German Team – The Missing Number 9

No one can dare to blame German Football Team for playing boring passive football. The high intensity pressing and creative flair is something that over the years Germany has showcased without fail. They did not win everything, but whenever they lost, they lost to competitors that owned the tournament and won the cups – be it Brazil or Spain. But in the recent past, since after winning the 2014 World Cup, the team seems unrecognisable.
Joachim Löw was really successful with a squad of leaders, veterans, and unique youngsters as he won Germany their fourth World Cup. But then significant veterans called it a day and hung their international boots. Philipp Lahm, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Mesut Özil were considerable losses from the victorious squad, but the real missing piece of the puzzle was the marksman named Miroslav Klose.
A proper number 9, all-time top scorer for Germany, and holding the record for scoring most goals in FIFA World Cups, he has been proved to be irreplaceable. With Qatar World Cup 2022 round the corner, a finisher at least half his quality is required on an immediate basis! And shortlisted, slightly tested candidates are – Timo Werner, Kai Havertz, Karim Adeyemi, Kevin Volland and Lukas Nmecha.
The closest thing to a striker in this list is Kevin Volland, but Hansi Flick has not tested him, or should we believe, trusted him enough. With 9 goals and 9 assists for Monaco, the 29 years old forward was decent but not impressive enough for Flick maybe, who had RL9 while coaching Bayern.
Flick rather preferred Werner. His 4 goals and 1 assist do not do justice to his pace and work rate, but they neither justify his position where finishing is of the essence. After a blitzing season for Leipzig, Timo turned into a one-season wonder under Tuchel. Despite some awe-inspiring runs, his awful finishing raises questions on his price tag.
However, Tuchel improvised and used an atypical number 9, probably inspired by Klopp’s system with Firmino. Kai Havertz scored the decisive goal for Chelsea against Pep’s City to win them the Champions League. Other than pace, every other number makes sense of Tuchel’s trust in Havertz. But then Flick does not have a Lukaku to have the same setup as Tuchel; so, this is the dilemma.
The other names mentioned, Nmecha and Adeyemi, have a lot to prove. Aged 23 and 20 respectively, we cannot expect them to start. But Adeyemi has some sick numbers – 19 goals and 5 assists in 29 matches!
Let us see what cards will Flick play in Qatar!

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