| 06.09.2009 |
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| What is it about golden generations in international football that almost always makes them disappoint expectations? Ten years ago, it was Beckham, Owen and Co. leading England to one premature exit after another. And more recently, no sooner Bastian Schweinsteiger and Lukas Podolski were named potential saviors, than Germany began racking up second and third place finishes instead of titles? We shouldn't read too much into the Nationalelf's 2-nil victory over South Africa on Saturday, especially as it was just a friendly. But one thing is clear, Germany's Schweini-Poldi obsession is over, and the squad is probably better off for it. Mesut Oezil probably isn't a familiar name to people who don't follow German football closely, but believe me he's the real deal. He played a key role in his club Werder Bremen's German Cup win last season and the Germany Under-21 team's European Championship triumph this summer. On Saturday, he scored one of Germany's goals and set up the other -- not bad for a 20-year-old. I've seen him live and am impressed. He's not really a classic playmaker, but his pace up both of the flanks is going to cause lots of teams problems at next year's World Cup -- especially as he's become an efficient finisher as well. I'm also getting more and more taken with Mario Gomez. A very slow starter in the national team, Gomez is finally finding the range he displays week in, week out in the Bundesliga. And that means he should supplant Miroslav Klose, who's in a prolonged slump, as Germany's top center forward. Germany are a virtually shoe-in to qualify for South Africa, as are -- coincidentally or not -- England. Could this be a case of two teams emerging from the jinx that seems to accompany the label "golden generation?" |
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