Germany isn't winning over fans
If Germany wants to have any chance of winning over neutral fans before Sunday's European Championship final in Vienna, Coach Joachim "Jogi" Loew had better get on the telephone right now to his old pal Juergen Klinsmann.
Call him up, invite him to sit on the bench, ask him to say a few words to the players. Better yet, give him the coaching reins and let him have at it.
Do whatever it takes to motivate the stolid, dull, unadventurous, downright boring plate of dumplings that the German team has become.
The sort of turgid soccer that Germany has been playing at Euro 2008 has made a mockery of the excitement that surrounded the squad in 2006 when Klinsmann was in charge and Loew was his assistant.
Many can recall the sight of Newport Beach's most famous soccer resident -- OK, he's in Munich now, but he still has a home in Orange County -- pacing the sideline in shirt sleeves, yelling, gesticulating, cajoling, and exploding with pure joy whenever his team scored.
The happiness on Klinsmann's face when Germany overcame Portugal in his home town of Stuttgart two years ago to win third place in the World Cup was genuine. Germany had exceeded expectations and given its fans a summer to remember.
The latest version of the mannschaft, as the national team is known, features many of the same players. But the joy is missing.
The sight on the sideline now is of Loew biting his fingernails. The tension in the air is palpable and extends all the way up to the luxury seats where German Chancellor Angela Merkel watches from on high.
Why is it that Germany feels it has to win? Why can't winning simply be the product of playing well?
With the single exception of its opening win over Poland, the team's play has been drab. Compared to the Dutch, the Portuguese, the Spanish, the Russians, even the Turks, Germany has been woeful to watch. On Wednesday, the players again mailed in their day's work.
Yes, they won. Yes, they are in the final -- against the winner of Thursday's Spain-Russia semifinal. But in a tournament that has sparkled with exciting play and dramatic finishes, Germany has come up short. Neutral fans who worldwide watched Germany's 3-2 win over Turkey on Wednesday had to be secretly hoping that the Turks could somehow pull off another miracle, score in injury time, force overtime, and snatch a victory.
