Bush fires were burning on the dusty roads outside Germany’s remote headquarters in the Gauteng countryside yesterday, but the clouds that used to surround meetings with England had dissipated. With youthful vigour and confidence on Germany’s side, the attritional nature of Anglo-German affairs could also be consigned to the past tomorrow.
To step inside the gates of the five-star Velmore Grande Hotel is to enter another world, not just from barren land outside that has been callously set ablaze, but from the rest of the tournament. The Germany set-up is different from that of most other nations — strikingly so from the very controlled atmosphere when they were nervous hosts four years ago — with the relaxed management style epitomised by Joachim Löw’s eccentric jacket and T-shirt combos rubbing off on his squad.
Around the fountains, players are happily conversing with journalists and well-wishers, describing the morning’s outing to Wildside Lion Park and even displaying flashes of humour.
“We saw three lions on a safari drive today,” Philipp Lahm, the captain, said. “It was a bit of a petting zoo, so we had them in our hands. On Sunday the treatment we give to these lions will definitely be more aggressive.”
The most noticeable departure from the Teutonic efficiency that delivered so many trophies in the past is the Germans’ diverse make-up — 11 of the 23-man squad have backgrounds that can be traced to nine other countries — but Löw claims the biggest difference is to be found in the attitude of his young players.
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The 50-year-old has built on the liberal philosophy imported by the Californian dreaming of his predecessor, Jürgen Klinsmann, adding flair and finesse to a playing style that was previously based on fitness and unstinting effort. In Mesut Özil, Löw has discovered a genuine No 10, allowing him to abandon the rigid lines of Klinsmann’s 4-4-2 and play a more fluid 4-2-3-1 formation.
“It’s youthful lightness against international class, Germany v England,” Löw said. “We have been working for two years to add these nice things in football to the traditional German values of strength, power and running. I strongly favour attractive football.”
For all his desire to shatter stereotypes, he still sees England in their traditional vein, a hard-working side whose team spirit is their greatest strength despite recent tensions within the squad. Unlike Franz Beckenbauer, however, such analysis does not seem to be a back-handed compliment and his respect for Fabio Capello is obvious.
“England remain England,” he said. “The English have a never say die attitude and great fight and commitment which they bring to the fore. They can fight, they can run, they are mentally strong and incredibly experienced.
“Not qualifying for 2008 [for the European Championship] was the turning point for them. Capello managed to introduce a new sense of discipline and sense of organisation to the team. Before the World Cup England were one of the top favourites for the trophy.”
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Löw’s biggest asset is the strength of his relationship with his players, many of whom owe their careers to him after repeatedly disappointing at club level, creating a bond Capello will never rival. The youthful nature of the squad, with an average age of 24.9, has also helped to foster team spirit as many of the players came through the system together, and despite their diverse backgrounds have a good deal in common.
Close observers have remarked that at the age of 26 Lahm is proving a more popular captain than Michael Ballack, whose seniority tended to make him more detached from his team-mates.
In Ballack’s absence, Löw will give every opportunity for Bastian Schweinsteiger to recover from a muscle injury, but Lahm is looking forward to a bright future even if they are eliminated tomorrow. “This is the best German team I’ve played in,” he said. “There is a lot of quality, a lot of talent.
“Ethnicity doesn’t matter, it’s all about the type of player. The majority of our players were either born in Germany or came to Germany when they were small kids. Throughout their youth, coming through to the senior teams, they have been taught things the German way.
“Everyone knows this is a developing team. That is why it is important we didn’t win clearly and passed through some difficult moments. It was good for us to suffer in some parts of the games.”
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In Löw’s eyes, his players have made him suffer too much, with his analysis of last week’s 1-0 win over Ghana showing there is steel behind his laid-back smile.
“After Ghana I was very critical with the team,” he said. “Particularly as far as our strikers are concerned and our attacking moves. In the final third we just weren’t good enough, in terms of running patterns and precision passing. And let’s not talk about finishing.
“I want my attackers to be more focused, not lose any balls and allow the opponents to counter attack. This is something the English will be able to exploit. Give Wayne Rooney and Frank Lampard lots of space and they cannot be stopped.
“Germany have never approached any of these games with fear. There is tension, but it is healthy stage fright. There is great respect, but we won’t go into hiding, or put our heads in the sand.” For the first time in a generation there should be no trepidation on either side.