Germany 3-1 Turkey: Ruthless Attack, Strong Defense. A Triumphant Return For the 4-2-3-1

There was much excitement about Germany's clash with their geographical rivals Turkey, a record lay in Germany's wake, Turkey's hopes for Euro 2012 qualifications were teetering on the edge while the return of to Turkey for Germany's star Mesut Ozil were some of the reasons why this was always going to be a high tension encounter. I had an additional reason to be excited though; Turkey have always had a very respectable football side since the early 00's and therefore they were going to be a great test for Jorgi Low's new and interesting 4-1-4-1 formation, something which Low had been talking up for the last few months and used to reasonable success. It was the formation that provided the solution to the long argued question " How can Mesut Ozil and Mario Gotze play together". In the end, neither was Ozil able to play nor did Low see fit to try the formation against a Turkish side, at home, who were clearly going to be extra motivated to win the match and stay favourites for the play-off spot in the group. 


Low instead went back to his old favourite and very successful 4-2-3-1. With Khedira finally back to fitness, Kroos, despite superb performances for club and country over the past month, was dropped to the bench to make way for the Real Madrid man, a move which didn't impress many fans. Khedira is coming off some patchy form for his club side and despite his performances for the Mannschaft over the past year, the emergence of new central midfielders like Sven Bender and Toni Kroos along with the high demand to play Gotze and Ozil together has seen his place come under extreme scrutiny. 


These are crucial times in the lead up to the European Championships next year in June. with new young players exploding on to the Bundesliga with regularity, more and more pressure is being put on the senior players to prove their worth. The easy ride for Lukas Podolski and Per Mertesacker seems close to coming to its end, after the extreme highs of the recent World Cup's and European Championship, the coaster is on its final descent towards the end and new, younger, passengers are set to the take their seats. Both were in the starting line-up against Turkey. 

The 4-2-3-1, solid yet deadly under Low. 

Low was up against a manager who is revered throughout the footballing globe, as much for his footballing success as it is for his extremely loveable personality. Guus Hiddink took over Turkey after failing to guide Russia to the 2010 World Cup and given the talent in the side, much was expected. Having to battle with one of the best sides in the World and then also compete with another very good young side, Belgium was always going to be a tough test and after a rough start, including a loss against Azerbaijan, Turkey had recovered and were now two points ahead of Belgium with as many matches left and both still having to play Germany. With the injury to Nuri Sahin, Mehmet Topal and the return of Hamit Altintop, Hiddink rang in the changes from his squad that could only muster a 0-0 draw against Austria. A similar 4-3-2-1 was adopted to deal with Germany's strength in midfield and weakness against the counter.


From the get go, the match was tight. Turkey, though sitting deep were never afraid to launch the counter and created arguably the best chances of the first half. If it weren't for a brilliant save by Manuel Neuer and some lack finishing, Turkey could've seen themselves go up 3-0 before Germany had their first decent chance. With the midfield 3 of Inan, Aurelio and Sabri protecting the back four, Altintop and Arda Turan were seen taking up much central positions to what their position suggested, causing trouble for the wing backs and forcing them out of position. It was from similar movement that Turkey got their first chance and arguably the best of the match. After some passing down the right, Germany defence was slightly stretch leading to Altintop facing his former club team mate Phillp Lahm. Altintop continued his run into the box and with Lahm behind him faced Neuer with a gapping goal. Though the finish was close to Neuer, it was a powerful shot that brought out the best in the German keeper. 


Germany were having trouble breaking through the resilient 10 man Turkish defence. With the predictable Mario Gomez in leading the line instead of the injured Miroslav Klose, Germany were having trouble creating space in the center of the box to attack in order to create chances. That has been the main criticism leveled against 'Super' Mario, despite his amazing goalscoring record over the past year, his lack of creativity and versatility means that he can be largely ineffective against teams that are built to defend in numbers. His rival for the Number 11 position, Miroslav Klose, offers a new set of technical abilities along with Gomez's psychic understanding of how to position himself to goalscoring chances. Gomez's only invovlement for the first half, before his goal, was to have a very strong claim for a penalty ruled out. 


It was ironic though, that with the chances Turkey were creating on the counter attack that Germany were to get their first clear chance of a similar mentality. It was a break-taking counter attack at that, one which a Manchester United fan would've been used to seeing during past seasons. 

Neuer picks the ball from a Turkey chance and immediately throws it forward

Mueller picks the ball at the half line and instantly looks to pick out Gomez. The striker then scores.

  
Like all great counter attack goals, the move started straight from an opposition chance. Altintop's shot was saved by Neuer who then in similar vain to many great goalkeepers from attacking sides had only one thought in mind and that was to look for an opportunity to get the ball forward and take advantage of the Turkish team's foray forward. It takes ability as well as speed of thought to be a great counter attacking player and Neuer completed the set when he managed a fantastic 50 yard throw to Thomas Mueller who was already in counter attack mode. Thomas Mueller has been revered as a great counter attacking player since his performances at the World Cup last year and he went on to show just why he has that reputation. Picking the ball at the half line, he immediately spotted and then picked out Gomez's run with a 40 yard pass. The rest was then up to 'Super' Mario. The man, much criticized for his lack of technical ability, brought the ball down instantly, turned his marker and finished into the corner. Overall, it took just 12 seconds and 2 passes to go from end of the pitch to the other. A fantastic goal overall which further cements Germany as arguably the best counter attacking national team. 


That ended an exciting first half after Germany would've been very glad to have gone in with a 1-0 lead. 


As mentioned above, Lukas Podolski has had a recent slump in his form for Germany and on the flip-side 20-year old Andre Schurrle, his main competitor, has been flourishing in the white and black of Der Mannschaft. Ironically enough, their form for club could not be any different, Lukas Podolski has scored 4 goals and contributed 4 assists in the first 7 matches of the Bundesliga season while Andre Schurrle has managed 0 in both departments. Therefore, one can imagine the predicament Joachim Low found himself in while choosing the squad; either way, Low has always been one to choose players on the basis of their national team form and therefore it was up to Podolski to match his performances for his country with that of his club. Sadly enough, it was completely not the case today. 


As Turkey were sitting deep for most of the half, Podolski was rarely given an opportunity to attack the box like he prefers to do and therefore was regulated to the position of an out and out winger, something which he clearly does not prefer. It should be important to mention that Podolski has scored 4 goals for FC Koln as a striker and not a left winger. After Podolski was not able to improve his performances in the beginning of the 2nd half, Low did what seemed logical and brought him off for Schurrle. The change yielded an immediate impact as Schurrle's speed and great technical ability showed signs of troubling the Turkish defence much more than when Podolski was occupying that position. 


The 2nd half ended being a much easier affair for the German side eventhough Turkey sought more attacking options and pushed Germany further back, Khedira especially who seemed to be pushed deeper in the 2nd half by Low in anticipation of a the great attacking threat looming. Not surprisingly, the central defence partnership of Mertesacker and Badstuber look much more comfortable defending against more Turkish pressure than they did the first half having to deal with defending more space behind them and up against less Turkish attackers. Mertesacker especially looked to be back to his old form as he comfortably dealt with majority of the passes that came his way. Turkey as a whole were much less of an attacking threat than they were in the first half. 


Germany's 2nd goal came once again due to a quick transition from defending against Turkish attacking pressure to invading their penalty box; and once again, the attack was initiated  by Manuel Neuer. Sweeping the ball from close to his penalty box, Neuer launched a pass towards Mario Gotze who had minimal impact on the game till then. The youngster once again showed his impeccable technique as he instantly controlled the ball, his pass ended up finding Mueller just outside the box, his finish  into the bottom corner gave the keeper. Another great counter attack goal that put Germany beyond Turkey.


It was looking all to simple for Germany from then onwards, controlling possession and rarely being threatened in defence. Just as it seemed like the match was going to amble on towards a 2-0 win for Germany, Turkey stunned their own crowd by getting a goal. Germany's defence held very strong till that point but a moment of poor concentration from the matches hero Thomas Mueller allowed Turkey's left back Hakan Balta to get a free shot from a superb cross from the right flank. That gave Turkey more impotence to once again attack Germany like they tried before Germany's 2nd but that only allowed Germany more space to attack on the counter. Andre Schurrle had a great chance to score and further cement his credentials as Germany's best left winger but completely scuffed his shot. German managed to find a deserved third goal after Mueller was fouled in the box and Schwiensteiger calmly slotted the penalty. Further chances followed for Germany as Turkey looked increasingly tired but none were taken as Germany at times tried to much to score the perfect goal. 


In conclusion, this match showed why Low should not tinker with the 4-2-3-1. Lets not forget, Turkey vs Germany has always been a tight encounter and Germany had not won at the home of their rivals since the 1980's. Low has been worried about having to many defensive players in the 4-2-3-1 but it is no rocket science to see that the central defensive area is Germany's weakest spot and while having the likes of Gomez, Ozil/Gotze, Mueller and Podolski/Schurrle in attack, there is little need to sacrifice defensive solidarity to try and add to the attacking base since those attacking players can score goals on their own, as they had shown today. Up next for Germany will be the exciting Belgium side. They, like Turkey, will have their Euro 2012 qualification hopes to play for since they only hold a one point lead of Turkey heading into the last round of fixtures. Belgium have a vast array of attacking talent, from the oft mentioned Eden Hazard to Axel Witsel and Dembele so it will be interesting to see whether Low will continue to provide extra protection for the back four against this quick attacking threat or look to go all in the depend on his attack to win matches.