I really enjoyed the German team in 2010. Whilst they lost in the semi-final, they showed a different way of playing successful football. At that stage most teams were trying to play like Spain and Barcelona; possession football. Germany showed then that counter-attacking football could be used successfully again and they used it expertly well. It also showed that youth could be relied upon. Neuer, Boateng, Höwedes, Khedira, Kroos, Müller and Özil all played in the under 21’s a year or so earlier and there they were on the biggest stage of them all beating some of Europe’s best senior players.
The only sour point for me of the whole tournament was that Robert Enke never got the chance to be his country’s number 1. In the qualifying for the World Cup, he was Germany’s number 1 with Rene Adler as number 2 and Manuel Neuer as number 3. Whilst he was the Coaching staff’s number 1, the German media (Hannover apart because they were pro-Enke) preferred Rene Adler who was more flashy and charismatic but made plenty of mistakes whilst Enke was very solid and dependable but classed as boring. The stress of being Germany’s number 1 and the media’s love for Adler played a big part in Robert Enke’s second breakdown and spiral into depression which he couldn’t get out of. He killed him self 8 months before the World Cup.
If you ever get chance, have a read of the biography about Robert Enke. It’s written by his closest friend and details his childhood, playing career, breakdowns and depression and finally his death.
https://www.theguardian.com/football/201...book-award
The only sour point for me of the whole tournament was that Robert Enke never got the chance to be his country’s number 1. In the qualifying for the World Cup, he was Germany’s number 1 with Rene Adler as number 2 and Manuel Neuer as number 3. Whilst he was the Coaching staff’s number 1, the German media (Hannover apart because they were pro-Enke) preferred Rene Adler who was more flashy and charismatic but made plenty of mistakes whilst Enke was very solid and dependable but classed as boring. The stress of being Germany’s number 1 and the media’s love for Adler played a big part in Robert Enke’s second breakdown and spiral into depression which he couldn’t get out of. He killed him self 8 months before the World Cup.
If you ever get chance, have a read of the biography about Robert Enke. It’s written by his closest friend and details his childhood, playing career, breakdowns and depression and finally his death.
https://www.theguardian.com/football/201...book-award