Loew, take a leaf from Deschamps’ book: Richard Buxton
Germany coach needs to rebuild his squad by emulating France
As past and present holders of football's ultimate prize, France and Germany are worlds apart.
The newly crowned World Cup winners continue to dance in the rain, while their most recent predecessors are cowering in the face of the dark clouds which lurk overhead.
| GERMANY | FRANCE |
Tomorrow morning's (Singapore time) inaugural match of the Uefa Nations League serves as a serendipitous reminder of contrast between the international game's much-changed guard.
Die Mannschaft's World Cup defence was not simply dismantled in Russia; it was annihilated in a humiliating fashion with defeats by Mexico and South Korea.
Finger-pointing, however, has become the preferred method in scrutinising that failure, with a photograph of Mesut Oezil and Ilkay Guendogan with Turkey's controversial president Tayyip Erdogan in the lead-up to the Finals widely cited as the root cause of their derailment.
Oezil's decision to retire from international football, at 29, on the grounds of racism saw the country's football federation caught in the eye of the storm and prompted a fierce backlash.
The Arsenal playmaker's assessment that he was perceived as "German when we win, but an immigrant when we lose" saw him roundly attacked across the country's football landscape - including by Thomas Mueller, Toni Kroos and Manuel Neuer, several of his former teammates.
Joachim Loew has already closed the door on Oezil's prospective return to the national side despite the risk that losing to both Didier Deschamps' side and in next week's friendly with Peru may spell the end for him, just months after signing a four-year contract extension.
Soul-searching once held the key to German football's renaissance on the international stage, culminating in their 2014 World Cup triumph at Rio's iconic Maracana Stadium.
It was also the foundation for them reaching six successive semi-finals at either the World Cup or European Championship since 2006.
Revolution is again being sought but Loew appears to have little appetite for it, choosing to recall 16 of the players who crashed out of this summer's Finals in his latest 23-man squad.
Only the return of Manchester City winger Leroy Sane constitutes any notable change.
Lowe's attempts to maintain a sense of order at the World Cup, reportedly turning off internet connections to prevent his players from taking part in online gaming, backfired.
Unlike his opposite number, Deschamps has not been similarly unrelenting. France's playersstrode to World Cup glory on principles of harmony, humility and respect. They were also treated like adults rather than children, even when some activities bordered on the immature.
Antoine Griezmann had spent most of the run-up to Russia duping Barcelona's Gerard Pique into shooting a documentary called "The Decision" that would supposedly lead to him sealing a move to the Nou Camp, only to ultimately volte-face in Atletico Madrid's direction.
Yet he was crowned Man of the Match in the World Cup final and ranked as the tournament's third-best player, behind Luka Modric and Eden Hazard.
His teammates later stormed into the press room at Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium to submerge Deschamps in both water and personal adoration after masterminding victory over Croatia.
Despite making only two enforced changes to France's triumphant charges this time around, Les Bleus' coach has succeeded in convincing those who had previously turned their backs, with Adil Rami's decision to call time on his international career lasting barely 47 days.
Germany were once considered innovators with the rest of football left trailing in their wake, yet it is France who are on course to forge the latest international dynasty.
Further descent into mortality in Munich may see Loew finally needing to follow their lead.
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