GERMANY READY TO SINK SPAIN?S FRONTLINE ARMADA
By Ronnie Nathanielsz
PhilBoxing.com
Tue, 06 Jul 2010
In possibly the most intriguing match of the 2010 FIFA World Cup the young German squad that has appeared to mature on the playing field under coach Joachim Loew who himself was considered too inexperienced to succeed faces European Champions Spain which has somehow failed to live up to its credentials despite a star-studded line-up headed by a frontline armada led by the irrepressible David Villa and a midfield orchestrated by Barcelona?s Xavi and the always dangerous Iniesta with Cesc Fabregas coming off the bench.
Loew has been quoted as saying he has not been surprised by his side's coming of age although he concedes they are slight outsiders against Spain in the second semi final which will be telecast ?live? on ABS-CBN?S SkyCable ?Balls? Channel as well as Studio 23 beginning at 2:00 a.m. on Thursday.
As Loew and his team waited for the outcome of the Netherlands clash with Uruguay in the first semi final, the German coach said ?I've never doubted this team's potential or development. They've shown a thirst for victory that is worthy of world champions. It's a nice team. They like to learn, they're very motivated and I'm very proud of them. It has been a great experience, on and off the pitch."
The Spaniards are hoping that Germany will give them a real opportunity to capitalize on their well-known ability to keep possession and rip through the defense with quick, precise passing.
Coach Vicente Del Bosque conceded that while Germany beat England easily 4-1 and later Argentina 4-0, the Spanish team has only managed to scrape through against the less fancied teams like Paraguay 1-0 in the quarter finals.
The Spanish mentor said . "We've had tough games against opponents who, above all, wanted to stop us playing.I think the semi-final will be different. Both teams want to reach the final. We know we can play better than we have done so far, hopefully it will be an open match and a good advert for football."
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ronnie Nathanielsz.
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