Germany has taken the “tiki-taka” passing game so intrinsically used by Spain to another level at the World Cup in Brazil, by adding ruthless efficiency to the possession philosophy.
Spain beat Germany at two major tournaments and coach Joachim loew was so impressed by the Spanish game that he has taken over many aspects and, of course, added some of his own flourishes.
Germany like possession, just as Spain did, but loew’s team avoids endless wide passing and prefers to push forward at every occasion.
When Germany wins the ball in their half, loew wants his players to pass it quickly forward, hoping to outnumber the opposing defence. The result is that Germany creates many chances and scores plenty of goals.
Spain’s minimalists scored eight goals in winning the 2010 World Cup — Germany already have 17 here, with one match remaining to play.
While Spain’s game was based on endless possession and passing until an occasional chance was created, loew’s lineup is happy to attack and take risks.
“We want possession but that is only one factor in our game,” loew said earlier in the tournament. “We want to keep the ball low, we want to avoid long and high balls and we want quick transition. We need to improve our efficiency.”
Germany have shown it can win even when it doesn’t have more possession — France had as much as Germany and lost 1-0 in the quarterfinals. Brazil had 51 percent, with the known outcome.
Still, Germany tops the tournament in completed passes at 3,421, nearly three times the average. Philipp lahm with 458 passes and Kroos with 443 lead the tournament. Spain completed 4,773 passes in winning the 2010 title.