Last Friday Germany national team coach Joachim Löw (picture) had announced the preliminary roster for the upcoming Euro 2008. For me there are few surprises and upsets in the list. You can see the squad list on http://www.dfb.de/. Here I'm now sharing some of my views in the squad list.
Normals: Michael Ballack is nothing more than normal, and he deserves to be in the list. He was recovered from the injury in Janurary this year but his form had been improved drastically. He is the most important member in the national team and I do think he is the key player to lead Germany to success in this year's competition. Even though he failed to win any title for Chelsea this season, I think his experience and ability can help him to get over the curse and win the title for Germany.
Surprises: Marko Marin (above) and Rene Adler (below) are absolutely the biggest surprise to the German fans. They both weren't being chosen in the national team before, but this time they are appeared in the squad list. Marko Marin is a 19-year-old young gun who plays for Gladbach, the 2nd division champion. He can play at left wing or right wing, and according to the reports, he is very good at pace. Rene Adler also a surprise. Every German fans predict the the top 3 goalie (ie, Jens Lehmann, Robert Enke, and Timo Hildebrand) will be chosen for sure. However, this time Löw decided to drop Hildebrand and chose him. He had an excellent season in Bayer Leverkusen. I can say, without him, Leverkusen never reached the UEFA Cup Quarter Final, but unluckily he was powerless to stop the champion, Zenit St. Petersburg. Adler will be in the final list for sure, and Marin I think he will be in the squad as well.
Upsets: No doubt, the biggest upset is Timo Hildebrand. Everyone, including himself, supposed he is the 2nd choice goalie in Germany national team, but Löw didn't feel this way. Valencia had a tragic season, I think they are a bit lucky they didn't relegate to 2nd division to be honest. I'm not blaming anyone in Valencia, as many of fans in the world blamed Ronald Koeman. Problems everywhere in Valencia this season, and Hildebrand cannot guarantee in term of his consistency. Yes, he helped Valencia in Spanish Cup, he had made 12 saves to kept the draw against Barcelona in the league, but he also lost 5 goals in 1 match. So I think Löw prefer the consistent goalie. Little message for him - don't give up!!
Little tactic prediction: Base on the preliminary roster, I think the tactic of Germany in Euro 2008 will be the pace of attacks. The team wanna use the speed of the wings to run to the baseline or cut back to the centre to create attacks and spaces for the forwards. Short passes and quick tempo are predicted to see. Players like Schweinsteiger, Podolski, Marin are the fast pace players who can create threats in the attacks. Ballack will be at the center and make through balls, long shots, and headers to create goals. Löw would like to make the attacks more variety by the wingers and Ballack. Torsten Frings will be at the back of the attacks, the home base you can say to protect the count attacks from the opponents and continue the attacks when the wingers, Ballack, and forwards lost the ball.
Personal point of view the roster is pretty young and energetic. These 2 factors can be the success factor of Germany in Euro 08. Later I will share with you my little view on the Germany chances on winning the Euro 08.
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