Gosh Charlie, you don't cease to surprise me!
Didn't know you're into football... great!
I just wrote out a long response about the german team and why it won't... hopefully I can write a better one now.
Germany typically seems to do well in the opening, but then suffer towards the latter stages of tournements. The team doesn't have the same magic as when they had Lothar, Jurgen, Rudi, Littbarski, and Brehme all on one pitch together. When it comes to the World Cup, the problem is that it's not going to be in Europe, and I don't think they'll break the tradition of not winnign cups outside Europe - not with the current squad.
Oh yeah, the old days... we always got accused for our "tank football" but that was what brought us through many Euros and World Cups. The thing is, these guys were much older than the current team, more mature and had more experience in handling stress situations. Just take ace players like Breitner, Rummenigge, Briegel or Völler, they weren't a cast of show players who were brought up and nursed by the DFB (Deutscher Fussball Bund, German Football Union)... guys like them started playing football in the backyards of their hometowns when they could hardly walk and worked their way up from the kiddie leagues to the national team, garnished with lots of international experience in clubs like Real Madrid or Cosmos New York (Beckenbauer went there for a while), but not because someone told them to do so, they knew what they were capable of and made their moves in their own style.
Football has changed quite a bit since the glorious 70s and 80s, the game has become a hundred times faster, football players aren't just players anymore but athletes who have to run their guts out for 90+ minutes while still pulling off tricks like Maradona... needless to say this doesn't really work anymore once you're 35 or older.
So what's the problem? 1) They need to phase out Lehmann. Too old. The guy was playing professionally when Germany won the last world cup. Train some new talent. Germany needs a goalkeeper for the future. Besides, Lehmann isn't even able to play now. Is Hildbrant really going to be the man of the future?
Agreed, Lehmann has passed his peak a while ago, it's time for him to call it a day, he seems to be burned out to me. Timo Hildebrand on the other hand still has a lot of catching-up to do to gain international experience but he's on a good way according to goalie legend Sepp Maier, and what Maier says is true, you know.
2) Jurgen should push to have Bastian sent to a better league. Send him to Chelsea for Malouda, loan him somewhere else, but loan him to a better league. No offense, but Bundesliga is second teir. The best teams have their players in either Serie A or Premeirship. Bundesliga is almost as good Eredivise and La Ligua. In fact, I think there are more good teams in Ligue 1 than there are in Bundesliga. Send out Podolski too. The two guys are in the springtime of their youths, and this would help out the national team immensely. Anyhow, that is my view.
Well, let's put it this way, Schweinsteiger and the others could need a bit of fresh air. It's the money that keeps them here, that and their youth in combination with a whole bunch of technical and career advisors sponsored by those interested in keeping the guys at home in order to fuel their marketing and money-making plans. Top clubs like Bayern München may still be 2nd tier compared to other European clubs but they know what they want and mostly get it because they sit deep in the arse of Joseph Blatter (the current FIFA prez) and the UEFA council.
Ah well, I just hope they give the national team enough time to mature and maybe,
maybe take a bit of steam out of the new athletical style, then we'd walk all over Europe again...