Euro 2012: Why Germany Will Romp to Euro 2012 Glory

There was a sense of deja vu creeping in when Georgios Samaras equalized in the 55th minute last night for Greece in the quarter final of Euro 2012 against Germany. The Germans had battered Greece before this, but were still leading by just a goal. Samaras and Greece made them pay and Joachim Low would have been nervous just for a bit during those minutes.

After all, Low had decided that he would not field Lukas Podolski, Thomas Muller or Mario Gomez in the starting lineup for this game. Greece won the 2004 edition of this tournament by beating Portugal (twice), France and Czech Republic that year.

Thus, Greece certainly have the belief on knocking over big teams at the knockout stage, something that England have not managed since 1966. That however is an entirely different thing altogether, but just thought that I would bring it to everyone's notice. 

The Greeks beat France at the same stage in 2004. The Germans though did not bat an eyelid and went about their business in a very professional manner running out eventual 4-2 winners. The attitude and steel with which they are playing this tournament just gives you that feeling that this might be their year.

Joachim Low has overseen two—one as assistant to Jurgen Klinsmann—third-place finishes at the world cup and a runner-up finish at Euro 2008. The brand of football Germany plays under him is simply sublime and I think the team has matured and is now ready to lift some silverware.   

Often it is not the most dominant team or the one with most style that wins such tournaments. Well, exceptions such as Spain and Brazil are always there, but I think Germany can emulate that. Any one of the four teams that will be playing in the semis can realistically win the tournament. Though the thing with Germany is that it is scoring goals and looking unbeatable.

Yes Spain, England, Italy, Portugal or France can overturn Low's men. But the way Low went about his job against Greece shows that he has matured as a manager. His exuberance had brought him earlier success where he used to just fall short. Now, he knows what his team is about.

Few managers throughout history would have left that amount of talent on the bench in a quarterfinal. Low did it with audacious conviction. He was composed and did not commit hastily in trying to change things around too quickly after the equalizer from Greece.

It will be Spain vs. Germany in the final and Low will ensure that it is third time lucky for Germany. I predict that Germany will attain revenge for the 2008 Euro and 2010 World Cup defeats to Spain.

I think the final ingredient that is going to get the Germans past Spain in the final is a better squad than earlier times. People like Thomas Muller, Sami Khedira, Mario Gomez and Mesut Ozil have all matured and are ready to not bottle in a big game. Germany has great potential to win Euro 2012 and I think everyone associated with the team will get the execution part right, finally.