A 3-2 loss to Paraguay in the Round of 32 of the World Cup, Germany’s own stunning shock, has thrown the spotlight on the sport and the future of one of the world’s greatest teams, bringing with it a new urgency to calls for radical restructuring. Of all the country’s sports organisations. A nail was hit on Monday after a shattered Paraguay penalty net on the post.
With the country’s first deficit in a penalty shoot-out, Germany have no more than the mystery and magic that put them into second place against Mexico in Austria at Saturday’s World Cup in a 2-0 win over opponents Mexico .
A fatal downfall has, however, led to calls to rebuild football, with coaches and players alike saying the German Football Federation (DFB), has a system that is 30 years out of date.
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Germany’s success in recent years at the World Cup: from winning in 2014 to a quarter-final place four years later and 2018 group-stage loss has shown its downfall. From the group stages of the World Cup in 2018 and 2022 to finishing third in Group A for Euro 2020, Germany have come so far but are on their way to their demise and the latest loss for the Germans means more restructuring is imminent.
Julian Nagelsmann: head coach Julian Nagelsmann has already had to respond to comments, where some observers have agreed with the tactician that there is a structure that has gone beyond just senior national issues – this may just be what the Germans need.
Ex-national German internationals and former Germany captains, including Lothar Mätthaus, were in attendance as former players urge reforms, including spending money on youth football development.
Some say it is also a matter of coaching.
“They no longer focus on technically gifted players and this system would now adapt better if it were also made up of young, attacking players who could compete at a higher level, with modern, modern coaching philosophy and tactics.
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That is our big task,” said former captain Philipp Lahm, speaking out. While Germany’s greats have, so far as individual talents go, been able to come up trumps (think Miroslav Klose, Philipp Lahm, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Mesutzil, Thomas Mller), they are still in dire need of more strikers and midfielders of world-class standing, some suggest.
“We are still able to develop good players, and when young players can turn into top international players,” Lahm continued. Germany is already slowly beginning to move to turn toward Euro 2028 and the 2030 FIFA World Cup. For many fans, however, the Germany “golden age” is long gone and may never return until it has made an all-out restructure.
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For fans and neutrals alike, there is the feeling, particularly in light of Saturday’s 2-0 World Cup defeat to Paraguay, that only with radical and immediate changes can it all change in the German game, “I don’t even know how it’s supposed to feel after such a defeat.”
