Franz Beckenbauer is full of praise for the Germany national team after they successfully qualified for the 2014 FIFA World Cup finals in Brazil, and "Der Kaiser" believes coach Joachim Löw's team can lift the trophy in the shadow of Sugar Loaf Mountain. "We are going to the World Cup as one of the top three favourites, on a par with hosts Brazil and defending champions Spain", writes Beckenbauer in his column in the German newspaper Bild.
Beckenbauer believes that Germany have no-one to fear, particularly in attack, where "we may even have the best side in the world". He regards Mesut Özil, Mario Götze, Toni Kroos and André Schürrle as "technically brilliant footballers, along with Thomas Müller, whose play is more unconventional. Then there's Marco Reus too."
However, the two-time world champion – in 1974 as a player and in 1990 as coach – believes there is "plenty of room for improvement" in terms of Germany's defensive capabilities and a tendency not to be ruthless enough in attack.
"I'd like to see more resilience under pressure", said Beckenbauer, who believes the internationals in November (including one in Italy) will provide a suitably stiff challenge. "These two matches could hold the key to lifting our fourth World Cup trophy", he concluded.
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Franz Beckenbauer is full of praise for the Germany national team after they successfully qualified for the 2014 FIFA World Cup finals in Brazil, and "Der Kaiser" believes coach Joachim Löw's team can lift the trophy in the shadow of Sugar Loaf Mountain. "We are going to the World Cup as one of the top three favourites, on a par with hosts Brazil and defending champions Spain", writes Beckenbauer in his column in the German newspaper Bild.
Beckenbauer believes that Germany have no-one to fear, particularly in attack, where "we may even have the best side in the world". He regards Mesut Özil, Mario Götze, Toni Kroos and André Schürrle as "technically brilliant footballers, along with Thomas Müller, whose play is more unconventional. Then there's Marco Reus too."
However, the two-time world champion – in 1974 as a player and in 1990 as coach – believes there is "plenty of room for improvement" in terms of Germany's defensive capabilities and a tendency not to be ruthless enough in attack.
"I'd like to see more resilience under pressure", said Beckenbauer, who believes the internationals in November (including one in Italy) will provide a suitably stiff challenge. "These two matches could hold the key to lifting our fourth World Cup trophy", he concluded.
