'Lovely' time for German football

LISBON • A year ago, Bayern Munich narrowly emerged as champions in one of the tightest Bundesliga title races, and ended up overhauling their ageing squad as veterans Franck Ribery, Arjen Robben and Rafinha all left.

Fast forward 12 months and a leaner, stronger and faster Bayern are not only German league and Cup winners again, but they produced one of the most remarkable displays in European history last Friday, obliterating Barcelona 8-2 to reach the Champions League semi-finals.

Fluid in their movements and with an indefatigable desire to attack, Hansi Flick's side look like they have been forged together over years of training.

Yet many of the elements of their success, including the coach, who took over a struggling Bayern in November, are new, with the 2014 World Cup-winning assistant demanding they win possession much earlier than under his predecessor.

That relentless pressing has been the hallmark of Bayern, RB Leipzig and Borussia Dortmund, who were eliminated by Paris Saint-Germain in the last 16 in this season's Champions League.

Liverpool's Jurgen Klopp, who led the Reds to their sixth European Cup last term, first coined that style as "gegenpressing" and it has since been the ideal way to set a team up.

For the first time, three coaches from the same nation, Germany, are in the last four of the Champions League at the same time. That is a testament to the strength of the Bundesliga, long dismissed as a one-horse race featuring Bayern, and its commitment to giving local managers a chance.

"It's clear that this is lovely for German football," Leipzig boss Julian Nagelsmann, who at 33 is the youngest coach to have reached the last four, said.

"Coaching education in Germany is good. I enjoyed a good apprenticeship as a trainer and was satisfied with what I picked up along the way.

"I always look back to words that said German football would be left behind on the international stage because we mainly had German coaches. And now everything is great."

Unlike in other countries, where a Uefa Pro Licence is sufficient, a Football Coaching Licence is required before one can coach in the German top flight. That means putting in closer to 800 hours of work, as opposed to 240 hours for its continental equivalent. Flick, Paris Saint-Germain manager Thomas Tuchel and Nagelsmann are all graduates of the Hennes-Weisweiler Academy.

The attention to detail is not lost on former Germany striker Oliver Bierhoff, who is now the director of Die Mannschaft and its academy.

"It's a wonderful moment of success for German football," he told the Bundesliga website. "We're delighted to have not only two German teams in the semis, but also three German coaches and lots of our international players in the decisive phase of the competition."

Some critics have pointed to the fact that unlike English, Italian and Spanish clubs, German sides were able to enjoy a break in the lead up to the "Final Eight" tournament.

The Serie A, Premier League and La Liga seasons all finished either at the end of last month or early this month, while the Bundesliga season ended in late June.

But despite the advantage provided by the hiatus, Leipzig, Bayern and PSG under their coaches all represent a style that has evolved from the tiki-taka play that most teams tried to emulate from a decade ago.

Closing the ball down quickly is what today's modern football requires.

REUTERS, XINHUA