World Cup: Five lesson England can learn from Germany

“Football is a simple game. 22 men chase a ball for 90 minutes and at the end, the Germans always win.” Why?

Case Klosed: England started and finished their World Cup campaign in South Africa with Emile Heskey on the pitch. Although I saw the benefits of taking Heskey along it was baffling to see him introduced with England needing three goals in 20 minutes to force extra-time. A minute after Heskey coming on German coach Joachim Löw withdrew Miroslav Klose.

As with Heskey the German forward spent much of last season on the bench as both players notched a mere three goals apiece in their respective domestic leagues. So why has Klose been able to turn it on in South Africa while Heskey’s international career finished in the Free State Stadium?

Heskey came to South Africa with an international strike-rate of a goal every six or seven games, Klose has been notching one in two for the last decade. A fairer comparison with Klose would therefore be another striker who managed three league goals last season. Michael Owen spent as much time on the pitch for Manchester United as Klose did for Bayern Munich last season but looks set to remain marooned on 40 goals from 82 England appearances.

Smash and grab: As well as an easy quote Jose Mourinho afforded us a glimpse at a stoical counter-attacking style which gets results. This philosophy is the base level of what the Germans have brought to South Africa and once perfected they have drizzled over a layer of incisive attacking flair.

Eight goals were stuck in two games against5 England and Argentina but in both games right-sided attacker Lukas Podolski spent as more time in the opposition’s half of the pitch. Holland have reached the final with one up top and Spain have looked their most effective when swapping Fernando Torres for an extra midfielder.

Added value: England fans could be forgiven for heralding the arrival of Fabio Capello as the dawn of new era for the national team. Lord knows we needed a lift after missing out on Euro 2008 and here was a coach who had won titles with every club he managed.

Four years before Capello charmed the relevant parties at Soho Square the German game was reeling from an uncharacteristic first round exit at Euro 2004. The man the Germans appointed had no previous management experience but did offer a vision far more radical than persisting with Steven Gerrard on the left wing.

Instead of lavishing £6 million pounds a year on the biggest name who made himself available and leaving it all up to them the Deutscher Fußball-Bund went about things a little differently. What the DFB offered Jürgen Klinsmann was real support in terms of pressuring first and second division teams in the Bundesliga to invest in their academies and produce talent fit for international competition. What the DFB got in return was two World Cup semi-finals on the trot.

Soul searching: Should Germany claim their fourth World Cup triumph this weekend in Johannesburg it is doubtful the highlights of their defeat to Serbia will feature prominently on the commemorative DVD.

After swatting Australia with the now customary four goals expectation surrounding Löw’s young team soared only to come crashing down with defeat in Port Elizabeth. With Miroslav Klose’s sending off, Lukas Podolski’s profligacy in front of goal and young guns such as Mesut Ozil and Thomas Muller withdrawn Germany fell to their first World Cup group stage defeat since 1986.

The spirit of the Germany camp was put under the microscope and they responded with a battling win over Ghana to eventually come out on top of Group D. This turnaround stemmed from an underlying belief in the coach’s methods and players professional enough to acknowledge self-improvement was required. When England found their backs against the wall the camp imploded like a pack of cards.

Inside Knowledge: Following Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s truest of strikes to open the scoring in Holland’s semi-final defeat of Uruguay the wheels have fallen off the anti-Jabulani bandwagon.

In the group stage the World Cup matchball was coming in for stick from all sides, well almost all sides. As well as being used at the 2010 African Cup of Nations and the 2009 FIFA Club World Cup the Adidas Jabulani was also introduced to the Bundesliga after last season’s winter break in Germany.

All 23 members of the German squad were stroking the Jabulani about for five months prior to the World Cup. This is a stark contrast to the English FA losing their consignment of Jabulani’s in the run-up to the tournament.

(Photo: Germany’s midfielder Mesut Ozil a teammate after the quarter final match against Argentina, JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images)

Recent Posts on Sport - Latest analysis on the Sporting world -

• iBet: AC Milan's lead at the top looks temporary
• Financial strife fails to dim smiles at high-flying Rayo Vallecano
• Hertha Berlin and the Skibbe saga - a depressing tale
• Top 14: Day of reckoning looms for Racing Metro
• iBet: Barcelona are struggling away from home