Sergio Busquets measures an impressive 1.89 meters, but stature is not just a question of height for him. The captain of the Spanish national soccer team, 34 years old, has been hardened in many battles and has been honed with countless titles. But on Sunday evening, in the second half of the World Cup game against Germany, that didn’t help him either.
In a corner for the Germans, he tried to follow his opponent Antonio Rüdiger as instructed. He spun, started running – and crashed on Leon Goretzka’s impressive biceps. The Germany midfielder didn’t stagger, didn’t even tremble as Busquets fell to the ground in pain.
“There were warriors on the pitch,” said national coach Hansi Flick after his team’s 1-1 draw against Spain, which kept the chance of reaching the round of 16 of the World Cup alive. “It’s gigantic what the team did today. I’m really proud too.”
Hansi Flick is not the type who likes to talk about himself. He generally prefers the we to the me, and of course he didn’t praise himself on Sunday night. It would have been quite possible.
71
Leon Goretzka won percent of his duels
The defeat against Japan at the start of the World Cup has also been reinterpreted as a defeat for the national coach. The line-up in the back four with Niklas Süle at right-back and Nico Schlotterbeck in the middle, plus the substitutions in the middle of the second half: all of this had a not inconsiderable influence on the outcome of the game.
According to this logic, the draw against Spain was also something like a victory for the national coach: Hansi Flick had done everything right. And the fact that the team still managed to get to a possibly vital point after being down 1-0 was also due to his decisions during the game.
Against Japan, Flick substituted the grumbling Leon Goretzka for the convincing Ilkay Gündogan in the middle of the second half. He wanted to stroke the battered soul of the ambitious Munich player a little more, but Flick’s act of mercy proved to be rather counterproductive for the static in the German game.
Nevertheless, Goretzka was in the starting XI against Spain. Because Flick asked Goretzka or Gundogan with Goretzka and Gündogan had answered.
Gündogan moved up to the ten, Goretzka and Joshua Kimmich formed the double six like at Bayern Munich. Of all the warriors in Flick’s team, Leon Goretzka was by far the most brash: unyielding and fearless. He won 71 percent of his duels in midfield, where the games are decided and the Spaniards generate their superiority under normal circumstances.
“It was outstanding what the three delivered,” said Danny Röhl, Flick’s assistant, the morning after the game. “We needed to win the ball, we needed to be aggressive.” With Goretzka (and Kimmich) they got the ball and aggressiveness.
It’s gigantic what the team has achieved.
Hansi Flick, national coach
It was the key that enabled the Germans to successfully defy the immense challenges of the evening. “In terms of play, it wasn’t always a clean blade,” said Thomas Müller. “It was an energetic performance. You could see in the team what is always talked about: determination, team spirit and so on and so on.” Also and especially after the Spaniards opened the scoring. The national team did not collapse after the 0:1, but tightened up again.
The backlog was “very difficult to wrap up,” said Goretzka. “Coming back there again requires a great mentality.” And the right decisions from the outside. Flick came on immediately after the 0: 1 Lukas Klostermann, Leroy Sané and Niclas Füllkrug. All three were involved in the move that ultimately led to 1-1.
Later, Nico Schlotterbeck also came into play, who had looked so unhappy against Japan at the end. Before the 1: 2 he only provided friendly escort protection for the goalscorer Takuma Asano, presumably with the thought in the back of his mind not to owe another penalty.
The Dortmund defender faced a similar situation shortly before the end against Spain. Alvaro Morata was in a promising position in the German penalty area. Nico Schlotterbeck bravely tackled the ball, hit the ball and cleared the corner.
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Source: Tagesspiegel
Brayden White, a veteran sports writer at Global Happening, brings his wealth of knowledge and expertise to the sports section. With over a decade of experience, he is committed to delivering high-quality coverage of the latest games and events.
