Germany rising as Dortmund spanks Real
Source: Agencies |
April 26, 2013, Friday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
WHEN Germany advanced to the 2010 World Cup semifinals with four-goal wins over England and Argentina it became clear something special was brewing in German football.
Fast forward three years and two more four-goal thrashings for German sides this week showed the nation's international comeback looks to have jumped on another stage.
Borussia Dortmund gave Real Madrid a lesson in attacking football on Wednesday, crushing the nine-time European champion 4-1 in their Champions League semifinal first leg 24 hours after Bayern Munich's 4-0 demolition of Barcelona.
The duo are heavy favorites to make it a first all-German Champions League final, which will guarantee an end to the country's 12-year wait to lift the famous trophy.
Much of the success can be credited to a move which came a year after Bayern defeated Valencia on penalties in 2001 to win a fourth title.
Fed up with a lack of international success, youth academies became a prerequisite in 2002 for all first and second division German clubs.
More than 700 million euros ($909.68 million) has been pumped in to youth work nationwide since with Dortmund's fledgling side showing the investment has clearly paid off.
Germany internationals Mats Hummels, Marco Reus, Mario Goetze, Marcel Schmelzer, Ilkay Guendogan and Sven Bender all mesmerized with their attacking game on Wednesday as the expensively assembled Real side had no answer.
All the talk before Wednesday's clash had been on another Dortmund youth academy product, though, after the club agreed to sell Mario Goetze to Bayern the day before for a reported 37 million euros.
Dortmund, however, was unfazed as Robert Lewandowski fired four goals to leave it dreaming of a second Champions League title and Real stunned as its hopes of a 10th look to have been put off for another year.
"Dortmund were the better team, mentally and physically and they deserved to win," Real coach Jose Mourinho told reporters, who were more eager for him to talk about Dortmund than his own team.
"Germany has developed a very good generation of players."
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