Can anyone stop the German steam train?
On Sunday afternoon, I was speaking with a German journalist and he told me, in a disappointed tone of voice: “You know, practically all of the national teams have a good nickname. Super Eagles, Azzuri, Le Bleus. We don’t. Just Die Mannschaft. Do you have a suggestion?”
At the time, I didn’t come up with any bright ideas, but after watching Germany steamroll over Australia, I have a name that could fit will with this strong, fast and ruthless team – Die Dampflokomotive (The Locomotive).
I know the Socceroos aren’t the strongest team on the planet, and that Tim Cahill was sent off in the second half, but Germany could have scored six or seven goals in Durban on Sunday night.
They were extremely organized and played some great attacking football with passes zipping by the Aussies as if they weren’t even there. Strikers like Lukas Podolski and Miroslav Klose who this past season combined for a paltry five league goals with FC Koln and Bayern Munich respectively, looked like deadly finishers once more.
Congratulations to coach Joachim Low, it seems he has revitalized a side that many people, including myself, didn’t have among the favorites.
What is especially impressive about Germany is the fact they easily overcame the loss of inspirational captain Michael Ballack. The midfield maestro has led by example for so many years and I thought they would miss his experience and awareness in midfield.
Instead, Sami Khedira and Bastian Schweinsteiger ran the show in the center of the park. And watch out for Mesut Ozil. This kid can play and will be the offensive spark for a side that normally puts substance over style.
So what can we expect from Die Dampflokomotive? In my view, we can expect them to power through to the quarterfinals, and then, anything can happen. What still remains to be seen is whether this side is too inexperienced to be a real contender.
This is the youngest German squad at a World Cup since 1934 and in a tense game against a top opponent, their lack of maturity could come back to haunt them.
Thirteen members of the squad will be playing their first ever tournament and 12 of the 23-man party have less than 10 caps to their names. That said, three of the squad are graduates of the first eleven that won the Under 21 European Championships last year.
For now though, Germany should enjoy their four-star debut in South Africa. World watch out, here comes a locomotive that will be hard to stop.
I know its only the 1st match, but this shows why So-called experts/pundits are idiots IF they exclude Germany from their top 4 for a World Cup favorites.
Sure they might now reach semis (so might not brazil/spain as well), but its about prediction that experts make, i am talking about.
Its not even funny how good Germany does at a WC, they have now played 93 total WC matches to Brazil's 92 all that with participating in 2 less World Cup's than Brazil.
Beständig
It's "Les" Bleus. Plural.
But yeah, I agree. Germany rules.
we just hope that Die Dampflokomotive will not run over us,or worse,act like we aren't there on the field... entire nation is extremly disappointed,we had high expectations of our national team,and if we pull out 0:0 or 1:1 score against Germany on Friday,we will be extremly happy :)))
Brazil has 5 titles to Germany's 3. so, it's not the amount of wins, but the quality.
Australia were simply not very good (not that finding themselves a man down for no particular reason helped any..), nor are Ghana / Serbia worldbeaters.. would wait till Germany have faced a decent team before pronouncing them Champions elect, as noted, then their relative inexperience may go against them.
Pedro,Little wonder they are refered to as german machine
Maul!
@Varun
We played less games and won 2 more titles than Germany... What point do u want to make? That the Germany team is better than the Brazilian team? Please give me a break.
Agreed.
They showed a beautiful soccer there.
I hope my Brazil battles against them before the ending of this World Cup.
They played awesome ! Short passing deluxe, they out played great chances and they really have an impressive teamplay.
Cacau is Brazilian no less ... there are tons of Brazilian players everywhere ... Germany, Portugal, Japan, you name it .... there is no World Cup without Brazilians.
Cacau profile
http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/players/player=312546/index.html
List of Brazilian-born footballers who have played for another national team
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Brazilian_players_that_play_for_another_national_team
Nothing against the players from Australia but Australia is not Brasil or Argentina. The German team is still very young and they missed several great chances which have to be turned into goals if you want to be right there at the top. This has to improve dramatically because other teams will not make things as easy as the Australians did. Also, the first 5 minutes saw a rather weak German side which can be blamed on the relative inexperience. That said, right now the German team might have found a good combination of some experienced players (who are still in their mid-twenties, think about Podolski (25), Schweinsteiger (25) or Lahm (26), who have 74, 75 and 66 international games respectively under their belt, but also Miroslav Klose (32 years, 97 international games) and a couple of "young guns" (which seems to be the new nickname bestowed on the Mannschaft, although it might raise some copyright issues due to the movies of the same name). By the way, the term "Mannschaft", which just means "team" is commonly used for teams and therefore the normal German word rather than a nickname. It is, however, used as the nickname for the German squad by our Dutch neighbors, or shall we say the Oranjes, who, after their impressive showing at the European Championships two years ago, should not be discounted despite a rather uninspired game against former European Champions Denmark.
hope the power is natural
Ok lets see Brasil vs North Korea. I want Brasil to this and next World Cup and can rest for 3 World Cup.
They didn't just deal well with the loss of Ballack they played better without him than with him.
The game yesterday was pure aggression, free and flowing.
The chemistry between Podolski, Klosse was amazing to see; and throw in some magic from Schweinsteiger and Lahm out of this world.
German international football is also in good shape by the looks of Khedira, CaCao, Mueller and Ozil.
They may be a overwhelmingly young team but they do have the maturity of Podolski, Klosse, Schweinsteiger, Mertesacker and Lahm (all of whom played in the last WC) to teach them and to back them up.
This team is going to make things happen in SA.
This victory says little about Germany's depth. I was at the Durban match last night. If it weren't for the buzzing vuvuzelas and the intriguing stadium, it would have been downright boring. Of the 11 nations that have played so far, the Socceroos are undoubtedly the weakest. Every other losing team can at least talk about lost opportunities, but the Socceroos did not create a single opportunity for themselves, let alone score.
I want Brasil win and i think have good chances because now have less stars in team all time have too many stars loss World Cup see 1998 and 2006.
Netherlands will break them down!!
And New Zealand 😉
yeah, Spain, just like two years ago. but this time it won't be just a 1-0 score.
Hey Varun,
tranquilo, hombre! We kicked your ass in the European Cup final – and we will do the same in the World Cup.
Saludos de un Español!
Actually, forget my last comment – World Cup will be over anyway by the time it is "moderated" – thank you & cheerio, CNN World Cup Coverage.
why does everyone outside europe talk about the youngest german squad? although you mention the under (u)21 uefa championship, you obviously forgot they won the u19 and u17 as well ..
This time last week, the press had completely written off the Germans and the loss of the inspirational Michael Ballack only added to that. How wrong the press were.
The Germans were never going to lose to the Aussies, never. No disrespect to Australia, Tim Cahill is a world-class operator, as is Mark Schwarzer in goal and Brett Emerton is still a useful player. Also, Cahill should never have been sent off. But, FIFA will insist on referess from every nation even when everyone knows that the South American refs are just not up too managing this level of Football. The fact that they dish out yellow and red cards like sweets only spoils the game even further.
Now, on to the Germany team. They have a reputation for ruthless efficiency. It's well deserved and they showed it again against Australia. Their keeper wont throw the ball into his net, gifting an undeserving US side a draw. But I digress. Neuer had precious little to do today. But what he did he did with confidence and having a solid defence in front of him will only strenghthen his resolve.
The defence is exactly what I said it was, solid. no nonsense, clean and effective. Captain Phillip Lahm inspired the Germans with his solid defence and his devastating raids down the wing.
In midfield. Ozil was brilliant and it pains me to say that. He should have been shot after that atrocious first half dive. Yet, one cannot ignore his amazing performance. his through balls cut through the defence like a hot knife through butter. He set up one and had two opportunities to score himself. He missed them both. Yet the fact that he go into those positions is a really positive sign for Germany because when they play against a better opponent he will almost certainly score.
Up front, Lukas Podolski and Miroslav Klose. Podolski's opening goal was unstoppable. Schwarzer got a full hand on it and nearly had his arm ripped off for the trouble. Miroslav Klose: five goals in WC 2002, Golden Boot in WC 2006 also with five goals and his first (and definitely not last) goal of WC 2010 against Germany. He is now on 11 WC goals. One goal behind Pele, three behind his hero Gerd Muller and four behind record goalscorer Ronaldo. Yet, many Germans thought fourth goalscorer Cacau should have started the match in Klose's place. That shows just how strong they are.
Germany are strong. They have the perfect mix of youth and experience, and they are confident. Perhaps, the absence of Michael Ballack will be capitalised upon by Brazil, Spain, or Argentina, perhaps. Only time will tell. Oh and did I forget to mention that the germans are almost unbeatable on Penalties(I'm English, I know).
All these things add up to the fact that Germany will reach the Championship rounds off this World Cup and to be completely honest, I expected nothing less. Come On England!
hey they beat just australia. hehehehehe
how could this site give a job for someone like foootball alien like that pedro pinto???
please, consult history, media archives and soccer videos to speak about this sport, my friend. you are hilarious
The Deutsche Soccerkrieg just rolled through the land of Oz. The next victim: Serbia, then Ghana. Wunderbar!!!
Relax people Germany played a weak Australian team. It is way too early to name champions after 1 game. Who would have thought Italy would win the WC in 2006 after their slow start and a 1-1 tie to the US? It was a great game by Germany but there is a lot of football to be played and we still haven't seen Spain, Brazil, or Portugal play.
Why does the writer think that no one can stop Germany? Sure, the Germans played well against Austrailia but that isn't a true test of how good the German team is. The first round is more or less a bye round for the Germans. There are no teams in Germanys division that pose a real threat. Before everyone starts crying that the Germans are unbeatable, lets wait until they play some team that can play soccer.
not so fast they only won one match
Germany Team it is the most organized team in this champion till now..
Germany isn't going anywhere. They won one game over a weak team. When they play with the big boys it will be a different story.
Germany guys did a terrific job last night. I just couldn't believe in my eyes. Is that Germany team?! Before the World Cup, I insisted that Germany couldn't go long. But last night Germany guys have proved that I am wrong. I hope that these young knights would make a bigger surprise for fans all around the world.
I live in Thailand. Thai fans have been called the Germany
"Iron Eagle" (look at their crest and you know the reason) for a long time, and I think it really suits their characteristics.
Hi,
I appreciate the German who won the the Match against Australians, But all in all ARGENTINA IS THE BEST IN THE WORLD, ARGENTINA WILL WIN THE WORLD CUP-2010.
THEY WON AGAINST STRONGEST TEAM NIGERIA 1-0 AND SOUTH KOREA PLEASE WATCH.
Germans did not clash with strong team like italy, Argentina, Brazil, Spain, England, Netherland , Paraguay,etc & still miles to go.
This is only the beginning not an end, Anything can happen in the world cup-2010.
regards
Richards
I live in Thailand. Thai fans have been called the Germany
"Iron Eagle" (look at their emblem and you know the reason) for a long time, and I think it really suits their characteristics.
Gary Lineker was right: "Never underestimate the Germans"
In Germany the team is generally called "Nationalelf" (National eleven). It is not really perceived as a nickname but it de facto is.
Just remember that the two best players on the German team are actually Polish.
Germany will be stopped in the finals by Brazil, Spain or Holland.
The only team that has truly been impressive this far was Germany. Make no mistake – should they continue like they started, they will become world champions.
@OliverG: Just shows a new Germany: Like most anywhere else in the world, Germans don't care anymore, where one's grandfather was born, but where one was raised and has been living. Just look: there are some more "not-so-true-blooded" germans on the team (Cacau, Özil, Khedira, Aogo, Boateng) – but they are all Germans, and they are all OUR German team!
Why were the Germans allowed to practice with the Office Ball 4 months before the Australians were? Why wasn't the handball paid in the Penalty box. It was very obvious. And obviously why was Cahill sent off?
I'm sick of people saying this is "part of the game" no it's not, it's FIFA rigging the game yet again! It would be better for FIFA to have Millions of European watching the game on T.V rather then 1.5 million Aussies.
The result should of been 3-1.
If you take a look at Bayern, Bremen, Leverkusen, Stuttgart. Are this teams that destroy or are they creating football? Who came up with the idea that Germany is a defensive squad?
You should be disappointed about the most of the other teams, they play poor.
Mr. Pinto, you know nothing.
steam train? like the wild west or eastern europe?
The Germany have no nickname for their team, because they don't need one. Call them 'The Mannschaft', that's a good one. play as one team, it's not about the star (like Ballack), it never was.
I ask myself what other teams have done during the trainings camps? fighting, sleeping? I'm sure nothing about tactics or other football coaching.
It was only against Australia...A German junior league side could beat the Shockeroos. Now lets see Germany play the Aussies at rugby and see who gets steam rolled...
Dear all
The game have just started let's watch how best German can handle quarter final and parabably smi final. But of course they know that they r not alone in this game, there are other powerful team etc Brazil,Argentina, spain etc...
@OliverG
I doubt that Podolski and Klose are the best players of the German team. There are some other players which we should highlight: Schweinsteiger, Özil, Cacau, just to mention a few. BTW, actually Poldi and Klose aren't Polish. They are Germans with Polish descent.
@ Oliver G: Schweinsteiger and Lahm are Polish?
To the ARGENTINA fan:
When you think that Nigeria was a STRONGER opponent than Australia.... Hm... than you have not a clue about football.
Nigeria played poor! And an team that said that they will be champion MUST win higher against a team like Nigeria.
YOU may have better players BUT football is played in a team!!!
And MESSI is just Messi not the MESSIAH. Try to let 11 players play not only a single one. There will not always be a corner kick to safe your as...
That German team is Too Strong and very dangerous. See it when they meet even Brazil
I don't think this guy really knows something about football. Actually I think Lahm played best on that match, but he was not even mentioned.
@rodelaax: Podolski. Klose and Trochowski as well were born in Poland to polish parents. The german football association just did a better job at courting them when they were young. That's what it usually comes down to:
1. what football association does a better job at courting young players.
2. who let's you play: Cacau couldn't make the Selecao and Kevin Boateng didn't get the chance like his brother so he decided a couple of months ago to play for Ghana. Has to be the first duel of brothers in the WC
3. where can you actually win: Poland hasn't been any good since '82, and Turkey, Tunisia, Ghana, Bosnia, Slovenia and so forth only show flashes from time to time.
4. money and such...
But they played very well and Loew is a good coach who probably called the shots in 06, since Klinsmann isn't.
Great analysis by The Long Suffering England Supporter ( why can't you guys develop some decent goalkeepers though, for crying out loud?) and Pedro Pinto's pieces are pretty good.
The Steam Train is pretty good, though I would prefer "The Steam Train that got stopped by Argentinia in the quarters", but for that to happen Diego needs to do something about the right side which looks downright scary with Jonas (sort of) covering it all or Podolski will score 4 goals.
(Sorry if double posting, problems with browser)
you're completely right Pedro, they are like the locomotive. I hope they will play like this next time. i will always love the German team even if they will not win the WC.
Moin folks,
here some remarks from a german:
1. Yes, Australia is not one of the strongest teams and the german defense will have to prove that they can stand against teams with higher potential
2. Germany has got some technical high skilled lads and a lot of creativity, so they are allways able to score one or two goals
3. The team has no pressure because it is young and has no aktual great stars
All that stuff together means every team has to take care but not that the german team is the best one or can already plan the world championship party.
Pedro,
Nobody in Germany calls the national team 'Die Mannschaft'! The common term is 'Die Nationalmannschaft', which is not a nick name but just the translation of 'national team'.
Cacao, Deco and many other players are brazilian born players and do u know why the naturalized to other citizenships? Just bcause they would never have the chance to play for the brazilian national team and see they are the stars on their new home countries... Brazil B team is way better than any other team out there... Did germany played a good game against the socceros? Yes they did but Australia is not Brazil, Argentina or any other country that has won the world cup before... I hope Pedro Pinto rethinks what he wrote about the German team bcause its too early to tell.
im sure germany will do well at dis w/cup base on their perfomance on sunday and they have the best rated game so far.absence of ballack was not even noticed in their game.
Comparing to what we have seen until today the Germans played football from another star!
It is the worst WC we ever had. 1:1, 0:0... what the hell is that?
And guys, I'm German ... and if you think, Germany is afraid of Spain, Brazil etc... I have to smile!
Many Players (eg Özil) won the under 21 Champiosnship last year, Bayern Munich has reached the CL-final this year, Hamburg the EL-final. Germany won three WCs in history and joined 7 finals, plus three European Championships. So there is a lot of experience being successful in tournaments.
It's true: we don't have Messi, Ronaldo or Torres. We don't need them! Honestly, how many German Players did you know before? All German Players are playing in the Bundesliga, nobody abroad. Thats great, because we don't pay prices they used to pay in England, Spain or Italy.
On sunday we saw a real team playing without egoism!
4 different kind of Goals, shot by 4 different Players. 3 of them by forwards! Plus several chances.
So RockNRoll, Spain, Brazil ... show us, what you are able to play! We already did our job ! And then lets have a nice game against each other.
Bundesliga is certainly one of the top football leagues in Europe. In Germany there are often more teams vying for the top spot unlike the two horse races in other major football leagues in Europe. Most top German football stars play in the highly competetive Bundesliga. Germany doing well in the ongoing World Cup should not come as a surprise at all.
I also think it's just too early to say : this team 's the best – this one is not strong.... but the germans played well. but one last thing:
Oh, oh guys.... Spain was just beaten 0:1 by Switzerland. Portugal was just playing so bad yesterday. Brasil also didn't show us the soccer they played the years before – they can be glad they shot two goals (both looked like a fortunate coincidence). I am disappointed... I hope to see better games in the 2nd round!
The "Panzers" is what I often read about the German team when scanning international comments ... ^^ Maybe we can agree on "Panzerzug" 🙂 which would be the German equivalent of "tank-train" 🙂
The Germans started like the Dutch used to do.
But it never brought the Dutch any good.
So, way to go Germany, but it won't last.
Greetings from Holland (the next Worldchampions)
As a Dutchman i know that a good start of the tournament doesn't always mean you can repeat that the whole tournament. The Germans definitely have a better mentality but the tournament has just started. The first match was impressive of the germans. Better than i would ever expect them to play but serious games are ahead of them. Spain lost their first match but they can still grow into the tournament and come far. The Dutch started weak but nobody knows yet what they can do, not even themselves. The germans we have seen already on their best and the rest can study their first match and come up with answers. It is going to be hard for them to even improve. I wish them all the best because i am a fan of their attitude but winning the tournament is still a long way.
In '74 the dutch were the best from the start and Germany started not very good but they took the title, in "78 holland started lousy but came all the way to the final. '82 Brasil mesmorised the world in the first round and Italy just made it to the next round, but took the title in the end with great football. Believe me, i could go on like this for a while, mostly a good start is not a blueprint for winning the tournament. Lets see if the germans can do it.
"Tourniermannschaft" is a common german term for our football team and means that they are showing their brilliance only at important games but would loose against Faroer Islands the next moment...
From what I can see Argentina can stop Germany.
If they play as consistently as 2 matches todate.
So far, Germany has played the nicest and most positive football in this tournament. Young, hungry players with no nerves! I liked what I saw. They will go faaaar!
Is it fair that ,Germany was using the Jubliani for almost one whole season,while the rest of the world only at the world cup tournament?Shame on FIFA,notice also enter Germany ,then the bad refereeing began,ask Australia. Which footballers, after every little contact with the opponents lie on the pitch like the dying swans?
UPDATE: Germany 0 Serbia 1 at halftime.. and Mr. Klose is out.
The dampf just went kaput.
Yes Serbia, they just have done so (Germany had 10 players) but I'm sure they will atone for that defeat by thrashing Ghana after Australia beat Ghana tomorrow who after all only beat Serbia because they had 10 players Looks like Australia and Germany will still go through to the final 16. And Germany, Brazil Spain and Australia will be the last four standing.
The German Locomotive
... was stopped today, but if you need to win a World Cup one Mistake is allowed. Fortunately this Mistake was made in the Group Phase and not in KO-Rounds. We will win this World Cup in the End. Gratz to the US Team keeping up with the Slovanian Team in the End ... Good Luck for the next Game. Keep the Pace.
P.S. the decision of the Referee was wrong while shooting the 3:2 ... he's a stupid guy, haven't seen anything.
After the game Germany vs Servia (0-1) AH! AH! AH!
Stopped. 😀
Who can stop them? Serbia may not have stopped them, but they certainly made them stumble on the way! YEAH SERBIA!
Didn't take much to stop the germans... Serbia did it. I wonder when they face a better team.
I've been wondering why, even though it's one of the biggest upsets in decades, there hasn't been more coverage and exclamation about Serbia's having beaten the Germans, as there was when the Swiss beat Spain. Is it possible that even after the attack on Serbia has been over for more than a decade we're still punishing them by not publishing anything positive about them that might make them look good? Oh yes, I forgot, now we're punishing them for wanting to hang on to their Kosovo province so we're still trying to cast them in a negative light and don't want to say anything nice about them.
Can anyone stop the German steam train? Yes Serbian had. Ghana will!
well..now you have the answer....Serbia did it....this is why sport anchors must cautious with their comments specially when it is only the first match.
54 74 90 2010 .........ja so stimmen wir alle ein,mit dem Herz in der Hand und der Leidenschaft zum Spiel,werden wir Weltmeister sein !!!
We came We saw We will Win..............
Werkstreu Bayer Leverkusen Supporter Oberhausen/Germany
Black-Red-Gold
The Eagle on the Shirt
Ole Ole Ole Ole Ole...................and the Vuvuzela playing all around the Szene........when were winning and were singing all night long !!!!!!!!!!!
Michael Rehse
Werkstreu Bayer Leverkusen Supporter Oberhausen
Serbia!
dear Pedro;
first of all i really appreciate your work and your coverage of any major all over the world, so please accept my humble appreciation of you guys at CNN's world sport.
And i'm confident that what you said about the german team will soon be translated as the WC matches progress, i have great faith in this team which will astonish everyone i'm sure
best regards
Pedro,
How about a post to celebrate our team's fantastic 7-0?
thanks
Haha Germany will win! After we won the Eurovision Song Contest we will win the World-Cup too!!
I just discovered your blog (love it), and am reading this entry after Germany demolished England (they would still have kicked England's ass even if Lampard's goal had been allowed). Which proved everything you said so right. It was amazing watching their speed (where did Klose come from??) and the beautifully accurate passing. I can't wait to watch them play Argentina, because as you say, their inexperience could fail them against a big team. I hope they prove that age and experience matters not in a well-oiled machine. I also want to shut that Maradona up. Most importantly, I'd love to see them play Brazil (which I support).
Germany will kick out the ever nasty Argentinians, we (the Dutch) will take care of Uruguay so we can have an old fashioned GERMANY-NETHERLANDS final. And this time, we will derail the 'dampflokomotive', watch it crash and burn in orange flames... Bring it on
Germany is steamrolling every unfortunate team thats in its path. The next team would be lucky if they scored at leas 1/2.
Já pararão a espanha e agora vão perder para um sul- americono para o lateral e copitão da locomativa a vapor não M...........
Grato Helio
That was a truly amazing blog
All 'round good article
This makes perfect sense!
Very descriptive article!!!