The European Dilemma

A recent post in the NY Times' Goal blog by Rob Hughes made a good point of contrasting Germany and Italy. The timing of this article could not be any better as both teams prepare for their second games of the group stages. In their first games the teams displayed very different impressions; however, none were really surprising.

 Every analyst and soccer writer had been commentating since the qualification stages that Lippi’s Azzurri were depending too heavily on their tried-and-true squad of world champions. This wouldn’t be a problem for the Celtics in the NBA, or a baseball team here; but in world soccer, especially at the World Cup, youth and vigor are essential. Italy even lost in the pre-World Cup friendlies to Mexico! You could say that Mexico isn’t really a soccer powerhouse (and I would normally agree with you) but they beat France 2-0 in their second group games, and Italy barely managed a tie with Paraguay (which is truly a soccer force in Latin America). With Pirlo injured, and Gilardino incapable of even making a shot on goal, Italy is in real trouble. Their display was void of offensive prowess, and was not particularly defensive, they just looked desperate. Their age, and lack of creativity were obvious. More than anything their manager looked weak and helpless. Hughes comments that it is typical for Italy to start off slow, and become more powerful as the knock-out stages progress, but that would be so detrimental to world soccer. And truly, it would be detrimental to Italy. Their is a much deeper problem than not simply not playing well in South Africa this summer. That country’s soccer establishment seems to be in denial of the changes occurring in society. European countries are being flooded with immigration. Some of these new immigrants are bringing African power, Latin American skill and Eastern European grit to the game. For the sake of soccer, and the sake of these new Italian immigrants, let us hope that Italy crashes and burns. Perhaps they will wake up some day and call up Mario Balotelli.If the Italians don't, then perhaps their soccer will join their buildings as crumbling monuments.

Germany, on the other hand, has embraced their multi-cultural entity. If you have ever been to this land of Mercedes Benz and supposed pure citizenry, you will know that the country is more ethnically diverse than the United States (or at least it appears that way in the streets). This influx of talent was seen positively since the 1970’s. It is no surprise then that Beckenbauer was quoted as saying in the ‘70s: “When the talent from the East is added, no one will be able to beat us for years. I’m sorry for the rest of the world.” We can apply this to the influx of immigrants from the “Middle East”. Germany is full of Turkish, Middle Eastern and African immigration. To not include these kids on the squad would be to deny what Germany is today. Perhaps these kids don’t have much of a chance of rising in Germany with education, due to the exclusive and stratifying education system, but they can rise in soccer. As displayed in their first 4-0 win, their speed and offensive prowess seem to be rivaled only by Argentina. And maybe it was a good thing that the part-German KP Boateng injured Ballack. Germany seems to have left him behind and moved on to their future.

France seems to have embraced their African immigration a long time ago. However, they seem unable to harness it's positive benefits. Or, perhaps Domenech is just a crap coach. I'll take the later guess. Most other European powerhouses are not really confronted with these issues yet. When their time comes, they would be wise to follow Germany's example.

Rob Hughes Article