In Praise of the Hosts

Let’s hear it for the Germans. For organising a wonderful, virtually trouble free World Cup with typical thoroughness and efficiency and particular attention to the needs of all the fans. For reaching the semi-final with a predominantly young team that consistently played bright attacking football fired by real belief. For having the tournament’s top scorer, Miroslav Klose, and for three of their side – Klose himself, Lukas Podolski and Michael Ballack – gaining a place in the list of players who had most shots at goal. For scoring more goals at the tournament than any other team. For having the Gillette Best Young Player – Lukas Podolski. For Jens Lehmann, whose brilliant penalty saves allowed Germany to progress at the expense of many people’s favourites – Argentina. And for Jurgen Klinsmann, who like Franz Beckenbauer proved that a great player can become a great coach, even if he does live in California