Opinion Road to Kiev

Germany has been the neutral fan’s darling because there is an expansiveness to its game that few teams seem to possess. It does not merely beat teams but visits on them power-bruising. Even in the knockout stages of Euro 2008,Germany snuck in three past Turkey and Portugal each. In their next major tournament,the 2010 World Cup,England and Argentina were humbled,their defences conceding four goals each. Greece was collared in the quarterfinal this past week,its goalkeeper having to pick out the ball from his net four times.

However,with those thumping scorelines of demonstrative brilliance came largesse too. Although Turkey,Portugal,England,Argentina and Greece ended up on the wrong side of a German walloping,they managed to land a few blows of their own. Turkey,Portugal and Greece managed to score more than once,as did England though the lack of goal-line officiating meant it,technically,didn’t. For the consummate couch potato,even of the kind that tunes in once in two years for the major tournaments,the thrill of goals flying in at both ends is quite something.

Still,Germany’s eventual fate in these tournaments — a loss to Spain in the Euro 2008 final and the 2010 World Cup semifinal,and the loss to Italy in the semi this time — suggests something as well. While the new German style of play,dubbed their own version of the Spanish tiki-taka,disposed of lesser teams without much sweat,their aggression visibly attenuated the minute they ran into a more organised side. And their defence continued to remain porous. From World Cup 2006 onwards,Germany have made it at least to the semifinal of every major tournament,but have gone out losing to the eventual winners — be it Italy in the 2006 World Cup or Spain in the next Euro and World Cup. This raises the grim prospect of your brisk play adding much to the sheen of the tournament but little to your own trophy cabinet.

Whatever the fallout,Germany’s current style is a serious departure from the past. While organisation,discipline and routine were watchwords of the past,Joachim Loew,who took over the reins after the 2006 World Cup,has instated flair and tempo. While that has given much to their game,it seems to have taken away something crucial — the workable compromise between style and substance,aspiration and results that defined Germany in the past.

It is almost ironic that even in defeat,Germany has caught the imagination of the public,remaining fairly immune from criticism even as the serial success of sides like Spain seems to only invite more impugnment.

The repeated criticism that follows the Spanish contingent regarding the lack of a palpable penetrative style comes despite a spotless record in major tournaments recently. If Spain beats Italy in the final of Euro 2012,they would have won the unprecedented treble of two Euros and a World Cup on the trot. But even that shimmering vision has done little to dampen the shrillness of the dissenting voices.

Italy too seems to suffer from a similar sort of vilification. It rode on its strong defence to claim the 2006 World Cup — conceding just two goals in the tournament. Four years later,Spain went one better. Their defence was bettered just once in seven games during their winning run. But on both these occasions,popular opinion seemed divided. The win was acknowledged,but there were lingering reservations about how the tournaments disappointed by not delivering the spectacular. On both these occasions,Italy and Spain throttled a high-flying Germany on the way. It is a theme that has repeated itself since. Germany has not won a major title in a while,but it seems a side needs to beat them before they can be legitimately crowned themselves. In a way,the final that will be played between Spain and Italy on Sunday will be,among other things,an indictment of as well as a tribute to the new German philosophy of football.

raakesh.natraj@expressindia.com