I think you are being a fraction harsh supers, granted brazil defended like a bad sunday morning side, but some of the one touch play around the penalty area by the germans was a joy to behold, and in neuer the have in my opinion one of the best keepers ever.
i'm not going to dispute that - they ripped them to pieces with some neat interplay - but it was made so, so easy for them. some of their players barely broke sweat. they didn't even need to play well - they'd still have walloped them. germany have been far from convincing during this tournament. ghana were the better side against them, algeria easily could have knocked them out with a little more composure. last night everything fell into place, partly because the germans played well but mainly because they took full advantage of an appalling defensive display by the hosts. all i'm saying is that they are not a 'great' side in the grand scheme of world cups and i don't believe this is a great german side. they certainly have the best goalkeeper though!
You can only beat what's put in front of you and Germany have done so without any fuss in the typical efficient Germany way! To say that they are not a great team is plainly ridiculous as they have proven so far that they are the best team at this World Cup. To despatch the home nation in the fashion that they did proves this very point. Germany have beaten every team they have faced so far without the need for extra time so to say that they haven't been convincing is again just plain wrong! You have to give the Germans enormous amounts of credit as they have looked the real deal throughout and I fully expect them to lift their 4th World Cup trophy on Sunday! Muller, Kroos, Lahm, Neuer and arguably Goetz, Khadera and Ozil could walk straight into any side in the World and you reckon that they aren't a great side!
ozil, in particular, has been pretty abject at this tournament. staggering that he still gets in that team. neuer - fantastic. lahm likewise. muller has that knack of being in the right place at the right time. kroos excellent. after that? i think they have some very good players like schweinsteiger, khedira etc but i think if you look back at say the spanish from four years ago or look even further back, their side does not match up that well. they have some serious weaknesses which haven't been picked on by opponents, especially that left hand side which even the german press hate. you appear to have been watching a different team to me. they've been typically efficient but compared to other german sides, this is not one of their greats - that is my point. they might very well be the best side at this tournament but that doesn't make them a great side if the other sides in the competition are weak. the fact this brazil side have made a semi final suggest the overall standard is very weak. its certainly not a great netherlands side either and the argentina team are completely reliant on one player. the argument is not as straight forward as you are claiming. i think germany have the best side at the world cup but that doesn't make them 'great'. just my opinion.
I think you've summed it up pretty well JWM - some of Germany's play was brilliant, as it has been in some of their other matches, the main difference for me has been that certainly against USA and Algeria, their defences were very cohesive and players tended not to get out of position, as happened last night. Germany have been for me the team to beat and the final on Sunday will be interesting - I'm hoping it's going to be against Holland.
But Supers what you fail to recognise in your argument is that if Germany win on Sunday, and I have seen nothing to suggest otherwise, this achievement will place them amongst the greatest! No European team has ever won a World Cup in the Americas and this will be a huge achievement! The great German sides won their Cups in Europe.
nobody is disputing that it would be a great achievement (although the days of european teams being unable to adapt or south american sides in europe are well over) but i still don't think they are a truly great side. perhaps if they follow it up by winning the euros they will be. they are still quite a young side (apart from klose) so the potential is there but right at this moment? nope, not for me. far too many weaknesses to be labelled 'great'. as i said at the start of the whole tournament, there was no team which stood out as possible winners - its one of the reasons i struggled to see past a weak brazil winning it, simply because no team was convincing and i felt momentum and fan power might push them over the line! it was wide open and so it has proved. the germans (at the moment) just appear to be the strongest of a relatively (key word) average bunch. terrific performance last night albeit against a terrible side and they've done ok in other games but they certainly aren't anything particularly special.
They can have the rotten MaggieThatcher Isles,just keep their hands off the Jules Rimet. 'Mon The Dutch
Much as I'd like to have seen NED get through to the final, can't say they deserved it. Mascherano's tackle on Robben at the death was a beauty.
Mascherano was the outstanding performance in the worst game I have seen this tournament - it was bloody dreadful to watch, both teams looked absolutely knackered. I'm glad the Dutch went out, aside from the last hour of their first game I think they've been very ordinary indeed and I don't get all then praise they have received in the last couple of weeks. Argies need Di Maria back desperately, although I thought that Perez bloke did ok.
Completely agree - though I would say that Di Maria's last match was probably the outstandingly bad performance of the entire tournament! Apparently he broke the record for the most times losing the ball by a single player in a WC match! That being said, he was quite possibly the best player for RM last season so Argentina need him to take some of the onus off Messi
...and he did score the winning goal as well in that game, despite having a shocker. I think comments about how Argentina are a one-man team are a bit lazy to be honest, as I said Mascherano was fantastic last night, I thought Rojo was excellent as well and the keeper is pretty decent. Higuain was poor last night (as was every other attacking player) but had a great game against Belgium and is clearly a good player. Throw in a fit Di Maria and Aguero and they are certainly more than a one man team, however they still will be no match for ze Germans - especially as they've now had an extra day's rest, have avoided any extra-time and hardly had to break a sweat against the Brazilians.
I hope that is what happens, but I wonder if the Argentinians have been 'taking it easy' in the hope of getting to the final!!!
Mascherano was doubly good for that nasty head blow he took early on (maybe it helped him?) I do agree that Argentina are not a one man team, and have plenty of class. The only thing I would say is that they have, this tournament at any rate, played like a one man team at times - which is bizarre given the players at their disposal beyond Messi. The rumour I've heard is that Sabella has no support amongst the Argentina team and Messi is basically in charge - that could be an exaggeration based on the Lavezzi water bottle incident (which is quite funny), but it looks plausible based on how they are currently playing.
i think argentina have been bitterly disappointing and its a shame they've reached the final playing the way they have done. they've got some fabulous players but as a team they are tedious to watch. for the sake of the tournament lets hope the germans win.
