Tackles made = 70
Long passes = 37/61
Dribbling = 7
1.11 chances created per game
2.52 tackles per game
1.33 accurate long passes per game
0.25 dribbles per game
2.52 tackles per game is decent, only if the player was also decent in the 3 other areas, by itself it is not good at all compared to the best midfielders in Europe
Vidal over the past 2 seasons combined in SA and CL
Minutes played = 6277
Chances created = 131
Tackles made = 353
Long passes = 250/320
Dribbling = 45
1.88 chances created per game
5.06 tackles per game
3.58 accurate long passes per game
0.65 dribbles per game
The masters of each area are
Chances created per game = 3-4 per game, players like Mata and Silva
Tackles made = Vidal
Long passes = 10-12, players like Pirlo (Scholes 12/13 was at 17 per game)
Dribbles per game = 3-4 for players like Kovacic and Dembele from CM and 5-6 for wingers like Ribery and Messi
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And - his coaches must be so stupid because they let him play... Forum experts and statistics know better... wwait....
I hate comments like that. Why do you even write on a football forum with other fans, if you come up with the 'the managers knows it better anyway' attitude. No need to discuss anything then.
Khedira is in my opinion way better suited to a counterattacking style, where his workrate is incredibly useful and his starting position is deeper and therefore he's less often dragged too far out of position. He was great in 2010, way better than in 2012 when he got all the praise. Ever since we moved to a more attacking, more possession based style - 2010 was clearly a counterattacking set-up - Khedira caused problems. You can't compare Löw's style in the last 4 years with Mourinho's and Ancelotti's ideas at Real and even then the Real fans had every right to criticise him when he failed to perform, to have an impact time and time again against the top teams in CL and in the league.
All the talk about mentality really is quite annoying. The great leaders in the German nationalteam in the past were always players that did what was necessary to win, not tried to shine and ignored the problems they caused. Now all of a sudden, everyone who has a bit of a tough man attitude is hailed as a leader and the nationalteam supposedly needs him, even if he's causing more problems than he's actually solving. It's ridiculous. The reason, why players like Matthäus, Sammer, Effenberg or Ballack were true leaders on the pitch, wasn't only their attitude. It was because they combined individiual quality, great tactical understanding, a bit of cuntishness with agression and workrate on the pitch. Khedira lacks more of those attributes than Schweinsteiger, who's constantly criticised for not showing up. Even half fit he did way more in defense than Khedira in 2012 and contributed just as much in attack (remember his game against Holland?). But instead of maximising his influence, he became the watercarrier for Khedira, who never in his career showed any signs that he can actually carry a team against a top opponent, even though he tried (again I'm not criticising his attitude). Alonso had the same problems with Khedira as his partner and Özil as AM in Mourinho's final season at Real and was also criticised heavily. Yet with di Maria and Modric in midfield, he all of a sudden was an excellent player again, easily the standout midfielder in the CL tie against Bayern this season. There's no way Khedira would have started the CL final if Alonso wasn't suspended and rightly so. He's not a player who helps to get the best out of his teammates and it's a problem in the German nationalteam, has been for almost 4 years now.
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for what it's worth, I would have loved Khedira in a 3 man midfield together with Schweinsteiger and Gündogan. That would have had a brilliant balance and all 3 could have had an impact without the team loosing the balance. Khedira isn't a box to box midfielder who provides enough defensive cover to play him next to Kroos or Gündogan though. A peak Schweinsteiger maybe could have made it work, but even that's a big questionmark in a possession based team. If Schweinsteiger is fully fit, you would have want him to play like he did for Bayern in the treble winning season, not have him fill a role to maximise Khedira's impact. That's totally stupid.
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Not sure why you include long passes, but leave pass completion rate out (ball retention clearly is important for a CM). Interceptions should be in it as well, even more important than tackles.
I leave out pass completion out because almost every midfielder and central defender has a pass completion of 80-90%, it does not show whether a player is good, average or bad at passing
Anyone can make 50 passes a game, the passes that are important are long passes, chances created, crosses and through balls
Khedira 86% pass completion, like hundreds of other players around Europe
Cleverley 89%
But the number of short passes played describes the role and gives an impression what kind of player he is and therefore allows us to put the other stats in the right context. Makes no sense to leave it out.