Germany has been on a steady decline since the 2014 World Cup. Joachim Low’s side was not only ousted from Euro 2016 by the French, but it was also heavily embarrassed at Russia when it finished at the bottom of Group F which consisted of Mexico, Sweden and South Korea.
The Germans’ plight became all the more evident when on Friday it got relegated to League B after it finished at the bottom of its Nations League group.
Former West Germany defender Hans-Peter Briegel believes that this steady downfall is none other than the Manchester City boss, Pep Guardiola’s undoing.
Although the Manchester City boss spent three seasons at Bayern Munich winning everything apart from the Champions League, Briegel reckons that Guardiola’s three-year stint at Bayern Munich and his tactics have had a negative impact on German football.
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The German took over from Jupp Heynckes in 2013 and imposed his passing and possession-based style on the Bavarians. Now, Briegel believes that the same philosophy has deteriorated German football with the side now more concerned about ball control.
“A very simple principle has escaped our mind, that in football the result is more important than the control of the game. Since Guardiola arrived at Bayern Munich, something has changed. We had the illusion that 75 per cent of possession was needed to win. But having control of the ball is not enough to get a result, not always at least,” Briegel told Repubblica .
Saying this the former Sampdoria defender also heaped praise on France. “Recent history, and also with the World champions France, has shown that you can also win by leaving the ball to the opponents and having less than 50% of possession,” he added.
Germany has hogged the ball in recent games, with the possession reaching as high as 74 per cent in the World Cup defeat to South Korea.
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