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There was cause for a jubilant pose.
Even if it was only a draw in the end
Photo:
IMAGO/Ulrich Hufnagel
This evening in Amsterdam was reminiscent of a football night that had almost been forgotten.
The anthems were intoned by a wonderfully old-fashioned band, the Dutch fans whistled their hearts out at »Unity and Justice and Freedom«, the stadium was packed, people sang and celebrated, and Corona didn’t seem to care anymore either.
And that a German team dominated a well-known opponent as compactly and confidently as the team of national coach Hansi Flick did against Oranje for over an hour hadn't been seen for a long time.
It was a maturity test for this team, the test case that was needed.
They had won eight times under Flick so far, but this 1-1 draw in the Johan Cruyff Arena was probably worth more than all eight wins before.
Annoyed the opponent by interfering early
"It's just nice how this team plays, how everyone goes along with you," the national coach had the appropriate praise ready and listed the qualities that had struck him in the 90 minutes before: "Brave, refreshing, self-confident" played his team.
The black shirts with which the team performed in Amsterdam, they matched, radiated appropriate aggressiveness.
La Bestia Negra, albeit in the light version.
And this against a Dutch team, which also showed few weaknesses and appeared more or less with the best players.
Not only defending oneself so intensively against the eleven of this coaching fox Louis van Gaal, but also taking the initiative into one's own hands, annoying the opponent especially in the first half with the permanent early disruption - "that was long stretches alright,” said Captain Manuel Neuer, and that's a reserved compliment.
The minutes after the Dutch equalizer, actually the entire final phase, Flick also showed what he still has to work on.
The team suddenly became hectic and had problems dealing with the new stressful situation.
The Dutch threw themselves on the German defense like a swarm of hornets, there was no more talk of pressing and the game would have been overturned very little.
"We lost control"
The British referee Craig Pawson had a very gracious moment when he took back the penalty kick against the DFB-Elf shortly after the 1-1 draw because he wanted to see Thilo Kehrer's toe on the ball.
At that minute, the evening could have turned negative for the DFB team.
"From the 65th minute we lost control and gave up the ball too easily," scorer Thomas Müller summed up.
The entire structure is still unstable.
But the scaffolding is up.
And a little tighter since Tuesday.
With Serge Gnabry, Joshua Kimmich, Niklas Süle, Marco Reus, Jonas Hofmann, Robin Gosens and Leon Goretzka, Flick was missing at least seven players in Amsterdam who can be counted among the permanent staff.
They will return for the next assignments in June, and their experience will certainly make the team even stronger in certain areas.
Returnees have to fight
However, they will not be able to make any obvious claims after this evening.
It wasn't an emergency team standing on the lawn on Tuesday.
Everyone that Flick put in the starting lineup had one more reason at the end of the game to start again next time,
Why, for example, should Flick tear apart the newly found midfield axis made up of Ilkay Gündogan and Jamal Musiala after such a performance?
Technically, the two are among the best that currently exists in German football.
But the division of labor among them and their understanding of roles also raise high expectations.
Musiala was already considered a beacon of hope at the European Championships, at that time a short appearance as a joker was enough.
In the meantime, however, the 19-year-old Bayern star is so mature that he has already taken on a leading role against the Netherlands, the boss in the ring.
He wriggles out of complicated duel situations, he has an eye for teammates and scoring opportunities, he is so quick on the uptake that his opponents had to tear his jersey halfway to curb his urge to go forward.
Gündogan worked next to him, it was repeatedly prophesied that he would play a big tournament, but it always turned out differently.
The World Cup in Qatar now seems to open up the chance to become as valuable in the national team as it has long been in Manchester City.
He had to be 31 to do that, but now it can work.
In defense, David Raum and Nico Schlotterbeck have recommended themselves for higher things.
The Hoffenheim area or the Italian professional Robin Gosens, Flick now has one more option available than months ago.
Schlotterbeck competes with Matthias Ginter from Gladbach, among others, who had to watch it from the bank in Amsterdam.
Kai Havertz, Timo Werner, Thomas Müller, Leroy Sané, who formed the offensive department in Amsterdam: there is no one among them who is easy to put on the bench to be replaced by Gnabry and Reus.
There is movement in the squad.
"The team is on the right track," says Manuel Neuer.
Eight months before a soccer World Cup, that's all you want.