Germany v Turkey, a different view

I began to write this post with something witty in mind. My original intention was to inject a bit of levity into Germany v Turkey semi-final with an Austria vantage (maybe even find a way to list my Apfelstrudel recipe). I hand a number of ideas but much deliberation I decided to scuttle my original plans and go with something a lot less humorous but likely more important.

Prior to the start of the tournament, I had diligently made my predictions and like a lot of people choose Germany to get to the final. That choice certainly wasn’t a very risky one of course and amongst my reasons is the passion, honor and pride the German squad takes with it during international competitions. I suppose amongst all the great marketing phrases of “German machine-like efficiency” that you see bantered about in various media sources, that it is easy to forget the remarkable pride and passion the team and its entire developmental system shows when playing under the flag. For myself, someone who has spent much of his career around this beautiful game in six different continents, there is one thing you can never do, which is underestimate passion and human will.

Of course heading into this match, any mention of “passion and will” must of course include the extraordinary team from Turkey. Sometimes it’s difficult to have a solid vision of present events but I can assure you that coaches for decades will be motivating their players with stories of this Turkish team, a team that simply would not give-up, regardless how the deck was stacked against them. I’m sure there will be many great stories of this tournament but in my opinion regardless of the final result of today’s match, the enduring message that the Turks have made is that adversity is something they overcome.

This match has me scratching my head for a simple prediction because while I expect Germany to prevail in every aspect of play, Turkey, the team that seemingly was out of the tournament, just won’t give up. For those that want to dig their hands into tangible facts it is rather simple, Turkey is incredibly understaffed with possibly only twelve men available and seemingly facing an insurmountable task. Yet “facts” don’t explain how a team consistently rises to the occasion on winds of pride and for this reason, while I still believe Germany will win, the legacy of this Turkish team will be extraordinary.

Now I know many who will read this will roll their eyes with my message that the beauty of this game is when it was played with pride and honor yet truth be told, that is real genius of Football. The simple round ball speaks a language across the globe in many different dialects and is played slightly different from region to region. Yet in the end we learn the message of hope, honor and equality and that adversity is something we overcome.