Schweini Inspiration

Ronaldo could not stop Klose's head from meeting with Schweini's free kick

SCHWEINSTEIGER owned Portugal in 2006 and he shall and will continue to do so in 2008! A goal and two superb free kick assists from the combative midfielder had ran the Portugese ragged. Germany entered the match as underdogs given their lackluster performance in the group stages. However, for the first time, I'm confident with the Deutsche lineup because there's no Jansen, Gomez or Fritz in the starting eleven! Once again, it's a delight to see Schweini and Arne Friedrich back at the starting squad, Podolski and Klose as forwards and Lahm as left back. Hitzlsperger and Rolfes were new additions to the side, not exactly top stuff (I would prefer Borowski instead) but at least better than the underperforming dudes which eroded the traditional structure of the German attack.

From the start of the first half, I'm quite impressed with the way Deutschland kept their lines tight to prevent an early Portugese goal. The Portugese were restricted from having too much of space to run around. There's a massive improvement in the way the passes are being strung together. Deutschland played many short passes and some of them consists of one-twos that go deep straight into the Portugese box. In the 22nd minute, Podolski moved down the left wing and brilliantly set up a pass for Schweini who was rampaging down through the middle after losing his marker. Schweini promptly slid together with the ball into the net to give the Germans a 1-0 lead. That is really a superb intelligent run and reading of the game from him. Deutschland scored another within the space of 4 minutes, much to the shock of the Portugese. Schweini dispatched a floating free kick ball for Klose to head it in. 2-0 up and it really looked like an unlikely position for the Germans to be in. However, Portugal would definitely bound to get one back with their sort of attack and they pulled one back at the 41st. Ronaldo ran through the defence and had a shot at Lehmann but the German GK could only punch it away. Nuno Gomes was there to pounce on the rebounce and the flight of the ball was helped by one of the sliding German defenders.

Portugal started the second half strongly but the Germans continue to hold on. And then on the 62nd minute, another free kick ball from Schweini is connected by Ballack's heading into the net. Apparently, Ricardo made the wrong call to move forward to catch the ball. The two goal cushion is restored and Portugal had to double their efforts once again. All Deutschland had to do now is to defend the lead until 90 minutes is up. It's not that easy cos with the introduction of Nani, Portugal is refreshed with new legs. And this was evident when Nani provided a cross for Helder Postiga's header in the 87th minute and that made the last few minutes particularly interesting. No equalising goal from Portugal and Germany march on to the Semis with a 3-2 win.

Credit to Herr Flick, the assistant manager in handling the team in the absence of Loewe who was sentenced to the stands after his touchline ban from the last match. There's a little controversy over Germany's third goal since it was alleged that Ballack pushed the defender before heading the ball in. However, I would also argue in the same breath that Portugal was lucky with their first goal since the ball's flight path was reared away from Lehmann through a ricochet of the defender. In any case, I would say that Deutschland thoroughly deserve their spot in the semis with the solid play that they produce and they were the better team. This time round, there was teamwork circulating around the Mannschaft. Compare and contrast it with the Portugese who had wasted so many shots from outside the box by the midfielders who could have passed it to their teammates for better options. The difference between the German No. 7 and Portugese No. 7 is that Schweini always looks out for his teammates while Ronaldo just guns for glory. This is also rather evident in the different ways that they take their free kicks. Schweini's products resulted in two goals while Ronaldo is plain wasteful. Another thing which the Germans did right was that they constantly feed high balls to exploit their height advantage over the Portugese. Portugal's trademark counterattacking moves earned them some goals but some horrendous defending behind and the weakness of Ricardo the goalkeeper in dealing with high balls costed them dearly. Portugal was outmuscled and outplayed by Deutschland.

Well, Scholari's Portugese career ended sooner than he would like. Now he would start his new job at Chelsea earlier. Deutschland would face either Croatia (rematch!..haha) or Turkey next. If Frings manage to return to the team in time for the semis, the Mannschaft central midfield would be strengthened very much. If there's one weakness that I have to point out in this improved lineup, it is probably the error-prone Lehmann and his communication with his defenders. Anyways, that's kinda minor if the defenders in front of him does their job. It would certainly be interesting if the final ended up being Deutschland vs. Nederland..lol