Dear disgruntled fans of Chelsea Football Club,

It’s time to stop. It’s time to stop this petty belittling of Rafa Benitez. Your point has been made to Roman Abramovich and the board that you disagreed with the sacking of Roberto Di Matteo and subsequent hiring of Rafa. As a fan of multiple mediocre professional sports teams here in the lovely state of Ohio, you learn to take things with a grain of salt.  At least try to look at things with more of an open mind.

Chelsea have not had a full 6 days break between games since November 17. That is nearly a 2 month run of having a midweek game EVERY week. Normal travel and exertion, coupled around a very taxing trip to Japan, has got to be very difficult on a person’s body. The fact of the matter is, Rafa is not the problem currently. He is the scapegoat for problems that lie much deeper within the Chelsea hierarchy where it seems that the players have way more control over the situation than is necessary. The squad is clearly not deep enough. Most of Chelsea’s league performances have been very good as evidenced by stabilizing their 3rd spot. Clearly the cup performances have been disappointing, but it seems as if the performances lack more of the cutting edge that we have seen in league games.

Clearly an emphasis has been put on the league finish by Abramovich. He knows the importance of finishing in the top 4. Last season was a magical run. Mired in disappointment over AVB not being ready for that intense player power grab and languishing in 6th position, up steps a Chelsea legend who rallies the fragile group with great camaraderie and defensive mindsets. Brilliant player manager for one-off, knockout style games. But simply put, I was unimpressed with his tactical efforts in a lot of league matches this season. I don’t think he deserved the sack but, over time, I was unsure about his long term prospects. Previous struggles at West Brom may have pointed towards a bigger issue.

Start with the use of Mata, Hazard and Oscar all at once. Clearly, Mata is the best of the bunch, but all three are very technical players. However, they seemed to narrow up very easily. All three want to turn and face the ball to collect, and then subsequently dribble one-on-one with a defender to create space. Teams were happy to sit off Chelsea as a result and just clog up the area just outside the top of the box. Not enough width and the underuse of Victor Moses were a huge detriment to Chelsea’s early season attacking efforts in tough matches.

Two other glaring weaknesses are the lack of pace in the back half of the field and lack of a future captain. It is clear that the board and Roman don’t always seem to agree. The jettison of squad depth over the summer was shocking to say the least. It is obvious that Frank Lampard and John Obi Mikel both lacked the pace to play the holding midfield role against teams willing to press high up the field like Shaktahr and Juventus.

Nobody on the pitch in that loss to Juventus showed a will to lead the team forward. Sometimes eras are just meant to come to an end. Rafa has been around the block before. The only man to unseat the dominance of Real Madrid and Barcelona in La Liga twice, and giving Liverpool it’s crowning achievement in recent memory, dethroning a dominant Milan side in a thriller. He has made mistakes just like anyone else, and I’m sure the time off helped him evaluate himself. The fact that everyone harps on him for playing mind games is crazy. He tried to play along, and it occasionally backfired. Let us not forget that some of the Liverpool-Chelsea Champions League ties were some of the most drama-filled matches in recent history.

The fact of the matter is this: Lighten up and enjoy the ride. Demanding utter perfection out of these players is crazy. Abramovich clearly cares about the club, as evidenced by him saving it from Ken Bates. He has invested loads into the club, and the board/ older players seem to get in the way of the business decisions he wants to make. There is a brilliant business mind locked up there, whether or not you agree with his policy on managers. Ever since Mourinho got into the first of many spats with ownership over his career, things were new levels of great for Chelsea Football Club.

Woe is you for airing your petty grievances. The stadium is a place to go to wear your support for the cause, 100%. Rafa needs this stepping stone to get back on the international scene. And who knows, maybe if fans are more willing to be reasonable, then great things can still be achieved this season. It’s all a part of the sporting drama we love so much.

Sincerely,
Justin Yerina

As we approach the midway point of a remarkably strange Premier League season, a few recent observations (or overreactions) have led me to come up with three predictions for what should be a fantastic 5 month build-up to crowning another champion. I am not responsible for any gambling losses on these matters, but any discussion is welcomed!

1. Aston Villa will finish comfortably mid-table

It’s amazing to see how far Villa have come over the past year. Marred in a relegation battle for most of last season with everyone’s favorite Midlands manager Alex McLeish, the youth movement that Paul Lambert is instilling at Villa Park finally paid off with a signature 3-1 victory at Anfield on Saturday. Lambert’s success has come in the face of criticism for benching the highly paid Darren Bent and underperforming Charles N’Zogbia. He has stuck to his principles of getting the best out of young players that don’t demand high wages. Villa boast the third youngest average squad age in the league at 25.8 years old.

The spine of this team is what has stood out the most so far. Ciaran Clark and Nathan Baker are putting in some top performances in front of the ever impressive Brad Guzan in goal. The industry of Barry Bannan in the center of midfield has also been extremely effective, but the recent efforts of the attacking partnership of Andreas Weimann and bargain summer signing Christian Benteke have given Villa the added goal scoring threat that Lambert was missing early on in the campaign. If this side can stay together for a couple of seasons, it could bring Villa back towards being a top 10 side in the table.

2. Chelsea will mount a serious title challenge under Rafa’s guidance

As a Chelsea fan, the sacking of Roberto Di Matteo came as a complete shock and was completely undeserved. Having said that, I fully believe that the slight tactical changes that Benitez has employed are getting more out of this group of players. Under Di Matteo, a lot of Chelsea’s attacking play seemed very labored and congested. Teams were keeping the play in front of them and the lack of cutting edge runs behind defenders was not creating enough concrete chances. Having the trio of Oscar, Juan Mata, and Eden Hazard all playing at the same time was creating a severe lack of width in the attacking third.

Under Rafa, there has been a marked difference in the organization of the team at the back and up front. The main difference has been the structure of the front four. The introduction of Victor Moses as a squad regular wide on the right allows Hazard to occupy his favored position wide left. This has given Mata the ability to play directly behind Fernando Torres, operating as a true number 10 and directing traffic like a maestro. If John Terry is able to stay on the pitch for the majority of the next few months and a few squad depth signings are made in January, this is a side that could at least make things interesting for United and City come the end of the season.

3. Tottenham will claim the final Champions League spot

In the midst of extreme criticism, undeserved booing, and key squad injuries, AVB already has this Spurs side in the coveted fourth spot. Scott Parker and Younes Kaboul have been on the sidelines all season, while early injuries to key signing Moussa Dembele and Benoit Assou-Ekotto left Villas-Boas scrambling to keep his side in a decent run of form. He has done just that, including one of the most impressive victories of the first 17 rounds of games, the thrilling 3-2 win at Old Trafford. Despite some of the early season blips, there is nowhere to go but up for this young but talented squad. Jan Vertonghen and Steven Caulker look like an excellent center back pairing, while Dembele and Parker offer unlimited energy in the middle of the park. If Clint Dempsey continues to find his feet, coupled with the return of Gareth Bale, I see a very good side that is capable of having an extended run of excellent form. However, as Morgan Green would so readily admit, it is all dependent on AVB learning how to close.

What are your predictions for the second half of the Premier League season?

Chelsea and Newcastle have taken unexpected paths on the road leading up to their crucial battle at Stamford Bridge today. The Blues, possessing one of the most talented rosters in Europe, stumbled early and often under the guidance of Andre Villas-Boas. Since his sacking in early March, Chelsea has risen from the proverbial dead with Roberto Di Matteo as manager to improbably reach the Champions League Final, FA Cup Final, and to within a point of the last Champions League place in Europe.

For the Magpies, the journey has been much different. With a squad of players that combined cost about the same as what Liverpool paid for Andy Carroll, manager Alan Pardew and Newcastle executives have put together a very good side. Underestimated to start the year, the team has been hovering around the Champions League places since September, a testament to just how good they have been.

The winner of this matchup gains the upper hand in a race for fourth position that still very much includes Tottenham. Here is a look at what to expect today.

Matchups to watch:

Hatem Ben Arfa vs Jose Bosingwa/Ashley Cole

The creativity of Newcastle’s recent positive run of form has been provided by Hatem Ben Arfa. Much maligned by Pardew to start the season after his return from that horrible leg break, Ben Arfa’s change in attitude has seen him consistently chosen in the starting 11.  Since his move to a right wing position in Newcastle’s new 4-3-3 formation, his attacking skills have been fully on display, including a few brilliant goals. His ability to create space and make crosses will be a big factor in this match. Ashley Cole has been in fantastic form lately as well, and may create a difficult time for Ben Arfa with his fantastic pace. However, given the freedom that Ben Arfa has been given to drift in recent weeks, a change to the left wing would likely see him paired with the defensively frail Jose Bosingwa. With out-of-form Demba Ba struggling to get anything going on the left, we will see if Pardew allows Ben Arfa the choice to attack Bosingwa rather than Cole.

Ashley Cole and Ramires vs. Davide Santon and Danny Simpson

The wing matchups on the other end of the field will be equally as important. Whether or not Newcastle just had an off day against Wigan on Saturday is up for debate, but the pace of Shaun Maloney and Victor Moses on the flanks was too much for the Magpies backline, especially Simpson and Santon. In the first match between Chelsea and Newcastle in December, a 3-0 victory for the Blues, much of Chelsea’s best work was done with penetrating runs down the outside to open up space for crosses into Didier Drogba. Cole is known for his ability to get forward down the left, but the unsung hero of Chelsea’s season so far has been Ramires. His incredible work rate and pace on the right creates huge problems for the left side of opposing defenses. If Cole and Ramires are allowed the freedom to operate in wide areas, it could be another long day for the Newcastle fullbacks.

Other Factors

Branislav Ivanovic’s return from suspension will help to stabilize a Chelsea back four that has been ravaged by the injuries to David Luiz and Gary Cahill. This should give John Terry the help he needs to try to slow down Papiss Demba Cisse, who has 11 goals in 11 appearances for Newcastle since signing from SC Freiburg. At forward for Chelsea, Di Matteo has two in-form players to choose from. Didier Drogba has been a force in recent weeks, showing that he still can be a dominant presence at age 34. But Fernando Torres has finally started to round into form as well, scoring four goals in the last two games, including his first hat trick in two and a half years. It is a nice problem to have when multiple forwards are finding the back of the net. It will be interesting to see who Di Matteo deploys with the FA Cup Final against Liverpool on Saturday.

Prediction

Chelsea has finally hit their stride, and the team riding the high of their Champions League triumph over Barcelona and the 6-1 London derby thrashing of QPR on Sunday. Newcastle will be a difficult test, but with their surprising 4-0 defeat at the hands of Wigan on Saturday, you have to wonder what the mindset of Alan Pardew’s men will be. With the game at Stamford Bridge, I look for Chelsea to continue their quest for fourth with a 3-1 victory.

Over the past few seasons we have seen Barcelona revolutionize the game in a way that nobody has before. Their ability to retain an incredible amount of possession and slice up opposing defenses has gone unmatched by most teams that try to emulate it or defend against it. However, they are not invincible. Despite their mastery of the style, they remain a very one-dimensional squad and can be easily frustrated at times. The team with the most success against the Catalans has been Chelsea, as evidenced by their 1-0 victory at Stamford Bridge last Wednesday. In a sense, they can be considered as the “nightmare matchup” for Barcelona.

The biggest issue I have with Barcelona’s squad players is the lack of a physical target man up front or in the midfield. On Wednesday, the tallest player on the field for Barcelona was Sergio Busquets. And we have all seen how he reacts to physical contact. Whether or not this kind of player would fit into the system is another debate entirely, but nonetheless it restricts Barcelona into a team that needs to play short, incisive passes through the middle of the field. In my opinion forcing them into wide areas makes them considerably less dangerous.

Chelsea boss Roberto Di Matteo definitely knows this. Previous Chelsea sides, especially in the two semi-final fixtures of 2009, deployed the same type of smart, compact formation that clogs up the middle of the park and uses physicality around the field to frustrate Barcelona. That team was a few controversial decisions away from advancing to the final in Rome. The Blues sat back and allowed Barcelona to retain possession in less than threatening areas, and then muscled them out when they tried to come towards the penalty area.

The same strategy was used last week. Di Matteo used Didier Drogba as the lone striker to try to wreak havoc against an undersized Barcelona backline, and then played five hard-working midfielders that would stay compact in the system. It’s hard to imagine a side seeing just 20% of the ball could win a match and keep a clean sheet, but it is exactly what Chelsea managed to accomplish. A good portion of Barcelona’s possession was spent well outside of areas that would be considered threatening, and they created a low amount of clear-cut chances for having 80% of the ball. The middle of the field was so congested at times that Barcelona were forced into trying to create chances with crosses into the area, and Chelsea were easily able to get those away. Of course they rode their luck with the two shots off the post and some poor finishing by Barca on a few occasions, but as they say, you make your own luck sometimes. Lionel Messi was kept bottled up by John Terry and Gary Cahill, and Barcelona lack another clinical finisher to put chances away regularly, as we saw Wednesday.

All it takes is one chance in a match like that to turn the tides, and Chelsea were able to take advantage of that chance brilliantly. On a rare Messi turnover in midfield, the creativity of Lampard, the pace of Ramires, and the finishing ability of Drogba combined perfectly to produce the winner. Victor Valdes has looked less than stellar in goal on more than a few occasions in the past, and probably should have done better on this particular goal as well. If you manage to force Barcelona into conceding possession, they are more than susceptible to being hit with quick, lethal counter attacks.

This Chelsea side has a great combination of players to try to finish off this tie in the Nou Camp on Tuesday. It will be extremely difficult, and the chances are very good that Barcelona will earn their way through to Munich, but I will give the Blues a fair shot at completing the job. Under Di Matteo’s guidance they have reverted back to the grind-it-out style that has given them success before, and whatever Barcelona does earn, it will have to be very well-earned. Here’s to hopefully another entertaining match on Tuesday.

Being a Chelsea supporter has brought its fair share of ups and downs over the past few seasons. No player has embodied this more than Fernando Torres. There is no question that the striker has not scored enough goals to justify the $80 million Roman Abramovich shelled out for him during last season’s January transfer window. However, that does not mean he has been completely ineffective.

Despite the low goal tally, I’ve been impressed with the majority of Torres’ performances this season. He’s found ways to make an impact in other areas of play.

When Torres joined Chelsea, most of Chelsea’s problems towards the end Carlo Ancelotti’s reign were rooted in the midfield. Frank Lampard was injured for a good portion of the campaign, while Yossi Benayoun was lost for the entire season due to a torn achilles. As a result, Chelsea’s midfield was in a state of flux until Lampard returned to full fitness in March. Bringing in Torres was going to do nothing to alleviate these issues. Ancelotti never seemed quite sure how to integrate Torres into the squad. Whether Fernando was slightly injured for most of that season will always be a mystery, but whatever lack of confidence he may have had at the time was probably worsened by the inconsistent playing time he received under Ancelotti. Combined with the lack of consistent service from the midfield, Torres did not have a great chance of success early on at Chelsea. Eight total league starts spread out over 4 months is not going to bring a striker back to form.

The start of this season brought much of the same. The purchase of Juan Mata and the development of Ramires had helped to shore up the midfield. Torres was clearly not a part of the plan AVB was trying to implement as he continued to receive spot starts every now and then. The two early season moments fans remember are the glaring miss against Manchester United and the red card against Swansea, but in both of those games he managed to find the back of the net as well. The signs were there, but until he received consistent starts nobody could be quite sure whether he would return to form.

Drogba’s trip to the African Cup Of Nations coupled with a few injuries gave Torres the chance he needed to get back into the spotlight, and this is when I began to notice why he was still an effective player for stretches. His work rate during the second half of this season has been tremendous. He has been all over the field, tracking back to help the midfielders if needed and constantly drifting to keep defenses off balance. This has also increased his assist total. Twelve total assists in all competitions is very impressive for a forward, and he has been providing good service from wide out on the right, especially since Roberto Di Matteo took the reigns. This was highlighted in the winner against Benfica last week — a fantastic 30 yard run from the right touchline into the box to provide the cross for Kalou’s goal.

Does Torres need to start finding the net more? Absolutely, but I feel like some of the criticism he has received since he arrived at Chelsea has been slightly unjustified. He was thrown into a very difficult situation and was not given the chance he needed to succeed. The more we see of Torres week in and week out as the season draws to a close, the better he is starting to play. Let’s hope it results in more clinical finishes like we saw on Saturday.

On Friday UEFA conducted the draws for the Champions League and Europa League play-off rounds.  In the Champions League, Vfb Stuttgart will be matched against FC Timisoara of Romania’s Liga 1.  Timisoara finished as runners-up in last year’s Romanian Championship, and boast the likes of Costa Rican international striker Winston Parks.  Having successfully avoided the more difficult draws of Fiorentina or Athletico Madrid, however, Die Schwaben will certainly be the favorites to progress to the Champions League Group Stage, where they will join fellow Bundesliga title-challengers Wolfsburg and Bayern Munich.

The Third Qualifying Round for the Inaugural UEFA Europa League Campaign saw last year’s beaten DFB Pokal and UEFA Cup Semi-Finalists Hamburg progress easily against Danish side Randers FC with a score of 4-1 on aggregate. In the Play-off Round Die Rothosen have been drawn against French team EA Guingamp , and are certainly the favorites to progress. They will be joined in the next round by fellow Bundesliga sides Hertha Berlin and Werder Bremen, last year’s UEFA-Cup Runners-Up and DFB Pokal winners.

Hertha Berlin have been tasked with overcoming Denmark’s Brøndby IF en route to reaching the Europa League Group stages. While Brøndby IF should not be taken lightly, again, Die Alte Dame is the odds-on favorite to secure a spot in the Group Stage.

Werder Bremen, meanwhile, begin their quest to return to a European final against FK Aktobe of Kazakhstan, the lowest seeded team left standing in an UEFA Competition this season (0.649). Werder Bremen, currently the highest seeded team taking part in the Europa League (91.339) are astronomical favorites to progress. Should FK Aktobe, the reigning Kazak Champions, get a result against Werder Bremen, it would certainly be the greatest upset in European Club football in quite a long time.

The Group Stages of European Club Football are nearly upon us, and all four Bundesliga sides are favorites to progress. As if the challenge of representing the Bundesliga on the European Stage was not enough for these clubs (along with the German Clubs entering in the Group Stage), this season’s Champions and Europa Leagues provides an addition opportunity, one that could greatly determine the race at the top of the Bundesliga table this season.

Should German clubs perform better than then their Italian counterparts this season on the European Stage, Germany will in all likelihood pass Italy for the third spot in the UEFA Country Coefficients. This of course means that next season it is possible to have four German teams qualify for the Champions League. With the Bundesliga title race, and as a result, the race for the Champions League spots looking tighter than ever this season, these matches in Europe have attained a new level of importance.

What makes this situation interesting is that all the German Clubs contesting European Competitions this season are also favorites to qualify for European Competition again through their league standing. The opportunity to boost the number of Champions League spots for next season means that clubs will be much less likely to sacrifice their league campaign in the latter half of the season for the sake of progressing further in the Europa League or Champions League, as a good performance in the latter will make their league campaign all the more valuable.

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves; we have a long season of European Club Competition ahead of us. Hopefully the competitive nature of the Bundesliga will prepare its clubs for the challenge of winning silverware in Europe.

With this weeks 4-0 drubbing of England u21s by the German u21s, Die Mannschaft completed a hat-trick of youth level European Championships (winning the u17, u19, and u21 tournaments). Such success indicates that the future of the Bundesliga is bright, and that while the Serie A begins a period of decline, the Premier League is used as a scapegoat for the failures of the English national team, and La Liga devolves into a 2 horse race, the Bundesliga is poised to regain its place amongst the top 3 leagues in Europe.

It is difficult to overlook the fact that in this past Euro Under 21 Championship, held in Sweden,   the German youth outplayed Spain’s young stars, out-‘Italianed’ the Italian team, and obliterated a promising England team. To be sure, the German team did not always appear dominant, as they had to work through difficult periods in the games against Finland, England (during the group stage), and Italy, however these difficult periods provided an excellent opportunity for this next generation of German national team players to gain experience doing what many pundits claim the German team does best: finding a way to win.  In nearly every area of the park the German team showed a level of maturity greater than that of their opponents – a maturity that only comes from playing in first-team matches in a top flight league. A quick look manager Horst Hrubesch’s squad from the Match day 1 squad against Spain shows that every member of the starting XI had racked up ample first team action during the last Bundesliga campaign. Such thorough top-flight first team experience was hard to come by in teams like Italy, Spain, and England- all stemming from the fact that the Bundesliga is a league in which promising youth players are given excellent opportunities to prove themselves.

Of course, this recent domination of youth competitions by Germany would have been impossible without the complete revamp of the German youth structure after the debacles of the 1998 World Cup and 2000 European Championships. The combination of training centers run by the 36 1.Bundesliga and 2.Bundesliga clubs and the DFB organized Stützpunkte, regional training centers, have helped cultivate and develop a sizable amount of young talent within Germany.  While many of the names now breaking through at youth levels for Germany may not have typical German surnames, one cannot doubt their loyalty and desire to wear the famous White-on-black kits, nor their ability to play the German way.

With the core of the current German squad aging, Senior National boss Joachim Loew will undoubtedly be looking to add fresh faces to the senior set up following next summer’s world cup in South Africa. The championship winning squad of this past week is where you’ll find the future of the German squad moving towards Euro 2012 and beyond.

While Rene Adler, Germany’s current number 1 between the posts has both youth and ability, Schalke’s Manuel Neuer is certain to contest for the starting spot. A goalkeeper with Champions League experience, Neuer showed a level of maturity and composure that his counterparts lacked. Nowhere was this disparity in experience and maturity more apparent than in the final against England. While England goalkeeper Scott Loach made several critical errors, and looked uncomfortable all night, Neuer was the model of composure between the posts. Admittedly, Loach was the backup goalkeeper for the England squad, but the mere fact that starting keeper Joe Hart missed the final due to a silly, avoidable booking only adds to the argument of immaturity.

In defense, Germany looked stellar all tournament. The German defense pulled shutouts in 4 of their 5 games in Sweden, allowing only 1 goal off a set piece in the group match against England. The fulcrum of this impregnable defense was young Schalke centerback Benedikt Howedes. Howedes got quite a bit of playing time during this past campaign due to rampant injury problems at the Veltins Arena. One of the few symbols of youth in speed in an aging Schalke defense, Howedes is now a prime candidate to replace the aging and inconsistent Christoph Metzelder as a partner for Per Mertesacker in the central defense of the senior squad.  Along with his partner Jerome Boateng of Hamburg, (though himself used to playing more on the outside at the Nordbank-Arena) proved a team capable innenverteidiger.

On the flanks of the defense Hoffenheim’s Andreas Beck and Werder Bremen’s Sebastian Boenisch (note to the English commentators from Sky sports, his name is pronounced ‘Bo-nish’ not ‘Boz-nitch’) dealt with the threats from the likes of Theo Walcott, James Milner, and Sebastian Giovinco, as well as tormented opposition defenses with their effective forward runs. Nowhere was this trend more on display than with Beck’s wonder goal against Italy in the Semi-final . This pair gained their experience and effectiveness from successful domestic campaigns at their respective clubs. Hoffenheim’s rise to competitiveness at the top of the table undoubtedly gave Beck the confidence to deal with the likes of Theo Walcott. Meanwhile, Sebastian Boenisch certainly found both the confidence and maturity to hold his own in the final from the fact that it was his third cup final in a little over a month, having previously appeared in both the finals of the UEFA Cup and DFB Pokal for club side Werder Bremen.

Although the confident and capable nature of the goalkeeper and defense certainly proved the foundation for German success, the cutting edge was found in the Midfield. For all intents and purposes, Horst Hrubesch was effectively playing with 5 midfielders. Anchoring the midfield was Stuttgart player, and Germany under 21 captain Sami Khedira. Khedira did an excellent job of absorbing the attacks of the opposition as well as initiating attacks from the critical role linking defense and midfield. On the right flank, Gonzalo Castro of Bayer Leverkusen showed the timing and pace to cut through opposition defenses with this slashing runs, netting goals in both games against England. The star of the German midfield in this tournament, however was Mesut Ozil.

Schalke fans should certainly be proud of the performances put in by Manuel Neuer and Benedikt Howedes, they should be absolutely infuriated with their club for letting a talent the likes of Mesut Ozil go to rival Werder Bremen. The young attacking midfielder came into his own this past season, albeit in the shadow of talismanic number 10 Diego.  Many were rightfully critical of Ozil when he seemed to fold under the pressure of playing without Diego during the UEFA Cup final against Shaktar Donestk, however the young number 11 from Werder Bremen has done much to put such criticisms to rest since then, scoring the winning goal in the cup final against Leverkusen (ironically, off an excellent pass from Diego), as well as being the creative spark in the German midfield during this past tournament.  By his own admission, Ozil prefers to set up his teammates rather than score himself, but the somewhat fortuitous goal against England in the final shows that Ozil is developing in this regard, as he seems to be learning the age old truth that “you gotta shoot to score.” Ozil will have a chance to prove himself capable of performing consistently at the highest level this next season for Werder Bremen with the departure of Diego to Juventus. Fans of Die Mannschaft will undoubtedly be eager to see if he continues to progress.

The position of striker is perhaps one place where this German team needs to improve. Ashkan Dejagah of Wolfsburg, was played out of position as a striker by manager Horst Hrubesch. While MSV Duisburg front man Sandro Wagner scored two excellent goals against England in the final, it remains to be seen whether or not he is senior team material. With the likes of Miroslav Klose aging, Lukas Poldolski’s career stagnating, and Mario Gomez still unable to find top form with the national team, the German team is still looking for a cadre of strikers for the next generation. There is certainly hope to be had in Patrick Helmes, who is himself still young. If Helmes can find his feet at the national team level, and Lukas Podolski and Mario Gomez can begin firing on all cylinders, the German national team will be well set for strikers for several years to come, and the current drought of youth team strikers can be surmounted.

It remains to be seen if any of the stars of the German Under 21 victory in Sweden 2009 will break into Loew’s team for South Africa 2010, it is certain that Germany will not want for quality players heading into Euro 2012 and World Cup 2014. With the likes of Metzelder, Friedrich, Frings, Ballack, and Klose all entering the final acts of their national team careers, it is a safe bet to say that the talents of Howedes, Beck, Khedira, Ozil, Marin, and Kroos will be there to fill their places. The future is bright for the German National team. A future made all the brighter by the fact that the Bundesliga provides an environment and opportunity for young, talented players to ply their trade in a top flight league that is highly competitive in regards to title-challengers.  As other leagues in Europe face identity crises or a lack of competitive youth, the Bundesliga continues to bring in larger profits by the year both on and off the field.