Vorsprung Durch Technik 3-5-2

Germany has come close twice—both in 2006 and in 2008—to lifting their first major title since Euro '96.

But instead of being the champions, they have had to be content with the title of "also ran."

In the wake of the recent U21 triumph over arch-rivals England, in the final, Germany hopes for the dawn of a new golden generation: a generation which can win trophies.

But before Marko Marin, Mesut Ozil, Andreas Beck, and Sandro Wagner become the mainstay of the Mannschaft, one last chance exists for Herr Ballack, Frings, and Klose in South Africa '10.

So what does Mr Loew need to do in order to win the world title for Germany for a fourth time?

Simple, Germany needs to change their formation to a potent 3-5-2.

The twin towers of Metzelder and Mertesacker need to be disbanded. Mertesacker has displayed considerable reliability and can play in a central defensive pivotal role.

Metzelder is a shadow of his former self, and must be assigned the role of a back up. Philip Lahm, put bluntly, is currently the best left back on the planet and deserves an automatic selection every time Germany play. 

Options exist on the right in the form of Arne Friedrich, Andreas Hinkel, and Andreas Beck.

In order to cover for a lack of a usual "back four," Germany needs to field two central defensive-minded midfielders. And they are aplenty.

Industrious and experienced Torsten Frings, "the hammer" Thomas Hitzlsperger, Leverkusen captain Simon Rolfes, and current Bayern Munich back up Tim Borowski are all able options.

The advantage is two fold: One, while defending, the back line will be aided by two more bodies.

Two (and indeed more importantly), Michael Ballack will not need to fall back and defend.

One problem Germany has faced in recent tournaments is under-utilising Ballack's attacking prowess, and consequently paying the price for it.

A natural central midfielder armed with the versatility of playing both as a DM and an AM, das Kapitan needs to play as CM for Germany to succeed.

It is incredibly difficult to create chances for the strikers or provide them with sublime passes if one has to fall back each time.

Moreover, the prospect of having Ballack slightly upfront will open up new avenues for counter attack—Germany's very own trump card.

On the wings, there is no need to change the highly successful Euro '08 duo of Bastian Schweinsteiger on the right and Lukas Podolski on the left.

Miroslav Klose and Mario Gomez can round off the playing level–the latter has already found his own in the Germany shirt, and will prove to be a handful in 2010.

In goal, Germany has been traditionally strong, and can utilise either Manuel Neuer, Robert Enke, or Rene Adler.

The bench will be sufficiently strong with the likes of Marcell Jansen, Christoph Metzelder, Sami Khedira, Marko Marin, Piotr Trochowski, and Cacau.

Germany has a team that deserves to win a World Cup. It has been 20 years since Italia '90 happened, and the time is ripe for Deutschland to get its hands on the trophy again.

With only a slight alteration in the system, I believe this target can be achieved.

Deustchland Uber Alles!!