体坛英语新闻：Germany's World Champions still struggling with Loew' s new style

BERLIN Oct. 11 (Xinhua) -- Looking at Germany's qualifying campaign for the 2016 European Championships in France, astounded fans around the world may well be rubbing their eyes. The 2014 world champions all of a sudden just seems to be like any other ordinary team, suffering losses, full of doubts and having some good days in between. They are however far from being a trendsetter in global football. People expect greater things from a World Champion.

But the fact is: Despite the narrow 2-1 (Thomas Mueller/Bayern Munich 50th and Max Kruse/VfL Wolfsburg 79th - Jaba Kankava/Stade Reims for Georgia 53rd) victory against Georgia in their last qualification game that booked their place in for France, the national team in 2015 is far removed from the world-beating one in 2014. The head coach Joachim Loew has changed their game plan and this is still causing problems.

Germany's senior side has changed from a team looking basically to defend to one that is looking to counter attack and change positions quickly and, backed by a midfield full of masterminds playing football of the highest class, generally go forward at pace. Just like the world`s leading club teams such as Bayern Munich.

Even the former Tiki-Taka fetishist Pep Guardiola is now open to a far quicker and attacking style. Spanish giant Barcelona has abandoned it former game to fit its pacy attacking trio of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez. Real Madrid has Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale. Both Spanish sides can fall back on an inspiring midfield and attack-minded forward bound.

To find a solution by playing football instead of working football seems to be the new trend to secure success in the coming years. Central to the strategy is that your team can create chances from down the flanks, a serious problem for the Germans at present.

Thinking about the future of his team after the 2014 World Cup to restructure tactics was for Loew the only possible solution to win future titles. So he has switched his rock-solid team into a modern football playing machine or better put, he is still trying to do so. That might be an explanation for a campaign that did not go smoothly. The German team is still searching for the much-needed effectiveness when it comes to converting their chances (20-2 chances in the first half against Georgia).

Some assumed it might have been down to a post-World Cup depression that Loew' s team was trapped in during its difficult qualification campaign for Euro 2016, but there is much more behind everything. On the way to France and the 2018 World Cup in Russia, Loew is counting on a fundamental turnaround. "We always have to be aware of the trends in world football," said Loew soon after the World Cup. "Winning games with the crowbar is nothing you can count on, you have to find solutions by playing."

In Brazil, Loew was, in contrast to now, convinced he could win the World Cup with pragmatism and a solid four man defense and a special roles for the "double six" in front of the defense. The German "double six" was made of a defensive man (Sami Khedira) and a playmaking one (Bastian Schweinsteiger). Up front a spearhead was waiting in a 4-1-4-1 or 4-2-3-1 system. It worked at the time but it was debatable whether it would stand the test of time.

Now their new game is a much more risky one. Left and right backs (Matthias Ginter/Borussia Dortmund and Jonas Hector/1. FC Cologne) are a vital part of the attacking as are the central defenders (Jerome Boateng/Bayern Munich and Mats Hummels/Dortmund). The "double six" , positioned right before the defense is now performed by two playmakers (Toni Kroos/Real Madrid and Ilkay Guendogan/Dortmund) instead of one.

Meanwhile Germany is using a 4-2-4 system without a clear spearhead up front but quickly changing positions forwards, with maybe two players (Thomas Mueller, Marco Reus/Dortmund and Andre Schuerrle/VfL Wolfsburg are candidates) playing slightly in front of the rest of the midfield. With that strategy Loew is trying to gain speed and inventive solutions. Meaning: Dominate the game but quickly use the chances you get. "That is something we have to work on in the next months," said Loew said after the Georgia. "What we have shown in the last games is not what we regard as our standard," Loew said.

Until now Loew says he won' t return to the 2014 World Cup style, despite all the criticism in the country about the lack of a central forward and the team not being effective enough.

It' s obvious problems with an more open game and the detrimental effects it is having on the defense is also a subject of debate. Players like Reus, Mario Goetze, Thomas Mueller (Bayern Munich), Mesut Oezil (FC Arsenal), Guendogan and Kroos will have to consider to sometimes forget about creativity, but to show more effectiveness in front of the goal.

"At the moment we are having problems putting away our many chances. In our training sessions we' re scoring goals left, right and centre but it is not happening when it matters. But we' ve got some time to adapt before the European Championships, said German goalkeeper Manuel Neuer who captained the team against Georgia.