No Schweinsteiger, no problem. Germany not only beat Turkey on Friday but they issued a statement of intent. Even without their midfield fulcrum, their deep-playing architect, die Mannschaft never missed a beat.
Stand-in holding midfielder Toni Kroos channeled Bastian Schweinsteiger and Germany were unaffected. The final scored read 3-0 and was fully reflective of the Germans’ dominance.
The ease with which the Nationalelf managed in the absence of Schweinsteiger reaffirmed how adaptive Germany have become. Just seven months ago, a completely different pair of holding midfielders featured in a friendly with Argentina, and appeared destined to keep their roles in the short term.
In the wake of an injury to Michael Ballack, however, Sami Khedira partnered Schweinsteiger during the World Cup, and Germany went on to finish third. Then, on Friday, Kroos seamlessly took over for club teammate Schweinsteiger as Germany’s primary ball-player and die Mannschaft were fully dominant. It’s an ongoing process: one star gets injured, another takes his place.
While the quality of his personnel is certainly a bonus, full credit should be given to coach Joachim Loew as well as the entire DFB (German FA) technical staff for ensuring a smooth transition. Kroos and Schweinsteiger are naturally different players but each has acclimated to Loew’s system and can fit the same mould.
The same applies to Holger Badstuber, who in Germany’s three Euro qualifiers has superbly deputised for injured central defender Arne Friedrich. In recent years, Loew and the DFB have developed synergy between the youth international teams and the senior side. The fruit of their efforts was revealed at the World Cup and further supported by last night’s performance.
While it was abundantly clear that Germany can cope without Schweinsteiger, it remains uncertain as to whether Loew’s men will be able to manage with a potential injury to Mesut Oezil. The gifted playmaker suffered an ankle injury in Friday’s match and may not be fit to play against Kazakhstan on Tuesday.
Sprightly winger Marko Marin would by no means offer a stylistic like-for-like swap, but perhaps in output the Werder Bremen starlet could match his former club teammate. The match will be no World Cup final, but regardless of who starts, Germany fans can rest assured that there won’t be any slip-ups anytime soon.
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