Well ... Germany is now reaping the rewards of what was started in the dark days after the World Cup 1998. Then the focus was shifted towards better training methods and environment for the youth teams, with the DFB supervising. All national teams (from the U15 up) were reorganised, the trainer staff was made more professional and the philosophy was harmonized. Most of the current and coming national players went through this school - Lahm, Schweinsteiger, Badstuber, Hummels, Boateng, Özil ... It takes a lot of time and investments - and even more patience - but it does work well.
As for England. I do see the greatest problem of England in the form of the Premier League. Right now it's not more than a totally overpriced economical comedy totally focused on squeezing every pence out of the fans. For over a decade money was blown out of the chimney for expensive "superstars" (most of them not from England) by rich people who treat the football clubs as their personal toys - or by greedy club bosses who financed everything from loans. Where would Chelsea be without Abramovitch? Or ManCity without their Sheikh? Bancrupt, the pieces sold and playing in some local amateur league. And the english national team is paying for these developments - and have been paying for them for a few years already. As long as the insane procedure of pumping a few million pounds into a few foreing football players every year continues the national team will continue to decline. We in Germany had this in the 90s and the World Cup 1998 and the Euro 2000 showed drastically where this road led.
With the advent of the "financial fair play" as the UEFA calls it this way of operating is going to end, anyway. It'll be a crunch for a few leagues, most notably the Premier League and the Primera Division, but in the end it will lead to a healthier football and less economical gamblers.
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06-14-2012, 02:32 PM
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