Last Thursday afternoon saw Joachim Loew announce his 30-man World Cup provisional squad at the DFB headquarters in Frankfurt am Main. Six young debutantes were included as Germany has been in the uncomfortable position of battling injuries to team stalwarts through much of the qualification process, and this club season, specifically. Loew saying: "With a view to injuries in the past few weeks and months, the national team did not run optimally. But, we will overcome the challenges, we will find solutions and have plenty of alternatives in the composition of the squad."
"It was also about us," he continued at the Frankfurt press conference, "[the] right mix of experience on one side, and recklessness and freshness on the other."
The goalkeepers
As a surprise to no one, Manuel Neuer is once again Germany's No. 1. The Bayern Munich goalkeeper has revolutionized the way the position is played over the past several years. More than just saving shots, you'll find "sweeper-keeper" Neuer well out of his box (occasionally to his detriment)-- spraying passes and intercepting forwards. It's a nervy business, sometimes, but works out splendidly more often than not.
After a lengthy, needless exclusion from the national side, Borussia Dortmund's Roman Weidenfeller finally gets his due. After leading BvB in back-to-back Bundesliga titles in 2011-12, and then a Champions League final in 2013, the 33-year-old veteran finally debuted for the national side in a friendly against England in Wembley-- the oldest goalkeeping debutante in DFB history.
Likely Barcelona-bound Marc-Andre ter Stegen was a surprise omission, Loew instead going with Hannover 96's Ron-Robert Zieler. The soon-to-be-former Moenchengladbach 'keeper ter Stegen has been better statistically than Zieler this season. But, Loew is clear that the 22-year-old ter Stegen is not out of the picture in the future, having called him up for the Poland friendly in Mainz on May 13.
The defenders
Bayern Munich and German national team captain Philipp Lahm is, of course, a shoo-in, as well as club teammate Jerome Boateng. Loew has experimented with using Lahm in holding midfield, like the captain has been called on to do for Pep Guardiola's Bayern, and it will be interesting to see where he's used in Brazil. The fitness, or lack thereof, of Sami Khedira will be the key to whether Lahm is used as a right-back or in midfield.
The defensive quartet out of Dortmund-- Kevin Grosskreutz, Mats Hummels, Marcel Schmelzer, and youngster Erik Durm provide options for Loew. Centre-back Hummels, after suffering ligament damage close to BvB's halfway point this season, has returned to full fitness featuring in 35 matches across all competitions.
Schmelzer, sidelined four different times this season, has also recently returned to fitness and is likely to start at left-back-- Germany's weakest position other than, strangely, striker.
Grosskreutz is the most versatile of the four; Dortmund trainer Juergen Klopp cheekily commented on the player's inclusion: "When you can nominate only 23, but have a player who plays in six different positions? You're back up to 29."
The utility player has been used at right-back for Germany leading up to the World Cup, and is likely to feature there if Loew has other plans for Lahm.
Durm, at left-back, will probably not make the final cut, as he's got Schmelzer and Marcell Jansen ahead of him, but the 21-year-old is definitely a player for the DFB's future.
Centre-back Per Mertesacker has been a revelation for Arsenal over three seasons at the Emirates after dropping in form at the end of his tenure with Werder Bremen, becoming one of the Premier League's most reliable defenders. It'll be a toss-up between he, Boateng and Hummels as to who gets the two starting centre positions in Loew's Startelf.
Schalke's captain Benedikt Hoewedes also garners an expected call-up, though may lack for playing time behind the aforementioned trio, while Hamburger SV's left-back Jansen may be a bit of a surprise, considering his squad's perilous position in keeping their Bundesliga hopes alive. His fellow teammates, goalkeeper Rene Adler (12 caps), centre-back Heiko Westermann (27 caps), and talented young striker Pierre-Michel Lasogga (injury) did not make the cut.
Albanian-German Shkodran Mustafi gets a nod, currently playing for Serie A's Sampdoria, after being released by David Moyes' Everton two years prior. Torn between Albania and Germany, he chose the latter after being called up by Loew for a friendly against Chile in February. Also unlikely to make the final cut here, the 22-year-old has a bright future ahead of him.
The midfielders
Half of Loew's provisional squad (yes, 15 of 30) is comprised of midfielding talent. And the names certainly trip off the tongue if you've been following Bundesliga football for the past few years. But, what could be conceived as the German coach's biggest gift, might also be the crux of the matter: If he gets personnel wrong here? It goes horribly awry for Germany.
Real Madrid's Sami Khedira will be the touchstone to how the midfield for the DFB plays out. With unfortunate lingering back troubles for Dortmund's Ilkay Guendogan, Khedira was granted a provisional spot despite missing most of the season for Madrid after tearing cruciate ligaments in a German friendly against Italy last November.
Contrary to what Loew has said in the past, regarding fitness, and the like, he stated: "[Khedira's] outlook is positive. Sami has will, discipline and determination. He is one of the players that has a great importance to the team."
It's a massive gamble for Loew -- Khedira only making the bench for Real Madrid's last two matches-- and if he proves to be unfit? It will unsettle the rest of the XI.
Half of the German wonder twins, Bayer Leverkusen's Lars Bender is called up, while his talented brother, Dortmund's Sven, will miss out due to injury. Lars, traditionally a holding midfielder, can also play right-back, or wing. His group stage winner against Denmark in 2012's Euro competition will forever live in many German hearts.
Schalke 04 gets a trio of midfielders in Julian Draxler, and young men Leon Goretzka and Maximillian Meyer. Draxler, an attacking midfielder, may have to wait for his substitute opportunities with a highly vaunted bunch ahead of him in the pecking order; while Goretzka and Meyer -- at 19- and 18- years-old, respectively, might just get a workout leading up to Brazil, or might one of the pair make the final 23? Mayer slightly trumps Goretzka in goals scored this season (six to four), but Goretzka played eight fewer matches.
Arsenal's Mesut Ozil and Lukas Podolski, while certainly favourites of Jogi, might serve either diminished, or uncustomary, roles in Brazil. Poldi -- he of the 112 caps for Deutschland-- has been rather unimpressive for country of late; only scoring twice in 18 months. Meanwhile, Loew's options on the left have increased ahead of the Polish-German midfielder. However, his flexibility as a secondary striker will see him through due to a dearth of true strikers in this World Cup squad.
And, Ozil -- Arsenal's highly touted second coming from Real Madrid -- comes off a hamstring injury with only one Premier League match, and a Cup final to play for. The Turkish-German will certainly make the final cut, but may be asked to play wide instead of his customary role as playmaker.
Chelsea's Andre Schuerrle (31 caps, 11 goals) has provided admirably for the London club when given the opportunity, with eight goals through all competitions on the season, and is one that Loew can look to as a backup should his strikers fail.
The stars shine down on Dortmund's Marco Reus, currently. With 23 goals and the same number of assists, in all competitions, the dynamic left winger may just have Germany's "Player of the Year" title wrapped up, despite having niggling injuries throughout. He's a given to start at left-wing; causing Podolski and Schuerrle to get in line.
The Bayern quartet of midfielders will be familiar to all: Mario Goetze, Toni Kroos, Thomas Mueller and vice-captain Bastian Schweinsteiger. But what roles do they play here? It's anyone's guess, really, as the entire midfield will depend on Khedira's fitness.
Schweinsteiger is sure to anchor a holding midfield role in a 4-2-3-1, but Kroos could play that, as well as able to perform in the ten, while Mueller is a viable option for striker, as well as playmaker or on the right.
Goetze may just be the spring to see Germany through -- recording 16 goals and 13 assists for Bayern Munich this season -- despite a perceived lack of playing time. And with his ability to play well in every offensive position, his flexibility is a boon for Loew. He'll also be heartened to have former Borussia teammate, Reus, by his side.
Augsburg's Andre Hahn and Freiburg's Matthias Ginter round out the long list of the provisional midfielders. 20-year-old Ginter just might squeak in to Loew's final cut with his fluidity to play at his preferred spot at centre-back, or in a more forward role in the middle of the pitch.
Hahn, leaving Augsburg for Moenchengladbach over the summer, is a bit more limited; featuring mainly on the right.
The strikers
Sadly, it's a short list. What was once one of Germany's finest points, becomes its weakness due to injury. The big omission here is Mario Gomez (59 caps, 25 goals) -- but necessary due to his only featuring nine times this season for his new club, Fiorentina. He provided a lovely message on Facebook, distressed about missing Brazil, yet egging his team on.
"So ... now the World Cup," he wrote, "after the championship and the [Coppa Italia] final, I even miss this."
"It was the call from [Loew] that hurt. Until recently, I believed I'd be fit in time. But unfortunately, my injuries have set me back once again -- and in the end? The ugliest season of my career ends with a further setback."
Hoffenheim's Kevin Volland was promptly scooped up by Loew as Moenchengladbach's Max Kruse and HSV's Lasogga were left behind. Volland, another senior squad debutant, will make his way in to the final 23 with a fantastic performance in the Bundesliga's 2013-14 season; scoring 15, and assisting 11 in all competitions.
Can Miroslav Klose produce? Out on seven different occasions this season for Lazio, he's got a paltry eight goals, and five assists on the record this year.
"Miro always hits top form at tournaments. It will almost certainly be his last," Loew stated about the veteran striker. But Loew's calling-up of so many versatile midfielders -- ones who might be called upon to lead Germany's front line, just may belie his words.
Klose shares the record for Germany goals -- at 68 -- with Gerd Mueller, and only needs to knock two more in to surpass Brazilian Ronaldo's record of World Cup goals scored. If worse comes to worst, Volland, Schuerrle, Podolski, Mueller, and Goetze are waiting in the wings.
After reaching the World Cup finals in 2002, yet losing, once again, to Brazil-- yes, Germany has the distinction of having appeared in the most finals; having won three of seven -- disaster struck as the DFB got knocked out of the group stages in 2004's EURO, along with perennial heavy-hitters Spain and Italy.
Rudi Voeller would quit coaching the national side after that, disgusted with the hullabaloo that came with it. A couple of Ottos (Hitzfeld and Rehhegal) would turn down the distinction of heading Germany, when a brash, bright Juergen Klinsmann offered himself up for the job.
Having no coaching licenses at the time, Klinsmann brought on the experienced Joachim Loew from VfB Stuttgart as assistant. And history was made. The young, inexperienced Germany squad placed third -- at home -- in 2006; surpassing everyone's expectations. After the tournament, Klinsmann left the reins to Loew.
2008 Euro saw the DFB narrowly lose to Spain 1-0 in the final-- Fernando Torres scoring the lone goal of the match, while the 2010 World Cup might have been Germany's time to shine. A tactically astute Deutschland came to South Africa with a wealth of experience, and a burning desire to win, but Spain -- the eventual winners -- would be their undoing, once again, in the end, with another slight 1-0 victory in their semi-final match.
Loew would bark out at a mole -- leaking his lineups early in 2012's Euro -- but for naught. His tinkering, and "surprise" changes against Italy led to Germany's undoing, again. And another third-placed tournament in the books.
Although there's bright talent waiting on the wings -- or on the bench -- for the German national team, they have been plagued with a "bridesmaid" role through their last four international competitions: 2006, third. 2008, second. 2010, third. 2012, third. So very close, yet ...
With Lahm and Schweinsteiger aging, and a host of immense talent that's not getting any younger? Is it finally Germany's time to shine under the bright sun of Brazil?