Confederations Cup 2017: Germany’s roster selections makes tournament an even bigger farce
Germany manager Joachim Low’s squad selection for the Confederations Cup is a perfect illustration of the tournament’s pointlessness.
The Confederations Cup kicked off in Russia on Saturday, officially marking the one-year countdown to the biggest sporting event on the planet. However, this World Cup prequel — like the ones that preceded the original Star Wars trilogy — isn’t necessarily worth the hype or your time.
While the World Cup has been around since 1930, the Confederations Cup is a relatively young competition. The tournament dates back to 1992, but FIFA only took it over and rebranded it in 1997. Prior to that, the event (the brainchild of the Saudi Arabian football federation) was created as a way of staging games featuring high-profile national teams in the oil-rich Middle East.
FIFA took notice and decided that a tournament featuring the champions of each confederation was an opportunity to make money, primarily by bundling the TV rights to the tournament with those to the World Cup. In addition, FIFA made sure the tournament was held a year before the World Cup by the same host nation, forever tying it to the globe’s most-watched sports event.
While almost no one takes the Confederations Cup seriously, Germany coach Joachim Low has managed to turn this year’s edition into the Rodney Dangerfield of soccer tournaments — by giving it no respect at all.
Rather than bring along Manuel Neuer, Marco Reus and Mats Hummels, Low opted to rest them in order to give him the chance to evaluate other players ahead of next summer. You’re likely not going to recognize the names and faces on this roster unless you live and breathe the Bundesliga on a weekly basis, or have been reading scouting reports in your spare time on up-and-coming German talent.
This move by Low does nothing for viewers at home and those in the stands hoping to witness competitive soccer. If Low wanted to test players, he could have easily let them play in the recent Under-20 World Cup or the European Under-21 Championship currently taking place.
After naming the roster last month, Low said that repeating as world champion remains his side’s ultimate goal and that his bet was to rest players who would be competing in their third international tournament in as many years.
“Three tournaments in three years is borderline,” Low told reporters, referring to the 2014 World Cup and last year’s European Championship. “Even two in two years is hard.”
The list of notable absentees also includes Mesut Ozil, Thomas Muller, Jerome Boateng and Toni Kroos. In their place, Low has brought with him to Russia youngsters such as Serge Gnabry and Max Meyer. Others hoping to gain experience and make the World Cup team are Hoffenheim playmaker Kerem Demirbay and Ajax Amsterdam striker Amin Younes, two of the country’s most exciting prospects. Low named 23-year-old PSG midfielder Julian Draxler as team captain.
“There is a lot of talk in Germany about whether the Confederations Cup makes sense or not,” Low added. “Fact is, it is happening and we will be equally professionally prepared as in a World Cup or Euro.”
Prepared? Sure. The real issue is that Low’s actions further devalue a tournament already in poor standing. Indeed, Low has rightly been called out for his squad selections. World Cup organizing committee chief Alexey Sorokin has said he was upset with Low’s decision to rest his star players.
“The heart of a football fan bleeds when the reigning World Cup winner plays without stars,” said Sorokin. “They are the reason the fans attend matches. But we need to accept it.”
Mexico, meanwhile, have gone the other way with the Confederations Cup. They have opted to take their stars to Russia and will likely rest them for next month’s Gold Cup, a tournament with more meaning since it crowns a regional champion. Coach Juan Carlos Osorio sees prestige in the Confederations Cup. The Mexicans flew to Moscow, with a daylong stopover in Amsterdam on Monday to break up the journey, after tying the United States 1-1 last Sunday in a crucial World Cup qualifier at Estadio Azteca. The move was gutsy and a sign of Osorio’s competitive nature.
“We are very happy to be here, very excited, with the plan of ratifying the Mexican game’s very good moment,” Osorio told ESPN. “It is a great opportunity to compete against a number of the best national teams and best players.”
Same goes for Portugal, the European champions, who brought with them Cristiano Ronaldo. Ditto for Chile, winners of the Copa America in 2015 and last year’s Copa America Centenario, who are well-stocked with the likes of Arturo Vidal and Alexis Sanchez.
No matter what you think of the Confederations Cup, it’s refreshing to see the Mexicans, Portuguese and Chileans take the tournament seriously. Low’s attitude, however, is not the right approach. While it’s true that the soccer fixture calendar is congested, players should want to represent their national team at any tournament and a coach should always want to try and field his best lineup.
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Given Germany’s approach, one has to wonder whether the Confederations Cup should be scrapped altogether. FIFA may opt to do so in 2021 ahead of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar given the country’s inability to host any games in the summer due to the unbearable heat.
Low’s move begs the question: if the Germans don’t care about the Confederations Cup, why should you?