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PREVIEWING GERMANY VS. ARMENIA
Bleacher Report
June 5 2014
By Stefan Bienkowski , Contributor Jun 5, 2014
On Friday, the German national team will take on Armenia in Mainz's
Coface Arena as they run through their final test ahead of the FIFA
World Cup in Brazil.
Coach Joachim Loew will have plenty to run over throughout the course
of the 90 minutes, following a number of injuries to his first-team
squad and a rather dismissive 2-2 draw with Cameroon last Sunday. It's
here that we pick up where Germany left off and begin deciphering
the problems that continue to puzzle coach and fans alike.
The Bundestrainer is likely to continue pushing his new striker-less
system, which involves playing Mario Gotze up front on his own while
Mesut Ozil plays off him like a second striker. Yet so far this has
caused more trouble than it would apparently be worth.
The concept of playing Gotze as the lone striker seemed to work
wonders for Germany in the first few minutes of the game, as their
natural exuberance and momentum drove them on and almost forced the
side to play the ball through the Bayern player and Ozil.
In this opening chance for the Arsenal playmaker, as he's played
through by a clumsy pass from Jerome Boateng, we can see just how
effective this new German front line can be when used properly.
The figures circled in blue are the two wide players--Marco Reus and
Thomas Mueller-- while the two central strikers are Ozil and Gotze.
Both are indistinguishable from each other and playing off the last
Cameroonian defender.
The second-most effective use of this system came not soon after in the
11th minute, when Boateng played a pass through to Mueller, who then
managed to flick the ball on to Gotze. As we can see from the shot of
the play above, the most important aspect of this move's initiation
was the positioning of the four attacking players across the pitch.
Again, Mueller and Reus--who we can see on either wing in the red
circles-- are pushed way up the park, beyond Ozil or Gotze, who are
represented by the blue circle and the yellow arrow respectively.
This play worked and almost lead to a goal because Germany were not
only very fluid in rotating the ball but most importantly were direct
in how they attacked their opponents. Cameroon were never given a
chance to stick men behind the ball, so Gotze was able to pull away
from his marker and run into space behind the defensive line.
Yet even in this move and the one we've referenced before, the German
front line were all facing the ball with their back to goal, something
that makes spontaneous runs and effective through balls much harder
to produce.
What we saw throughout this testing affair for Germany was a constant
struggle for Loew's side to handle the concept of directly attacking
their opponents' box. Ozil and Gotze generally offered very little
in that respect, and it was only once Mueller pushed up front that
we finally saw some results for Die Mannschaft.
We take our next play from the 66th minute of the game with Cameroon
a goal ahead, one which shows the moments leading up to Germany's
opening goal of the night.
What's most noteworthy in this image is the change in shape compared
to what Germany's front line looked like in the first half with Ozil
and Gotze up front. By this point in the match Loew had brought Andre
Schurrle and Lukas Podolski on for the previous pair to sit on either
wing, while Reus and Mueller both moved into the centre of the pitch.
As Toni Kroos prepares to strike the ball at the bottom right-hand
corner of the image, note how Mueller, Reus and Podolski are all
offering space for the Bayern central midfielder to pass into, with
only Schurrle pulling back to offer the short, safer pass.
It's this direct passing--almost akin to a Hail Mary pass in American
Football--that Germany clearly benefit from when they have quick,
powerful players like Reus and Mueller who can pester any defence in
the world.
When we take a look at Germany's equaliser from Schurrle just four
minutes later we see a similarly direct method proving incredibly
effective.
For the sake of balance, it is worth noting that Cameroon had just
attacked, and in the image above we see Germany counter-attacking. Yet
even from such a spontaneous play we can clearly see how much easier
it is for Loew's side to find space and bodies behind the opposition's
defence.
Where the German attack spent the first half with their backs to goal
and passing the ball around, we now see all three forwards running
at goal with pace and intent whilst trusting their midfield to make
the difficult passes over the top of the Cameroonian back line.
As Loew goes into his final game on Friday, it will be worth noting
just how chooses to play his attacking line. Whether he opts to
persevere with Gotze and Ozil, bring in Miroslav Klose or indeed
revert back to the system that scored him two goals in the last match,
it's clear to see which method is currently bringing him results.
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2086908-film-focus-previewing-germany-vs-armenia
Bleacher Report
June 5 2014
By Stefan Bienkowski , Contributor Jun 5, 2014
On Friday, the German national team will take on Armenia in Mainz's
Coface Arena as they run through their final test ahead of the FIFA
World Cup in Brazil.
Coach Joachim Loew will have plenty to run over throughout the course
of the 90 minutes, following a number of injuries to his first-team
squad and a rather dismissive 2-2 draw with Cameroon last Sunday. It's
here that we pick up where Germany left off and begin deciphering
the problems that continue to puzzle coach and fans alike.
The Bundestrainer is likely to continue pushing his new striker-less
system, which involves playing Mario Gotze up front on his own while
Mesut Ozil plays off him like a second striker. Yet so far this has
caused more trouble than it would apparently be worth.
The concept of playing Gotze as the lone striker seemed to work
wonders for Germany in the first few minutes of the game, as their
natural exuberance and momentum drove them on and almost forced the
side to play the ball through the Bayern player and Ozil.
In this opening chance for the Arsenal playmaker, as he's played
through by a clumsy pass from Jerome Boateng, we can see just how
effective this new German front line can be when used properly.
The figures circled in blue are the two wide players--Marco Reus and
Thomas Mueller-- while the two central strikers are Ozil and Gotze.
Both are indistinguishable from each other and playing off the last
Cameroonian defender.
The second-most effective use of this system came not soon after in the
11th minute, when Boateng played a pass through to Mueller, who then
managed to flick the ball on to Gotze. As we can see from the shot of
the play above, the most important aspect of this move's initiation
was the positioning of the four attacking players across the pitch.
Again, Mueller and Reus--who we can see on either wing in the red
circles-- are pushed way up the park, beyond Ozil or Gotze, who are
represented by the blue circle and the yellow arrow respectively.
This play worked and almost lead to a goal because Germany were not
only very fluid in rotating the ball but most importantly were direct
in how they attacked their opponents. Cameroon were never given a
chance to stick men behind the ball, so Gotze was able to pull away
from his marker and run into space behind the defensive line.
Yet even in this move and the one we've referenced before, the German
front line were all facing the ball with their back to goal, something
that makes spontaneous runs and effective through balls much harder
to produce.
What we saw throughout this testing affair for Germany was a constant
struggle for Loew's side to handle the concept of directly attacking
their opponents' box. Ozil and Gotze generally offered very little
in that respect, and it was only once Mueller pushed up front that
we finally saw some results for Die Mannschaft.
We take our next play from the 66th minute of the game with Cameroon
a goal ahead, one which shows the moments leading up to Germany's
opening goal of the night.
What's most noteworthy in this image is the change in shape compared
to what Germany's front line looked like in the first half with Ozil
and Gotze up front. By this point in the match Loew had brought Andre
Schurrle and Lukas Podolski on for the previous pair to sit on either
wing, while Reus and Mueller both moved into the centre of the pitch.
As Toni Kroos prepares to strike the ball at the bottom right-hand
corner of the image, note how Mueller, Reus and Podolski are all
offering space for the Bayern central midfielder to pass into, with
only Schurrle pulling back to offer the short, safer pass.
It's this direct passing--almost akin to a Hail Mary pass in American
Football--that Germany clearly benefit from when they have quick,
powerful players like Reus and Mueller who can pester any defence in
the world.
When we take a look at Germany's equaliser from Schurrle just four
minutes later we see a similarly direct method proving incredibly
effective.
For the sake of balance, it is worth noting that Cameroon had just
attacked, and in the image above we see Germany counter-attacking. Yet
even from such a spontaneous play we can clearly see how much easier
it is for Loew's side to find space and bodies behind the opposition's
defence.
Where the German attack spent the first half with their backs to goal
and passing the ball around, we now see all three forwards running
at goal with pace and intent whilst trusting their midfield to make
the difficult passes over the top of the Cameroonian back line.
As Loew goes into his final game on Friday, it will be worth noting
just how chooses to play his attacking line. Whether he opts to
persevere with Gotze and Ozil, bring in Miroslav Klose or indeed
revert back to the system that scored him two goals in the last match,
it's clear to see which method is currently bringing him results.
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2086908-film-focus-previewing-germany-vs-armenia