Germany has taken the ‘tiki-taka’ passing game so intrinsically used by Spain to another level at the World Cup in Brazil, by adding ruthless efficiency to the possession philosophy.
Germany likes possession, just as Spain did, but Low’s team avoids endless wide passing and prefers to push forward at every occasion.
When Germany wins the ball in its half, Low wants his players to pass it quickly forward, hoping to outnumber the opposing defence.
The result is that Germany creates many chances and scores plenty of goals.
Spain’s minimalists scored eight goals in winning the 2010 World Cup, Germany already has 17 here, with one match remaining to play.
But while Spain’s game was based on endless possession and passing until an occasional chance was created, Low’s line-up is happy to attack and take risks.
“We want possession but that is only one factor in our game,” Low said earlier in the tournament.
“We want to keep the ball low, we want to avoid long and high balls and we want quick transition. We need to improve our efficiency.”
It may help that six of Germany’s field players come from Bayern Munich, which has been coached by Pep Guardiola for one season.Germany tops the tournament in completed passes at 3,421, nearly three times the average.
Philipp Lahm with 458 passes and Kroos with 443 lead the tournament.
Spain completed 4,773 passes in winning the 2010 title.
