Loew looking to neutralise Spain and still attack

Germany coach Joachim Loew said his team would be looking to neutralise Spain in Wednesday’s World Cup semi-final here, but without losing their own attacking instincts.

Germany have been one of the most positive and attacking teams in this tournament, scoring four goals in three of their five matches.

Their total of 13 goals is more than double the number Spain have managed and Loew says they must continue to play the way that carried them to a 4-1 victory against England and a 4-0 demolition of Argentina if they are to reach Sunday’s final in Johannesburg.

“Spain are the team with the strongest organisation and the best fire-power, they’re all very skillful and they function in perfect harmony with each other,” said Loew at Tuesday’s pre-match press conference.

“They’ve been together a long time, not just in the national team but also at club level. They know each other inside-out and they hardly make any mistakes unless you force them to make mistakes.

“But we’re very confident. We know our quality, we have a lot of power, we’re creative and if we succeed tomorrow to put the Spainsh defence in trouble, we have a fair chance.

“We don’t have to be defensive against Spain, although the Spanish are known for being very efficient when they combine freely.

“We must succeed in neutralising their team. (Andres) Iniesta and Xavi are world class, it will be difficiult to fully neutralise them.

“But we will continue with the attacking style that has brought us success and wins in this World Cup.

“We beat Argentina and England because even after we had the lead we continued to attack — we must continue in this way or we won’t stand a chance against Spain.”

One of the main players they will be trying to keep quiet is competition top scorer David Villa, who missed the European Championship final in 2008, in which Spain beat Germany 1-0, due to injury.

“We knew all about his quality in 2008. At the very beginning of the tournament, before he got injured he was phenomenal,” said Loew.

“He’s a player who has everything; skill, technique, he’s excellent in one-on-one situations and when it comes to finishing, he’s second to none.

“He scores freely for his club and in the national team, where he has 43 goals in 63 matches, we know just what he’s like and he’s some player.”

However, Loew believes he has a striking threat who, while perhaps not as naturally talented as the Barcelona man, is every bit as dangerous in this type of game: Miroslav Klose.

“As far as Klose is concerned, since 2002 he has always been a top performer at big tournaments,” said Loew.

“He’s always done great for the national team and although I admit he struggled for Bayern (Munich) last season, when it counts Miro’s always there.

“He’s fantastic in many ways, he integrates into the way we play and he’s very good when it comes to assessing his own performance.

“He knew he hadn’t had as much playing time as the other players (last season) and he realised he’d have to train harder and work more than the others.

“Of course it was important for him to score in the first half against Australia, that gave him impetus and it’s not a surprise that he’s gone on to score so many goals, he’s done it before.”

Klose has scored five goals at each of the last two World Cups and this time around he is already on four, one behind Villa.