Hamann played Lala Ballack was a complete failure

Hamann played Lala, Ballack was a complete failure.”Manfred von Richthofen, the president of the German Sport Federation, could barely conceal his disgust: “That was a funeral game,” he said. “I missed all the typical German attributes.”England’s achievement took the rest of the football world by surprise. In Sven Goran Eriksson’s’s native Sweden, the press were almost as pleased as in England. An article by Peter Wennman in Aftonbladet led with the headline: “Give Him a Knighthood”, going on to proclaim: “England has a new national hero – and he is Swedish.”Wennman describes the English fans celebrating in Trafalgar Square and asked: “Who the hell is Lord Nelson? Today it is Sven who wins all the major battles.” The sports section of another Swedish tabloid, Expressen, had a similarly heraldic headline: “King Sven Goran of England,” adding that “the amazing match in Munich has given the Swede both a place in the history books and in millions of English hearts.”Italy’s principal sports daily, Gazzetta dello Sport, also called for knighthoods: “Arise Sir Sven Goran of Munich and arise Sir Michael of Germany. It was the goals of Owen, a genuine world-class player, which were the shining lights of this game. Above all, this victory is down to Eriksson, the first foreigner ever to manage England after he was summoned by the FA, amid a tide of xenophobia.”Corriere dello Sport was equally glowing.

“Mr Eriksson humiliates V?r!” was their headline, while Enzo Piergianni wrote: “Rudi V?r must now begin again from scratch after being overwhelmed by ‘Hurricane Owen’.”French papers were more interested in France’s 2-1 defeat to Chile, but England’s success still merited L’Equipe’s admiration, the sports daily dedicating a full page with the headline: “England blush with happiness after their colossal victory.”The paper observed that England were inspired by a French coach, G?rd Houllier. “The talented Liverpool trio of Owen, Steven Gerrard and Emile Heskey swept aside everything in their way and won the game on their own.”. Any attempt to measure England’s victory in Munich on Saturday against past events in their football history is bound to collide with knowledge that it was achieved in a skirmish, not the battle for which they are striving to qualify. Putting five goals past Germany in their own backyard was quite a feat, extending way beyond a personal belief that Sven Goran Eriksson’s team were equipped to exploit serious defensive shortcomings, but as Eriksson himself sensibly states it is too early to talk of renaissance. Any attempt to measure England’s victory in Munich on Saturday against past events in their football history is bound to collide with knowledge that it was achieved in a skirmish, not the battle for which they are striving to qualify. Putting five goals past Germany in their own backyard was quite a feat, extending way beyond a personal belief that Sven Goran Eriksson’s team were equipped to exploit serious defensive shortcomings, but as Eriksson himself sensibly states it is too early to talk of renaissance.
Victories over Albania and Greece should now secure England a trip to next year’s World Cup finals without having to endure the hazards of play-off matches but optimism is not a wind to disperse the shadow of 1966, when they registered their only success in a major tournament.Four years earlier, with Jimmy Armfield, Ray Wilson and an emerging Bobby Moore in defence, Bobby Charlton, Jimmy Greaves and Johnny Haynes among the forwards, England set off for the World Cup in Chile following a run that put them among the favourites; they had beaten a talented Scotland 9-3, Spain 4-2, Italy 3-2 away, and other teams by scores of 5-2, 9-0, 5-1 and 8-0. It came to nothing when they lost to Brazil in the quarter finals.Trying to arrive at a point where the sort of praise heaped upon England’s performance in Munich was fully justified is not easy.

The 1966 World Cup final certainly, although that rare success was obtained with the enormous advantage of having played every match at Wembley. The 0-0 draw England managed in Italy under Glenn Hoddle to qualify for the 1998 World Cup finals was an immensely creditable effort and they have rarely imposed themselves so completely on the opposition than when Terry Venables’ team defeated the Netherlands 4-1 in Euro 1996.As hosts, and then champions, England were not required to qualify for the 1966 and 1970 World Cup finals and then spent 12 years in the wilderness. After losses to Switzerland, Romania and Norway, the gloom might have lasted another four years but for a win over Hungary in Budapest, sealed by a terrific strike from Trevor Brooking, although it was Switzerland’s win in Romania that saw them through.England are not without creditable foreign victories but since many go back to and, in some cases, beyond the heydays of Tom Finney, Stan Matthews, Tommy Lawton, Billy Wright and Frank Swift when there was a great deal less competitive international football, Saturday’s victory is sure to stand out in the future.On the basis of information received from people in football who had closely studied Germany’s performances since their win at Wembley a year ago, most recently a 5-2 success in Hungary, I took the 9-4 on offer against England in Munich and 20-1 against them winning the World Cup, a price that was more than halved at the end of proceedings in Bavaria. I have no great confidence in the second of those wagers but, if Germany’s football was anything to go by, you never know.Reports reaching Eriksson spoke of defenders who struggled against aerial attacks, who were low on concentration and the know-how to handle the pace of Michael Owen and Emile Heskey. Conceding little to the notion that international football calls for a more subtle approach than the Premiership demands, England exploited traditional strengths and Owen’s peerless opportunism. In many ways it looked like a sophisticated version of the method Jack Charlton employed when qualifying the Republic of Ireland for the finals of two World Cups and a European Championship.Speaking on television last week, the hero of 1966, Geoff Hurst, pointed out that Eriksson appears to follow Alf Ramsey’s fundamental principle of selecting players in their club positions. In common with another great manager, Matt Busby, Eriksson also appears to have the knack of picking the right men for the job.It was noticeable that once England had recovered from the nervousness that cost an early goal they got the ball forward quickly, only putting it at risk when attempting to play into Germany’s penalty area.

The future holds sterner tests and will call for better understanding at close quarters than England’s defenders showed in Munich (apart from scoring first, Germany squandered three clear cut chances) however the effects of their intelligent directness is sure to cause concern in world football.So how good were England, how bad were Germany? The answer lies somewhere in between. All England’s goals carried the stamp of Anfield and yet only a week ago Owen, Heskey and Gerrard, as well as Robbie Fowler, were kept at bay by a resolute Bolton defence that boasts no star international defenders. England’s defence needs further education but Germany’s did not exist. Declaring that England were somewhat flattered by the scoreline, Eriksson is clearly a man with his feet on the floor Germany couldn’t get theirs off it. Add Owen’s predatory instinct, and bingo – a result for English football that probably stands above all but one other..

The Sunday morning church bells seem to be ringing England Uber Alles. But if there is wonderment and shock and even some disbelief here at the scale of the 5-1 victory in the Olympic Stadium, there should be no mystery about how it was that Michael Owen, David Beckham and Steven Gerrard, like young gods, formed an axis of brilliance so compelling it was impossible not to recall the earlier triumvirate of Moore, Charlton and Hurst. The Sunday morning church bells seem to be ringing England Uber Alles. But if there is wonderment and shock and even some disbelief here at the scale of the 5-1 victory in the Olympic Stadium, there should be no mystery about how it was that Michael Owen, David Beckham and Steven Gerrard, like young gods, formed an axis of brilliance so compelling it was impossible not to recall the earlier triumvirate of Moore, Charlton and Hurst.Love, they say, changes everything. So in football, as in so many other aspects of life, does intelligence when applied with a little passion and a lot of grace and a deep understanding of the needs of the talent that is put in your care. Such, already, is the stunning mark of Sven Goran Eriksson.It meant that Michael Owen’s magnificent hat-trick against Germany in Saturday night’s World Cup qualifying match was more than a virtuoso performance of the scoring art, a combination of speed and clarity of mind and purpose that deepened ever further the travesty of his shabby treatment at the hands of previous England coaches. It was repayment of faith, a celebration of certainty about his own ability and the confidence in which it is held by the man who now shapes his destiny on the international field.It gave Beckham the stage on which he proved, more persuasively than ever before, that behind all the affectations and hype there is still a young footballer ablaze with both exquisite talent and hard intent.It bestowed upon Gerrard the knowledge that beyond all his coltish physical frailty there is a belief, where it matters, that he can indeed be a dominant performer in the world game.The talent of all three players was beautifully synchronised after the first shock of Carsten Jancker’s sixth-minute goal was absorbed.