Without Ballack, Germany doomed

In soccer, it’s difficult to imagine how one man can make the difference between winning or losing. After all, a match is played 11 to a side. But in Germany’s case, the absence of midfielder Michael Ballack was a death blow that killed coach Rudi Voller’s hopes of beating Brazil at the World Cup Finals in Yokohama last Sunday.

With Ballack in the lineup, German would’ve surely scored at least a goal in the first half which it dominated. Germany had its fair share of possessions but never saw enough daylight for a clear shot. Ballack, suspended for picking up two yellow cards in successive games, could’ve put pressure on Brazil’s defense if he played.

Ronaldo almost struck paydirt twice in the opening 45 minutes despite Brazil’s relatively slow start. He wouldn’t be denied the hero’s role in beating German keeper Oliver Kahn twice in the 67th and 79th minutes to become the World Cup’s top scorer with eight goals – the most by a single player since 1974.

Brazilian soccer legend Pele predicted that his home country "will be much better in the finals than in the qualifying tournament (because) our traditions mean Brazil in the finals are a very different force to Brazil in the preliminary matches." He hit the nail on the head.

Brazil’s samba offense was tailor-made for the finals where sometimes, teams succumb to the pressure and instead of playing aggressively, tend to be defense-oriented. The Brazilians were too cocky, too flamboyant to feel any sort of pressure with the title on the line.

Germany felt the pressure in the end, particularly as Voller began to realize how badly he missed Ballack’s services.

For the record, Ballack was chiefly responsible for bringing Germany to the World Cup. He notched decisive goals both home and away in the qualifying playoff over Ukraine to make it to the group of 32. "Germany’s presence in the finals has a lot to do with the inspiration of Ballack," wrote Keir Radnedge in World Soccer. Nick Bidwell, also reporting for World Soccer, added: "Equally able to create and get forward to score goals, Ballack is the centrally-positioned master of midfield ceremonies. There is no doubt about it. Ballack holds the key to Germany’s chances in the World Cup."

Ballack, 25, got a yellow card in the semis against South Korea then scored the marginal goal to lift Germany to the finals.

It would’ve been a closer, more exciting match with Ballack on the field. But with or without Ballack, Germany would’ve lost to Brazil anyway although probably, not on a shutout.

Throughout the tournament, Brazil stood out for its charisma and firepower. The Boys of Brazil wound up with 18 goals, 15 from the three Rs – Ronaldo, Rivaldo, and Ronaldinho. A fourth R, Romario, could’ve been in the roster but Scolari excluded the veteran, supposedly for disciplinary reasons. A two-time World Cupper, Romario begged to be included in the cast and cried his eyes out before Scolari. But there was just no room for Brazil’s 36-year-old deadly penalty-area specialist.

As expected, Brazil opened the World Cup on a shaky note and needed a disputed penalty from Rivaldo to eke out a 2-1 decision over Turkey. Then, the bandwagon started to roll as Brazil crushed China, 4-0, and blasted Costa Rica, 5-2, to qualify for the second round. Brazil went on to oust Belgium, 2-0, and scuttled England, 2-1, in the quarters. Brazil repeated over Turkey via a 1-0 verdict in the semis before toppling Germany, 2-0, in the championship match.

Germany, true to form, was a lot tougher on defense and registered five shutouts. The three-time World Cup champions blasted Saudi Arabia, 8-0, in their rousing debut in Sapporo, was held to a 1-1 draw by Ireland, and trounced Cameroon, 2-0, to reach the second round. Then, Germany blanked Paraguay, 1-0, and eliminated the US, 1-0, in the quarters. The 1-0 semis win over South Korea was the Germans’ fourth straight shutout.

Brazil’s road to the World Cup was rocky. In the last three years, the team shuffled four coaches and 60 players as it suffered defeats to South Korea, Australia, Ecuador, Chile, and Honduras.

For the moment, Brazil is back on the throne where it belongs – until the next challengers step up in Germany four years from now.