Courtesy: CBSMiami.com
Two of soccer’s historically great teams find themselves trying to reach the pinnacle of their sport as Germany and Argentina will square off in 2014’s edition of the World Cup Final in Brazil.
Germany enters the match after stunning the soccer world and silencing an entire country as they trounced the host nation Brazil 7-1 in the semifinals. While there likely is a plethora of folks jumping on the bandwagon to a German championship, this team was already expected to fair well in the tournament regardless of who their opposition was. After all, they have made 16 consecutive quarterfinal appearances in the World Cup.
Argentina has a history with Germany in the World Cup Final when Germany was known as “West Germany”. In 1986, the Argentinians won their second World Cup title behind the stellar play of Diego Maradona — that year’s Golden Ball winner — as they defeated the Germans 3-2. The following tournament in 1990, West Germany rebounded with their third World Cup title with a 1-0 victory over Argentina.
The Argentinians are lead by a monumental player similar to Maradona as Lionel Messi is seeking his first World Cup title. Messi is regarded by many as the best player across on the globe. He has the ability to break a game open with one boot. Whether it is a set piece or a breakaway through ball, Messi is the most serious threat Argentina possesses.
Courtesy: ABC.net
But the Germans have goal-scorers as well or else they wouldn’t have reached this point of the tournament — look at the result of their last match. They possess the greatest World Cup finisher of all-time in Miroslav Klose — 16 goals. Thomas Muller is a rising star for this club and he let the world know of his presence in 2010’s last World Cup. Muller is currently second in the race for the Golden Boot as he has netted five goals in the tournament — James Rodriguez of Colombia scored six. Who can forget about Andre Schurrl and that final spectacular goal against the Brazilians? Lost in all of the offensive threats is veteran stopper and captain Phillip Lahm as he provides stability and consistency on the back end.
There are world class players on both sides of the pitch, but on paper Germany possesses more overall talent. That doesn’t necessarily translate to a victory however.
Earlier in the tournament, stars seemed to propel teams to new heights. Whether it was Messi, Neymar of Brazil or James Rodriguez, the top guys were all performing when duty called. And that is usually what happens in soccer. There could be a long struggle for 80-85 minutes during a game and then one breakaway or set piece becomes the deciding factor.
However, look at the way the last World Cup Final played out in 2010. Spain had stars all over the pitch. David Villa, David Silva, Xavi, Sergio Ramos, Carlos Puyol and it was still a struggle to defeat the balanced and deep team from Holland. If it wasn’t for a late goal by Andres Iniesta — he is no slouch either — penalty kicks may have determined the champion that year.
Moral of the story?
Deeper teams see greater results.
Courtesy: ABCNews.com
Germany fought through “The Group of Death” in the Group Stage and has only failed to win once this tournament with a 2-2 draw against Ghana. They began the tournament by dominating a traditionally talented team in Portugal 4-0. While the Argentinians have yet to see defeat in a match or even draw in the tournament, their level of competition has not been that of Germany. Belgium and the Netherlands are respectable and were both pegged as championship contenders and the Argentinians held them to a shutout. But it is hard to ignore five goals in 18 minutes against the host nation.
If Argentina finds themselves playing defensive and on the counterattack throughout the entire match, this could get ugly real fast. The killer instinct and finishing abilities of the Germans will keep any club on their toes. Plus, Germany’s ability to possess the ball and just maintain pressure in the offensive side of the pitch has been unmatched by any team in the tournament, hence why they have advanced this far.
Could Germany have peaked too early in their previous match?
Possibly.
Does offense win games and defense win championships?
More often than not, yes.
But it is hard to deny the talent from top-to-bottom that Germany possesses.
Final Score Prediction:
Germany – 3
Argentina – 1
