Seeking resurgence at home

Bengaluru: As Germany lays the final touches before it welcomes the finest footballers from the continent for the Euro 2024 which kicks off on June 14, the mood is eerily no different to 2006 when the country hosted the FIFA World Cup. The form of Die Mannschaft then wasn’t great in the run-up to the first event Germany hosted as a unified country, the economy wasn’t necessarily in the best shape and weather was as grumpy as the citizens.

While the weather and behavioural pattern of the Germans — at least their perceived bluntness towards foreigners — has changed considerably over the last two decades with the sun shining a lot more in the summer and several cities wearing a more multicultural look due to the vast influx of immigrants, two things that bogged them then is weirdly haunting them now too — form of the football team and the economy.

The Germans, a powerhouse in global football, have been on decline since lifting a fourth World Cup in 2014. That magical night at Brazil’s iconic Maracana Stadium when substitute Mario Goetze broke the hearts of Argentina with a brilliant winner in extra-time has now become a distant memory for the country’s football fans. The defending champions’ curse saw them bungle out of the group stage in Russia four years later and they met a similar fate in Qatar in 2022 where they lost the opening game to Japan.

Even in the continent, where they share a record-equalling three triumphs with Spain, their performance wasn’t up to the expected high standards teams of the past have set. They managed to advance to the last-16 phase in Euro 2020 (held in 2021 due to Covid) from the Group of Death that featured rivals and powerhouse France, former European champions Portugal and a dangerous Hungary. But they were upstaged by a determined England in the last-16, conceding twice in the last quarter of the game to be soundly beaten eventually at Wembley. And it just went further downhill last year where they managed to win just three games in 11 outings.

So it was a no-brainer a concerned German Football Association (DFB) had to finally crack the whip. Amidst that bad run, the DFB did what they’d never done in history, sack a head coach. So Hansi Flick was booted out in September and Julian Nagelsmann was brought in as his replacement. The spritely 36-year-old, who endured an extremely modest playing career but has risen the ladder of managerial ranks astonishingly fast, went to work instantly with the Die Mannschaft and has brought about a good turnaround in their fortunes by making some bold calls.

Until a few years ago, the German team would be dominated with players from Bayern Munich, some from rivals Borussia Dortmund and hardly a few from other clubs. The German team in essence was an extension of Bayern Munich, one of the heavyweights in European club football, and a bit of Dortmund. The national team played in a way similar to Bayern and since most of them were superstars in their own right, managers feared dropping them or altering the styles. But Nagelsmann, keen to build his own squad and given the licence to orchestrate the change, chose to only pick the best performing Bayern players and has instead pinned his faith on exciting talents from newly crowned German champions Bayer Leverkusen, the fast-rising RB Leipzig as well players from Eintracht Frankfurt and Stuttgart. Hell, there’s even Kai Havertz who plies his trade with Arsenal.    

It’s not like Nagelsmann is totally against star power. He knows the value and experience superstars bring to the table, especially in crunch scenarios. So he’s made space for the evergreen Thomas Mueller of Bayern, the irresistible pass-mater Toni Kross, who just won a sixth Champions League trophy with Real Madrid, as well former Manchester City star and current Barcelona man Ilkay Gundogan. All these names have been in high-pitched battles several times in their careers, have won the toughest prizes in Europe and have the mental superiority to stay calm under duress. They basically are been there, done that men. So this cocktail of proven performers and hungry young talent gives Germany an edge at this Euro. Plus they’ll have one thing footballers drive their adrenaline from — home support.

This home support was the backbone of the Germans’ emotional ride to the semifinals of the World Cup in 2006. Not given much of a chance following a tepid build-up to probably the most watched sporting event in the world, Germans, under coach Juergen Klinsmann, found their defensive discipline and attacking verve to capture the imagination of the country. So much so that Germans started to waive their national flags — at stadiums, house balconies, streets, literally everywhere —  with pride, something which was surprisingly considered a ‘taboo’ back then due to the country’s reservations with nationalism post World War II. And, call it divine intervention or whatever, as the national team started to play good football, the sun started to shine brightly on the country, the beer began to flow like river and air was filled with the burnt smell of bratwurst. 

So can this resurgent German team evoke the same passion as the 2006 side and run deeper into the tournament despite the rocky build-up? Former France captain Patrice Eva believes so. “I was really disappointed with Germany from the last tournament (World Cup 2022). Before the tournament starts, you will always put Germany in the quarterfinals, semifinal or even final. It’s because they are extremely disciplined. I think Germany lost that discipline,” the former Manchester United star defender told DHoS in an online interaction.

“But I fear that discipline is coming back slowly with some players like really angry. They want to bring back the value and respect of being a German and playing for their country. And being the host is not a pressure, you’ve got all your country behind you. So even when you're tired, you're going to give your 100 percent because you can't fail,  you can't disappoint. And everyone dreams to lift the trophy in their own country. You know, the whole country stops when it's a game. Everyone is in front of their screen. So I don’t think we're going to be surprised about Germany and I agree they didn't have like good tournament, but now they, you know, they're going back slowly. (Jamal) Musiala, like a lot of young players, like are really angry, want to prove.”

Philipp Lahm, the former national team captain who is now the tournament director of Euro 2024, echoed Evra’s thoughts in quotes published by AP. “If we get off to a good start, Germany could experience a similar enthusiasm and energy to that of 2006.”

Nagelsmann, who knows how the arduous the task is in front of him, believes his men can go two steps better than 2006 side — they won the third-place play-off after losing in the semifinals — and lift the trophy for a record-breaking fourth time. “I have the feeling that we can win the tournament. And most of the time, my intuition is not too bad.”

It’s going to be easier said than done for Nagelsmann given the competition they are against. They should come out unscathed from Group A featuring Scotland, Hungary and Switzerland but things will start getting tougher from the round of 16 stage. They could potentially clash with a young Spain side in the quarterfinals. Talent-loaded France, smarting from the World Cup final loss to Argentina in 2022 and a stunning last-16 defeat to Switzerland in Euro 2020, will be gunning for redemption, a confident England will be seeking for an elusive European title while Croatia, known to punch well above their weight, will be determined to spoil everyone’s party. Then there’s Spain, defending champions Italy and Portugal.

How Nagelsmann and his men tackle the challenges remains to be seen.