May 7th.
Frankfurt, German Football Association Headquarters.
Inside a conference room.
Löw, dressed in a black sweater and looking distinguished, sat at the head of the table. Also present were his assistant Flick and other coaching staff members.
The German Team's coaching staff had gathered for one purpose only:
To finalize the preliminary 30-man squad for the 2014 Brazil World Cup!
Next month, the 2014 World Cup would be held in the 'Kingdom of Football,' Brazil. They needed to select thirty players from all professional players with German nationality.
Then, through training camps and warm-up matches, they would narrow it down to the strongest twenty-three players to go to Brazil!
The calm-faced, handsome veteran coach sitting at the head of the table was the head of the national team—Joachim Löw!
Before taking over the German National Team, Löw had coached club teams like Bundesliga's Stuttgart, Süper Lig's Fenerbahçe, and Austrian Bundesliga's FC Wacker Innsbruck.
However, apart from leading Stuttgart to win the German Cup and reaching the final of the European Cup Winners' Cup, which was quite impressive,
His performance with other clubs could only be described as average.
When he first took over the German Team in 2006, his situation was rather awkward.
At that time, the lingering influence of the Klinsmann era had just faded, and German football faced a major reshuffle.
However, he strictly implemented the offensive system left over from the Klinsmann era. Upon taking office, he led the team to five consecutive wins in the World Cup qualifiers, setting a record for the best start by a new German coach!
Since then, Löw has heavily relied on young players like Neuer, Müller, and Kroos, truly gaining authority. He led German War Machine to a runner-up finish in the 2008 European Cup, third place in the 2010 World Cup, and reached the semi-finals in 2012...
For this Brazil World Cup, the German Team aims for the championship!
Therefore, how to select a squad capable of winning the World Cup trophy is of utmost importance.
At this very moment, a clear projection screen displayed various PPTs, with each image showing a detailed report on an individual player.
Löw's assistant, Flick, stood beside the large screen, introducing each player to everyone:
"Regarding goalkeepers, Neuer is our first choice..."
"In defense, our reserves are quite ample, but most are new players..."
"In midfield, Gündoğan has been affected by injury, leading to a sharp decrease in playing time and poor form..."
"And in attack, Wolfsburg's young player Mark Lane, who has emerged in recent months, is in hot form and can provide the team with more options on both wing positions..."
"These players are our candidates."
After Flick finished introducing all the listed players, Löw said in a deep voice:
"Everyone can look at the player reports in their hands. Feel free to voice any thoughts you have."
At this point, a coach responsible for tactics spoke up:
"Gündoğan and Badstuber don't need to be considered. They haven't played in official matches for a long time, so their match fitness certainly won't be able to handle such an important tournament..."
"Sven Bender has excellent defensive ability, but he cannot stably transition possession in midfield. His role is simply too singular..."
As someone started the discussion, another member of the coaching staff also spoke:
"We have many players in the wing positions, such as Reus, Schürrle, Götze, Draxler, Müller, Meyer, etc. Do we really need to bring Mark as well?"
"You know, Mark has never played a single youth team match..."
"Although he has performed amazingly in the Bundesliga in recent months, this is the World Cup. Neither the intensity nor the pressure can be compared to the Bundesliga."
"As a newcomer who has only played less than twenty Bundesliga matches, is it a bit too hasty to promote him directly to the senior team?"
"The most crucial thing is that his stamina is very poor; he can often only sustain high-intensity play for sixty minutes..."
"I personally lean towards including Gomez in the squad. After all, in the center-forward position, we only have Klose as a true center-forward..."
Facing the opinions of the coaching staff, before Löw could speak, Flick, as his assistant, also offered an explanation:
"Mark's individual dribbling ability is what we value. As the player with the highest successful dribble rate this season, he possesses the ability to tear open the wing defense by himself..."
"Especially in drawing fouls, he can completely win more set-piece opportunities for the team."
"He can serve as a substitute dark horse, providing the team with more tactical variations..."
"Even just letting him participate in team training and experience the atmosphere of preparing for a major international tournament would be a very important help for his future development."
"As for Gomez, he also suffered an injury setback in Serie A this season. Judging from his match fitness since his return from injury, he is not even as good as Klose. Moreover, Müller can also take on the role of a center-forward..."
Finally, after some discussion, everyone's gaze turned to Löw, who was seated at the head of the table.
While it wasn't a dictatorship, having held the coaching reins for eight years, Löw had already deeply imprinted his personal mark on this team.
He carefully reviewed the big squad list in his hand, then crossed out a few names with a pen before handing it to Flick:
"These are the ones!"
Flick glanced at it and saw that Mark's name was still on the list!
He wasn't surprised by this at all.
Mark's inclusion was already a foregone conclusion.
Because it was Löw's own decision.
Moreover, Löw had privately expressed his admiration for this young man, Mark, to Flick on multiple occasions.
In Löw's own words, Mark was a unique anomaly!
Within this German Team, there were many talented and brilliant young players, such as Götze, Kroos, Draxler, and so on.
However, no one played like Mark.
Especially the visual appeal of his dribbling, Mark was in a league of his own among all the young talents he had seen.
Compared to the disciplined and reserved Germans, this young man was more like a passionate and free-spirited Brazilian.
His unrestrained dancing on the field effortlessly reminded him of the famous 'Samba Elf' Ronaldinho!
The morning after the squad was confirmed, just as Mark was about to leave for the team base, he received an unfamiliar call:
"Hello?"
"Hello, is this Mark Lane?"
"Yes, it is. And you are?"
"I am Hans Flick, the assistant coach of the national team."
Hearing the caller introduce himself, Mark's eyes widened, and he immediately became alert:
"Hello, Mr. Flick."
"I'm calling to tell you some good news..."
"I am pleased to inform you that you have been called up to the 30-man preliminary squad for the Brazil World Cup."
"Please report to South Tyrol to join the team on May 20th!"
.....
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