What it takes to build a great national football team? Many things, obviously. However there is the matter of a leader, the one man carrying everyone else forward.
Every great Argentinian team had a football magician in its ranks, such as Kempes, Maradona, or Lionel Messi this time around.
France - Zidan, Platini... whereas Pogba is being currently modeled after them.
Spain - Xavi and Iniesta.
Brazil - Pele, Garrincha sitting in for Pele, Zico and Falcao, Ronaldo, Romario...
Italy - Causio, Baggio, Antognoni, Del Piero... also charismatic goalies such as Zoff and Buffon.
While having charismatic goalkeepers is a specific Italian trait, no nation has ever had a great national team without a play-maker slash a ball magician slash a goal-scorer towering alone or perhaps together with one partner over the rest of the squad.
Except for Germany. Germany's a little different. Every great German team have had this special type of a player who would give no quarter, with take no prisoners attitude, shooting arrows from his eyes, not necessarily the most technically rewarded, and not necessarily a formal captain, but demanding and receiving an unquestioned obedience from the rest of the squad. This is a special rank in every German team, of a chieftain, the rank unwritten and unformulated, yet very clearly defined and absolutely necessary for the German football machine to work.
There were Uwe Seeler and Beckenbauer, then Breitner, then Rummenigge, then Matthäus, then Schweinsteiger, then... nobody in 2018!
There was no chieftain in this squad!
Schweinsteiger has retired, while Tony Kroos being an obvious candidate is not quite there yet. Everyone else in the team is too gentle, no matter how great as players. And Germany just cannot do without the chieftain!
No need to look further - this in fact is the main and possibly the only reason of the German crushing defeat in this World Cup.
