World Cup champion Germany expects to keep machine rolling into Euro 2016

World Cup champion Germany expects to keep machine rolling into Euro 2016 – There are different levels of satisfaction in winning the World Cup. It is the peak of rapture for every victor, the greatest feeling in soccer, the pinnacle of a career, in many cases the end of a long and exhausting journey.

But for others it is merely the beginning, the fuel for more success, more nights like these, more chances to show they are the best. In the heady moments following Sunday's World Cup final, this was how it seemed for Germany, a team that was delighted with collecting the trophy but by no means surprised by it. It's a team that fully believes it can form a dynasty, much in the same way Spain reigned over soccer right up until its first game of this tournament.

Substitute Mario Goetze was the hero with the only goal against Argentina at the Maracana Stadium and Joachim Loew served as the wily architect of triumph, yet everyone in the Germany set-up has his place and knows it; and, most important of all, executes it with diligence and commitment. 

Mario Gotze became a national hero in Germany. (Reuters) 

Loew talks about his program as a consistent action in progress, not a peaking roller coaster defined by the rigid nature of major tournament scheduling. Now that Germany is at the top, he wants it to stay there.

"This was a result of 10 years of preparation and tough work," Loew said. "And a team spirit which is unbelievable. This team has a marvelous technical capacity and they have the willpower to carry this out. For that reason we made it today and are proud."

Loew has been with Germany since his days as an assistant to Jurgen Klinsmann in the run-up to the 2006 World Cup and took sole command following that tournament. It is an extraordinarily long run for a national team leader but you can't think that he will step down now, there might be a nationwide revolt if he tried to.

Next up is the European Championships in France in 2016 and on the basis of this past month, Germany will be an immediate and automatic favorite for it. And why not?

So many things point to an embarrassment of riches when it comes to talent, no expression of that greater than Loew's "boy wonder" Goetze being implemented as a substitute when he would likely start for any other team in the tournament.

It is not an old team by any means either; Goetze, Toni Kroos, Manuel Neuer and Mats Hummels might be hitting their peak when the World Cup rolls its merry way to Russia four years from now.

Most important of all, it is a team that has found a system that no one has an answer for. It borrows heavily from the Spain team that began its glut of success at Euro 2008 and passed its way to perfection at three straight major tournaments. But even if Germany was not the sole inventor of the style that it used to pummel Portugal, France, Brazil and Argentina by a collective margin of 13 goals to one, then it deserves credit for being the only team able to effectively copy it, or a version of it.

Passing efficiency isn't the sexiest thing in soccer, neither is seamless teamwork, but in the modern game they are the most important factors. That is why Cristiano Ronaldo has been idle these past three weeks while Germany has the party of parties awaiting it in Berlin on Tuesday.

It hasn't always been easy. Germany was good, seriously good, at all the three tournaments Spain won, but fell short in one final and two semis. Loew had to convince his players to keep believing in the system.

"We have made constant progress even though we didn't make this ultimate step before," Loew added. "We believed in it and worked a lot for it. This team deserves it.

"In my time over these 10 years they have been with us, we were disappointed once or twice, but we have always played good football. We showed the best performance of all teams for seven matches and that is why we are so happy."

Happiness is one thing, contentment is another. This German machine isn't content yet. It wants more, and everyone else should watch out. ( sports.yahoo.com )

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Soccer-Brazilian fans seduced by glamour of Europe

Soccer-Brazilian fans seduced by glamour of Europe - Mario Soares, who lives in soccer-mad Brazil and speaks little English, runs a Facebook page devoted to the fortunes of Nottingham Forest.

With the help of automatic translation programs, the 20-year-old Brazilian journalism student spends countless hours reporting on the modest English championship (second tier) club.

"My friends thought it was weird at first but when I explained the club's history to them they came round a bit," Soares said. "They all follow one Brazilian team and other teams in foreign leagues."

Turned off by the corruption and mismanagement endemic in their domestic game and with European soccer available on demand via TV, the internet and video games, many Brazilians are taking a greater interest in foreign football.

"Little by little, the big European clubs are silently 'invading' the hearts and minds of Brazilian football lovers, especially the young, who are seduced by competitions that are much more attractive than those we are used to seeing in Brazil," said Fernando Ferreira, the director of sports consultancy firm Pluri.

"The phenomenon of Brazilians supporting one team in Brazil and another abroad is more and more common."

The trend is occurring all over the world but it is especially striking in Brazil, the home of Pele, Zico and Ronaldo and the only country to win the World Cup five times.

Brazilians already have their own highly competitive league and their country is known throughout the world for producing great players and strong teams.

So why do Brazilians care about what happens on a wet Wednesday in Stoke?

BETTER PRODUCT

Some of the answer resides in Brazil's economic boom over the past decade.

More than 30 million people have been lifted from poverty into the consuming classes. As a result of that and improved, cheaper technology, the number of households with cable TV has more than tripled to 16.5 million since 2007.

Brazilian cable TV broadcasts as many as nine English games a day over the weekend and several more from Italy, Spain, Russia and elsewhere.

The matches feature the best footballers in the world playing at their peak and Brazilians, accustomed to half-empty stadiums, enjoy and envy the spectacle of grounds filled with fans who chant and sing for 90 minutes.

While Brazil is now the seventh biggest economy in the world, it is also exorbitantly expensive. It costs more for a family of four to buy tickets to see one top-flight game than it does to purchase a cable TV package featuring two dozen Premier League matches.

They can watch those games in the comfort of their own homes. In Brazil, fans must sit in run-down stadiums, with dilapidated facilities, basic yet overpriced food and drink, and under constant threat from fans and police alike.

More than 50 fans have been killed in or around football grounds since the turn of the century, according to studies and news reports.

There is the question of inconvenient kick-off times, designed not for supporters, but for TV companies to fill in time between soap operas and the nightly news.

"Authorities show a lack of respect for fans, scheduling (midweek) games to start at 10 p.m., making people return home in the middle of the night," said Max dos Santos, the 18-year old who founded and runs BritFoot, a website dedicated to British soccer.

Dos Santos supports Manchester United but Brazilians' thirst for foreign football embraces less glamorous teams too.

In addition to Soares's Nottingham Forest page, there are other Facebook and Twitter forums for Brazilians who follow West Ham United, Queens Park Rangers, Norwich City and Wigan Athletic.

Clubs and businesses have spotted the trend.

The sale of foreign jerseys increased 50 percent in the last year alone, according to Netshoes, one of Brazil's biggest online sports retailers, with Barcelona, Real Madrid and now Paris Saint-Germain, home to Brazilian youngster Lucas, among the biggest sellers.

The firm has expanded the number of club shirts in stock by 20 percent because of rising demand, said Marcel Castro, the company's head of football marketing.

Clubs, too, are taking steps to connect with a fan base that is young, knowledgeable and potentially lucrative.

Liverpool recently added a twitter account in Portuguese and are preparing a Facebook page also.

Although other British clubs have concentrated on the Far East, Liverpool officials believe more will soon be looking to South America.

"This is an emerging market but not for football," said Paul Rogers, Liverpool's head of international digital development.

"What we have seen is that where we have engaged fans we have seen more traffic to the website and the online store. In Brazil's case it is early to say but ultimately we believe that the more fans that follow the club (via social media), the stronger the bond and you'd expect that to lead to a better commercial situation."

(Editing by Brian Winter and Ed Osmond) // Reuters

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Soccer-Seedorf sent off for leaving pitch the wrong way

Soccer-Seedorf sent off for leaving pitch the wrong way - Dutchman Clarence Seedorf was bizarrely sent off in Botafogo's 2-1 win over Madureira on Sunday for arguing with the referee over where he should leave the pitch after being substituted.

His stoppage-time dismissal capped an afternoon in which Botafogo were also awarded a penalty, only for the referee to change his mind as Seedorf was about to take the kick.

The first-half spot-kick was awarded with the game still goalless when Rafael Marques appeared to be fouled in the penalty area.

Former AC Milan, Ajax, Sampdoria and Real Madrid midfielder Seedorf had began his run-up when the referee stopped the game, consulted his linesman and changed his mind, saying that Marques had been passed the ball by a player in an offside decision.

Botafogo protested angrily, claiming the referee had received information from sources off the pitch who had seen television replays.

On being substituted at the end, Seedorf, who scored the winning goal in the 68th minute, walked towards the Botafogo bench but was ordered by the referee to go off on the other side of the pitch to save time,

Seedorf protested, was booked, turned his back on the referee and was given another yellow card.

"I didn't understand anything," he told touchline reporters.

The game was played in the Carioca championship, one of a plethora of regional tournaments which kick off the Brazilian season.

The weekend's programme went ahead as usual even though some clubs were missing players called up for Brazil's friendlies against Italy, which they drew 2-2 in Geneva last Thursday, and Russia in London on Monday.

Brazilian champions Fluminense, missing three players including striker Fred, drew 0-0 at Duque de Caxias in front of barely more than 1,000 fans on Saturday.

Santos, deprived of prodigy Neymar, drew 0-0 with Palmeiras in the Paulista championship on Sunday.

Reuters – Sun, Mar 24, 2013 6:55 PM EDT

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