Stefan Kieβling and the German striker conundrum

Article by Ed Hewings

Since the World Cup 7 years ago where Germany delighted everyone with their fresh and somewhat radical approach to international football, everyone has been anticipating a win in one of the European Championships or the World Cup. Furthermore, with the wealth of German footballing talent pervading the very top clubs across Europe, along with the Bundesliga being full of youthful skill and energy, you wouldn’t expect the ‘Nationallmannschaft’ to have trouble filling any positions.

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Yet that is exactly what has arisen. In the striking department, somewhere you would not instantly think of when you consider the likes of Gerd Muller and Jurgen Klinsmann. Joachim Low has four choices.

Option number one is, of course, the legendary Miroslav Klose. This is a man who seems as if he has been playing for Germany ever since he could walk. With 130 international appearances at time of writing, along with 68 goals (level with Gerd Muller), and being joint top scorer in World Cup history (14, again joint with Gerd Muller, and more prolific than Ronaldo), you wouldn’t think that this presents a problem. However, he is 35, and with World Cup matches coming thick and fast, it is unlikely he will last the course. At his peak, he re-wrote the definition of ‘target-man’, being excellent in the air, even though most opposing defenders were taller than him, and running the channels, bringing others into play. Of course, this is not suggesting that he should not be taken to Brazil next summer. If you are 1-0 down in the semi-final with 10mins to go, I can think of no-one else I would rather have on the pitch for that one chance that would be created by the German collective of attacking midfielders.

Option number two is the somewhat mercurial Mario Gomez. Whilst being prolific at club level (138 goals in 236 games in the Bundesliga for Stuttgart and Bayern), he has never really done it for the national team, despite his 59 caps. A demonstration of the way Gomez plays can be summed up as follows: In a German cup game against Wolfsburg, Gomez replaced Mandzukic with 10minutes to go, and then proceeded to score a hat-trick despite only having a grand total of 6 touches of the ball whilst he was on the pitch. In other words, he prefers others to do the work for him. Not the German way, and Joachim Low sees it this way. He invariably plays for the national team against the weaker sides, where Germany can dominate possession and territory, and he can finish off the chances. However, when a challenge presents itself to the Germans, Klose plays.

Option number three is playing the Spanish way, the false-9 way. Germany have got so many talented ‘Number 10s’ and wingers – Gotze, Schweinsteiger, Muller, Ozil, Draxler, Reus, Podolski, Kroos, Holtby, Schurrle to name but a few – that it should be easy. But I for one can’t see them playing this way, again, it just doesn’t feel German.

And so we come to Option 4. Stefan Kieβling. He was the top scorer in the Bundesliga last season with 25 goals for Leverkusen, and has made a good start to this season. Yet despite being aged 29, and having played well for Leverkusen in the Bundesliga throughout his career, he is overlooked. He had said that this is down to a falling out with Joachim Low, whom he has refused to play under. Yet due to the issues the Nationalmannschaft are facing, Low has been forced (primarily by the media) to reconsider the exclusion of Kieβling, something he may yet bow to as the season rumbles towards the global showcase in Brazil, especially as Gomez has recently suffered ligament damage at Fiorentina, and will be out injured for most of the season.

So just what does Kieβling offer as a striker? He is tall, pacey and a hard worker, as was seen in the recent Champions League game between Manchester United and Leverkusen. A perfect fit for the German team. No, he doesn’t score as many goals as Klose, but he was a once in a generation kind of player. What Kieβling is good at is bringing others into play; he will run the channels and create space in and around the 18 yard box which will allow the assembly of creative midfielders to manipulate and manoeuvre.

Jogi Low is left with a conundrum. This is a time of great optimism in Germany for the national team, as many consider them to be equal, if not greater to Spain, and so the pressure is on him to bring a first trophy since 1996 back to Germany. He must get his striking options right. For my money, he puts aside his pride and takes Kieβling, of course with the maestro that is Klose.

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