FIFA World Cup 2014: Germany return to good old ways

Rio de Janeiro: If you hadn’t watched Germany’s quarter-final win over France at the Maracana on Friday, you didn’t miss much. In fact, you must count yourself lucky for escaping 90 minutes of humdrum action. The match fell flat after Mats Hummels headed in Toni Kroos’ free kick in the 13th minute. Germany shut shop to post a 1-0 win that was reminiscent of the country’s dour methods during their infamous days.

Having reached their record fourth semi-final on the trot, Germany will face hosts Brazil in Belo Horizonte on Tuesday.German fans outside the Maracana weren’t bothered about the manner in which their team advanced. “We returned to our roots,” said Dominique, grinning from ear to ear.“Winning is more important than playing attractive football.”

Christoph, another fan, said he had no problems in seeing the less adventurous side of Germany after a long time.“We played great football at the 2010 World Cup and 2012 Euro, but we won nothing. I would take the World Cup any day irrespective of the way we play,” he added.Fans couldn’t care less that the match resembled a cagey group stage contest rather than a high-voltage quarter-final.

Joachim Loew’s side got a ringing endorsement for reverting to type. It was like watching Germany circa ‘90 as the class of 2014 showed more keenness in protecting their lead than going for the neck of France.Les Bleus played their part in dishing out an utterly forgettable fare by showing no urgency even in the second half.The atmosphere inside the Maracana was the worst in the tournament so far as fans came to terms with the fact that a quarter-final of a World Cup could be so devoid of colour and character. A Japanese reporter did the right thing after catching some action. He slept off!

A supposedly riveting clash of two European heavyweights turned out to be a lightweight powwow in the end.Germany’s result was a far cry from their famous win over the same opponents in the semi-finals of the 1982 and 1986 World Cups. The Germans have had enough of playing beautiful football. Having not won anything  apart from the fans’ admiration from 2006 to 2012  since Euro 1996, they decided to take a page from the old book of German efficiency.

Germany mainly depended on counter attacks after taking the lead.France could have taken the fight to their opponents had Karim Benzema shown the killer instinct in front of the goal. After Paul Pogba found him with a superb long ball, the Real Madrid striker shot straight at Manuel Neuer before the break despite not being under pressure from a defender.

Les Bleus missed a trick in midfield in the second half. Pogba’s influence waned and the three-man central midfield of Germany controlled the proceedings without much ado. French coach Didier Deschamps, who had never lost a World Cup match as a player and a coach before the Maracana date, could have sent in Oliver Giroud much earlier than the 85th minute to inject some verve into his forward line. Neuer thwarted Benzema at the death to ensure a functional win for the three time champions.

It should be said that Loew’s decision to restore Philipp Lahm to his natural right-back position helped the team overcome the defensive nightmare of the Algeria match. Hummels, who replaced Per Mertesacker in the heart of defence after overcoming an injury, was comfortable in the company of Jerome Boateng.