A Mario Götze goal midway through extra time in the Maracana, the scene of the World Cup final against Argentina, may have been what ultimately allowed Germany their fourth gold star on the national shirt. Though, looking back across the month in Brazil: the shocks, the triumphs, the excitement, the drama, the disappointments and the 64 fantastic matches that were played, Germany were winners from the start. With extremely competent and accomplished performances, they had everything in them. A trusted keeper, a solid defensive setup, key midfield players, wide-men and workhorses, creativity and most importantly the goals to push them forward, not to mention the passion, desire and determination to succeed shown by every member of the playing squad and coaching staff. Love them or hate them, the Germans are to be admired in a way, as they have demonstrated to the world what it really takes to be world champions. All credit goes to them.
Looking back on what has happened, regarding international football since Spain's triumph at Euro 2008 in Austria and Switzerland, Vicente Del Bosque's men have dominated the international stage. Spain won the next two tournaments following the 2008 triumph, emphatically at that. However, after their horrific stay in South America, you could sense that things were about to change and there would be a new side who would be head and shoulders above the rest. With such a young, talented squad with players such as: Mario Götze, Andre Schürrle, Thomas Müller, Julian Draxler, Christoph Kramer, Erik Durm, Matthias Ginter, Jerome Boateng and Mats Hummels. The experienced players are still at a reasonable age with players such as: Bastian Schweinsteiger, Manuel Neuer, Sami Khedira and Per Mertesacker not going anywhere yet. The squad is at a point where there are bags and bags of potential and quality, with those who are still learning the tricks of the trade or in their absolute prime. This squad will stay as it is for years to come and, on the back of a World Cup win, they will only go from strength to strength. Not only is this squad brimming with confident individuals, which play superbly well together, they have the quality in depth too. Such talented youngsters who weren't involved this summer such as Marco Reus, who missed the tournament thanks to an injury in the final World Cup warm-up game. Also, not forgetting, Pierre-Michel Lassoga, Leon Goretzka, Kevin Volland, Maxi Meyer, Lars and Sven Bender and Marc-Andre ter Stegen are yet to be added and incorporated into this already unstoppable squad of world class players. There is quality in every position in the group, making them prime candidates to go on and take the next few tournaments by storm.
Before finishing, it would only be right to honour German and Bayern Munich captain Phillip Lahm who retired from international football today after the superb triumph last weekend. He has been, without doubt, an integral part of Germany's success. Such is the intelligence and talent of the full back, Lahm can also adopt a holding midfield position whenever asked. He has been a vitally important, reliable and an outstanding player, one of the finest to represent die Nationalmannschaft in the last 30 years. He offers much more than any other full back: with dependability, composure, leadership, great creative thinking, discipline and reliability going forward just as much as his ability to defend. He will of course be missed, but it's over to the rest of the squad to continue this great legacy that he has helped to start off.
