Who Will Lead Germany’s Line at the Euros: Mario Gotze or Mario Gomez?

By
at Internationaled.org

Published: June 9, 2016

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With the start of Euro 2016 in France just around the corner, nostalgia is in full flow. Especially in England, where Germany last hoisted the trophy 20 years ago—documentaries on various television channels, full reruns of famous matches and more are being shown.

Narrow successes are always the sweetest, and it doesn't get much narrower than winning the semi-final against the hosts on penalties and the final against the Czech Republic thanks to the now-defunct golden-goal rule.

Looking back at Germany's last European triumph and comparing the squad from then with the one that will start on Sunday against Ukraine in Lille, one thing is striking: Berti Vogts had four out-and-out strikers at his disposal in Oliver Bierhoff, Fredi Bobic, Jurgen Klinsmann and Stefan Kuntz in 1996.

All four played their part in Germany's success, with Klinsmann hitting the most goals (three), Kuntz scoring the equaliser against England and Bierhoff going down in history as the man who won the tournament for his country. 



In contrast, Joachim Low brings only one true No. 9 to France this summer in Mario Gomez.

It's not like he had much choice, though. Looking at the goalscoring charts from this season in the Bundesliga, Darmstadt's Sandro Wagner, an uncapped 28-year-old journeyman, was the German central forward with the best tally at 14 goals.

Germany, who always had great strikers when they won at the Euros—Gerd Muller and Jupp Heynckes in 1972; Karl-Heinz Rummennige, Horst Hrubesch and Klaus Allofs in 1980—don't have a strong strike force at the moment.

The ever-reliable Miroslav Klose retired from international football after the 2014 FIFA World Cup, and no young forwards have made a big enough step in that time to play themselves into consideration.

One may argue that Thomas Muller ought to be considered a striker, and there's some merit to it, but ...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - International Football

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