German football coach discusses latest match.

Germany Go Forward

by Joachim Loew

Germany SWEPT the board with their latest 1-0 victory against Russia on Saturday ensuring entry into the World Cup finals. How did we do it? I told the players that they had to COMB forward in the first half. The important thing was to THICKEN UP the right flank, and then for the strikers to PART by the box and create a SCISSOR-like formation, which would CROP the other side's defences.

At the start, I made sure that they knew that this team had to GEL. Only then would they have a chance of SPRAYING the Russians with goals. In the end, the team really SHINED. They had TONED their STYLE to the point that they had both VOLUME and BOUNCE. I was really proud of the way the players WEAVED through the opposition. I felt like I had GROOMED our side into great squad; the style of play was like MOUSSE - both thick and fluid at the same time. We had avoided being LOCKED into a single strategy. Instead, we could TRIM out the fat and BRUSH up on our techniques as the match progressed. The silver-lining came when we CURLED in the winning goal. Our FANS were truly delighted! They ROLLED around joyously and praised the CONDITION of our squad. But I don't want to WAX lyrical. After the players have WASHED and DRIED, it will be time to focus on the next challenge.