Germany Football Team

he 1974 FIFA World Cup will be forever remembered as the year Holland displayed to the world their phenomenal style of play known as 'Total Football.' The Dutch team of '74 appeared to have unbeatable quality yet they lost to West Germany in the final, an arguably inferior team. From a soccer sports psychology point of view, the 1974 World Cup final demonstrates perfectly that at top level, superior physical skill alone is not enough: realizing a top performance also requires mental skill.Total Football
The Total Football style of play made Holland arguably the greatest soccer team of the 1970s. It's a style epitomized by the Dutch team captain and star player Johan Cruyff. According to the International Football Hall of Fame, "If Holland were the team that gave the world Total Football, then Johan Cruyff was THE Total Footballer." In short, Total Football describes a style of play where any player can play any position. In the Dutch team, all of the players had equal levels of technical ability and physical skill, although it's fair to say that equaling Cruyff's phenomenal skill was a tall order. He was a player who seemed to effortlessly score goals from everywhere and anywhere on the pitch. So, with such undeniable technical and physical ability making them a force to be reckoned with, why were Holland unable to win the World Cup in 1974?

Total control?
I read an opinion piece once in which the writer said, "while the Dutch quarreled, the German's played." There's your answer right there. Physically, Holland possessed an almost innate sense of timing and their combined skills as a team meant they generally kept possession of the ball too! However, their superior ball skills also allowed overconfidence to develop and the team displaying a degree of arrogance on the pitch. Which is not necessarily a bad thing but and it's a big but!They knew they were good and that manifested itself into believing they knew best. When situations occurred that led to 'discussions' with officials, the Dutch players did not cope well with decisions going against them. It takes mental skills to remain focused in high pressure situations, especially when things are not going your way, and it seems that mental skill was the only thing the Dutch team lacked. It's my opinion that Holland lost the 1974 World Cup final because as a team, they were unable to remain focused on what really mattered, and to disregard the rest.
At half-time, the West German team were a goal ahead of Holland. Was that the psychological blow that stopped the technically untouchable Dutch squad in their tracks? If you know you're superior, what happens when you're a goal down to a team you perceive as inferior? With mental skills training, you learn coping strategies for every situation; you learn how to remain focused and, crucially, how to remain positive. You can't change what has already happened but you can influence what happens next. In the second-half of the 1974 World Cup final, what would have happened if Holland's mental skills had matched their physical abilities?

World Cup group A places the home nation Germany against Costa Rica, Ecuador & Poland in a relatively easy group from which they should comfortably qualify.
Although the German team is not thought to be up to the standard of their previous victorious teams, bookmakers currently have them as joint second favourites behind Brazil, and they must be respected as possible winners on home soil.
It is difficult to see any of their three opponents being able to challenge them as Group A winners and it would appear that Costa Rica, Ecuador & Poland are competing for a chance to qualify in second spot.
History tells us that when the competition is played in Europe, the European nations tend to outperform the sides visiting from other continents. This coupled with Poland's impressive qualification from a difficult European qualifying stage must make the Poles most likely to progress along with the Germans. For the Poles, who will have an army of travelling supporters, the first game will be massively important, and a win over Ecuador in that game should ease their passage to the second stage.
Ecuador are a talented but temperamental outfit who must be respected, because on a good day they can match most national sides. Germany 2006 is only the second finals they have reached and they will be keen to add to their single victory from Japan 2002. Discipline may be a factor for Ecuador, and the strict refereeing of the Finals may not suit them.

Costa Rica will most probably be the groups whipping boys, first up for them is Germany in the tournament's opening game, a game they can't really expect to gain points from. Their second game against Ecuador will be the one that decides whether or not they can progress further in the Cup, and should provide good entertainment as both sides like to attack, sometimes at the detriment to their defensive duties.
It is difficult to see any other outcome than Germany topping group A. Poland should take the second spot if successful in their first match versus Ecuador, but anything less than a win for them will give the edge to Ecuador. Costa Rica will probably sit at the foot of the table, unless they produce a couple of shocks...