Looks like this is going to be my last post for of the year. Thanks to everyone who supported me after starting here on Scorum in October and who assisted me on my way so far. 2019 is going to be even better which lots of peaks to climb and new fields to discover.
Have a great last day wherever you are hanging and catch you all on the other side.
Cheers...
The Year 2018 is something the DFB ( Deutscher Fußballbund - German Football Association) would like to forget as soon as possible. But also in the next year it will probably not be as easy as to pick up where they German Nationalteam thought they stood about 365 days ago.
Started as world champion into the world cup year but at the end the German national team was even kicked out of the A league of the newly started Nations League. But after the embarrassing elimination in the preliminary rounds of the World Cup in Russia, that didn't really touch the German football community any more. Too much had already gone wrong this year, to make people wonder and get upset anymore.
13 international matches: 6 defeats and only 4 win- the worst year in the history of the German national team
At the beginning of the year the German football world was still in perfect order and the German team was at the top of the FIFA rankings. The World Cup was a big event and everyone was eager and excited about the big project of defending their title.
The first test was a fiery meeting with the Spanish selection, and the 1-1 draw seemed to confirm to everyone working for the DFB that everything was under full control and moving into the right direction.
But shortly afterwards, the German met with the Brazilian team, in which the DFB team hardly had a chance to score a goal and consequently lost 0-1. However, after the match national coach Jogi Löw once again managed to appease the public and to keep the team calm.
Just before the World Cup, however things got really moving, but in a completely different way than most people had wished. In the third international match of the year the German team still couldn't win, but more they lost in an embarrassing match against their Austrian neighbour.
And if that hadn't already been enough, Mesut Özil and Ilkay Gündogan, had themselves photographed together with the Turkish president which resulted in a big PR disaster. The two German players with Turkish roots couldn't have done it at any more unfavourably time to spark off the immediate debate before the start of the World Cup.
The last test before the World Cup against Saudi Arabia become almost a secondary matter, ending with a narrow 2-1 victory. And let's not forget the debate about goalkeeper Neuer who despite months of injury was immediately set as number 1 again by coach Löw.
So the signs were already set for a big storm to come, even if the expectations for the German team were still very high.
The World Cup disaster
And then we saw the first World Cup preliminary match against Mexico, in which the German team unexpectedly, but probably consequently, lost 0-1. The harmless German squad did not have much to oppose the fighting and skillfully countering Mexicans. An outcry went through football Germany.
The second match against Sweden was already a first final, which they barely managed to win 2-1. Of course the atmosphere improved significantly, but unfortunately nothing much had changed in the way the Germans played.
That's why things got really bad in game three against South Korea. A win would have taken Germany into the next round and before the game most people in Germany didn't doubt it. But Jogi Löw, betting on the wrong players brought Khedira and Özil, and Germany lost surprisingly 0-2 and had to pack their bags after the preliminary round for the first time ever at a World Cup. Germany was speechless!
But anyone who thought that the DFB would learn from their mistakes and plan a clear cut for the beginning was mistaken. DFB President Reinhard Grindel quickly decided that they would continue to work with Jogi Löw, who would also lead the team into the Nations League starting in autumn. And he then counted on most of the players who had failed so badly at the World Cup. A new beginning looks different!
No new beginning
In the first game the Germans met the newly crowned World Champion from France, just the right test to show where they would stand now.
At the end they reached a respectable 0-0 draw, which the Germans almost celebrated as a victory. They already saw themselves on the right track again, but as we all know the year was far from over and much more had to come.
In the next test game they met Peru and here too, the German team could only narrowly assert itself and win 2-1. A next disappointment could be prevented just before the end by a late goal by Nico Schulz, one of the new players Löw was testing.
In the second game of the Nations League Germany played in the Netherlands, who couldn't qualify for this year's World Cup. The German squad was sent home 0-3 and it was made clear to which team the future could belong. Another embarrassing low.
When Germany lost 1-2 in match three against France, they showed one of the best performances this year, but like in the semi-final of the European Championship 2016 they met their nemesis the french player Antoine Griezmann who scored two goals for the world champion.
The following friendly match against Russia could be won 3-0, but that win didn't really cause any cheers and didn't help to improve the atmosphere anymore, because just a few days later there was that disillusioning 2-2 draw against the Netherlands. In this last game of the Nations League Germany had already taken a 2-0 lead, but after the first dutch goal they became insecure and lost their last chance to avoid relegation to the B-League.
The bottom line
Definitely a year to forget for the German national team, even though at the end there were small signs for hope and improvement. Now it is important to radically deal with the mistakes of the past and above all to learn from them. In order to really make a new start, the DFB cannot shy away from rigorous changes.
Accepting the naked truth is hard: The German team now is only ranked 16th in the FIFA rankings. This is the level of 2005 and most of those responsible for this downfall will probably still be there in 2019. And this includes first of all the players and especially the coach.
It remains to be seen whether the German national soccer team will be back on top next year or whether they continue their struggle. The upcoming qualification for the European Championship 2020, where they among other teams will meet the Netherlands, has almost been declared a self-runner again, but after this year they should be very careful in Germany.
Coach Löw and the DFB have not really been convincing so far to actually be able to manage the renewal of the team and must now hold responsible to finally deliver.
Otherwise it could be the German team who will have to watch from outside when the other countries meet for the next big tournament.
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