/FONT>" />
德國隊志在擺脫季軍魔咒
Germany heads to Brazil aiming to end its 24-year wait for a fourth World Cup title with captain Philipp Lahm insisting he is sick of finishing third. Consecutive semifinal defeats have led to Germany taking bronze at the past two World Cups with Lahm in the side and it is 12 years since the Germans lost the 2002 final to Brazil in Yokohama, Japan. "I do not want to go out in the semifinals again or visit Brazil just to soak up the sun," said Lahm after a decade in the Germany team. "I have a clear goal, to achieve the biggest possible success and win the World Cup." In order to break its duck, improved counter-attack and a tighter defense are the key areas coach Joachim Loew wants to improve. The squad is packed with attacking potential, but there have been rumors of discontent in the past with disgruntled stars disrupting the squad's harmony from the bench at the 2012 European Championships and in the World Cup qualifiers. "We have the necessary punch to win the title, but we must be sure that the talent and ego of every individual provides only for the team's benefit," said Lahm, with team building also a priority in its south Tirol camp. The 24-year wait for a fourth World Cup title is Germany's longest since first winning the global crown in 1954. Younger members of the squad, including midfield star Mario Goetze, were yet to be born when West Germany won Italia 1990-the last time it was world champion. In the past, Loew's strength has been to instill impressive cohesion into his side by hours of drilling. But injuries and the lack of fitness of his first-choice stars could hamper the process. "We need to work on our flexibility and variation," said the 54-year-old. "You always need a 'what-if' strategy during matches, but we also need to improve our counter-attacking when we have won the ball back. "We haven't done that as consistently well as we did at the South African World Cup and immediately after." Germany has made a habit of suffering from injuries going into World Cup campaigns. In 2006, captain Michael Ballack was nursing a calf injury while current skipper Lahm needed elbow surgery. In 2010, Chelsea's Ballack was ruled out by a nasty tackle in the FA Cup final from Ghana midfielder Kevin-Prince Boateng while first-choice goalkeeper Rene Adler was sidelined with broken ribs. In Ballack's absence, Lahm took over and has been Germany's captain ever since while Manuel Neuer has cemented his place between the posts and is widely regarded as one of the world's best goalkeepers. However, four years on and the fault line runs right along the back-bone of Loew's first-choice side. Lars Bender's withdrawal has removed a defensive midfield option with Loew's first-choice pairing of vice-captain Bastian Schweinsteiger and Sami Khedira are lacking fitness after respective knee injuries. Likewise, Neuer is battling a shoulder injury-never good for a goalkeeper-while Lahm is also being treated intensively for an ankle knock. Loew does not have the luxury of a settled back four and is also low on options up front with only two recognized strikers in his squad. Miroslav Klose, who turns 36 next month, has missed large chunks of the season with Lazio, and Hoffenheim's 21-year-old Kevin Volland is inexperienced, but Loew could also convert one of his midfield stars into a 'false nine'. Traditionally, Germany has boasted strong leaders-characters such as Stefan Effenberg, Ballack or Oliver Kahn. Lahm and Schweinsteiger have been criticized for their lack of leadership when things go wrong-namely in the Euro 2012 semifinal defeat to Italy and the 2010 World Cup defeat to Spain for a place in the final. "Germany has a superior team-and that's the problem," according to Ghana midfielder Boateng. "Germany is feeling the pressure to be world champion, but it doesn't have the characters and types of player to deal with that in Brazil, someone like an Effenberg or a Ballack." |
據法新社報道,2014年,德國隊整裝待發奔赴巴西世界杯,全體隊員決心結束24年的漫長等待、為德國贏下第四個世界杯冠軍。德國隊隊長菲利普·拉姆表示他已經厭惡了止步于第三名的感覺。 接連兩次半決賽的失利使拉姆所在的德國隊在過去的兩屆世界杯中僅僅獲得兩塊銅牌,本屆世界杯距2002年世界杯德國隊對陣巴西隊的決賽失利已有十二年。 “我不想再次在半決賽出局,我們可不是去巴西曬日光浴的,” 已為德國隊效力十年的拉姆說,“我們的目標非常清晰,就是盡最大的可能獲取勝利并且贏下本屆世界杯冠軍。” 為了能夠帶領德國隊獲得本次世界杯的勝利,教練尤阿希姆·勒夫需要重點提高德國隊的反擊和高強度防守能力。 這支球隊極富進攻潛力,但有謠言稱,在2012年的歐洲杯及世界杯預選賽中,曾有對球隊不滿的明星球員在板凳席上破壞隊內和諧。 “我們有足夠強大的陣容來贏得冠軍,但前提是球隊中每一個人的天賦和自我全部用于為球隊謀利。”拉姆表示,這方面的團隊建設是他們在南蒂羅爾營地備戰的一大重點。 24年,這是德國隊自1954年第一次贏得世界杯后,最為漫長的一次對冠軍的等待。 隊中的許多年輕球員,包括中場球星馬里奧?高茨,在西德于1990年獲得意大利世界杯冠軍時還尚未出生,而那年恰是德國隊至今最后一次問鼎世界杯的年份。 過去,勒夫非常擅于通過數小時的艱苦訓練來塑造球隊超凡的凝聚力,但當前球隊主力球星的傷病問題可能會阻礙訓練進程。 "我們要繼續努力提高我們戰術的靈活性和多樣性,”年滿54歲的勒夫說。 “在比賽中,你時刻要做一個‘以防萬一’的戰術準備,但同時我們也要提高球隊贏得球權后反攻的能力。” “我們在這兩方面并沒有做得像在南非世界杯及之后短暫時間的比賽內做得那樣好。” 每逢爭奪世界杯冠軍時,德國隊總是習慣性地受到傷病困擾。 2006年,當時的隊長邁克爾·巴拉克正在調養小腿傷病,而現任隊長拉姆則需要做肘部手術。 在2010年的足總杯決賽中,切爾西隊的巴拉克因加納隊中場球員凱文·普林斯·博滕的一記惡意鏟球而受傷無法參加南非世界杯,而當時的第一門將雷內·阿德勒也因肋骨骨折無法參加比賽。 在巴拉克缺席時,拉姆接手成為德國隊隊長并擔任至今。當時曼努埃爾·諾伊爾繼續悍守門將位置,他被公認為世界上最優秀的守門員之一。 然而,四年來,勒夫的首選球員一直飽受傷病問題困擾。 拉爾斯·本德的退出使得勒夫的首選中場組合——副隊長巴斯蒂安 ·施魏因斯泰格與薩米·凱迪拉——失去了一個可備替補的防御型中場球員,這對中場組合球員皆因各自的膝傷問題身體欠佳。 同樣地,諾伊爾正在和肩傷斗爭——這一傷病對守門員而言十分不利,而球隊的左后衛拉姆也正在加強對腳踝的治療。 勒夫沒有理想的后場四人組合,在鋒線上球隊也是人才濟濟,隊內只有兩個比較知名的中鋒。 下個月即將36歲的米羅斯拉夫·克洛澤和拉齊奧已經錯過了本賽季的大量比賽,而來自于霍芬海姆隊的21歲小將凱文·沃蘭德又經驗不足,但是勒夫可以指派一名中場球員踢一個“九號半”(False nine)的位置。 過去,德國隊常常以擁有偉大的領袖球員而感到自豪,比如過去的斯特凡·埃芬博格,巴拉克或者奧利弗·卡恩。 拉姆和施魏因斯泰格因在球隊遇困時缺乏領導能力而飽受批評——這主要是指他們在2012年歐洲杯半決賽對陣意大利還有2010年世界杯與西班牙爭奪決賽名額時兩次失利比賽中的表現。 “德國隊有一個優越的團隊——而這正是問題所在,”加納隊的中場球員博阿滕說,“德國隊十分希望獲得世界冠軍,他們也因此而感到壓力,但問題是他們沒有像埃芬博格或者巴拉克那種領袖球員來帶領球隊在巴西世界杯比賽中應付這種壓力。” |
Australia had a bumpy ride through the Asian qualifying groups, losing to Oman and Jordan, En route to finishing second behind Japan to seal a world cup place. >詳細>>