World Cup scouting: Sami Khedira (Germany)
Nothing screams opportunity like an injury to a first-team player in the build-up to a World Cup. Had Jimmy Greaves not badly gashed his leg in 1966, we might never have heard of Geoff Hurst. Had Santiago Cañizares not dropped a bottle of aftershave on his foot in 2002, a 21-year-old Iker Casillas would have had to wait for his chance to shine at the World Cup. And if Michael Ballack had not been ruled out of Germany’s World Cup squad earlier this week, Sami Khedira would not be going into the tournament with the weight of his country’s expectations on his shoulders.
“It can be assumed that Khedira is the number one candidate for this position,” said Germany coach Joachim Löw shortly after Ballack’s unavailability had been confirmed last weekend. “He has a great deal of potential and is a player who has already been given a lot of responsibility at Stuttgart. He also shows that he has matured.”
Born in Germany to a Tunisian father and German mother, Khedira came through Stuttgart’s youth system, making his first-team debut in October 2006 and achieving more than most players manage in a lifetime by scoring the goal that secured the Bundesliga title in a 2-1 win against Energie Cottbus on the final day of his first season.
He captained Germany to a crushing 4-0 victory over England in the final of last summer’s Under-21 European Championship and finished Stuttgart’s last campaign with 33 games under his belt and three goals in all competitions. The 23-year-old has three German caps and came on as a substitute in their 1-0 defeat at home to Argentina in March, as well as starting the 3-0 friendly win over Malta earlier this month.
Like Ballack, Khedira can occupy both offensive and defensive roles in the centre of midfield. With Ballack sidelined, Torsten Frings out of the international picture and Simon Rolfes out, he is now the only person capable of occupying Germany’s midfield holding role alongside Bastian Schweinsteiger – particularly now that Christian Träsch has also succumbed to injury – but former Under-21 colleague Mezut Özil believes he’s up to the task.
“Sami can play in this defensive position, he has done it many times for his club and country,” said Özil earlier this week.
Khedira himself was in danger of missing the tournament through injury after damaging knee ligaments in a collision with Bayern Munich striker Miroslav Klose in mid-April that ruled him out for almost a month. Klose and Khedira will now travel to South Africa together and while the former has already made his mark at a World Cup, Germany’s chances of success this time around will depend heavily on Khedira’s capacity to adjust to his new responsibilities.
16 Responses to “World Cup scouting: Sami Khedira (Germany)”
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[...] World Cup scouting: Sami Khedira (Germany) « Football Further Author: Admin on May 28, 2010 Category: World Cup News Tags: first-team-player, greaves, jimmy, [...]
I’ve liked what I have seen of Khedira the few times I have seen him. Question I have is he not similar to Schweinsteiger (who presumably will also play in central midfield) and does this mean Germany have a midfield with two players that are pure CMs (attack and defend) as opposed to at least one holding player.
Hi Tom,
looking forward to your profile of the French team as promised.
Just on that note, Yoann Gourcuff has been making positive noises about the switch to 4-3-3 in a recent friendly.
Is this yet more evidence that, should France progress in the tournament as in 2006, it will be down to the players taking charge?
I think, in this instance, Domenech’s hand has been forced by injuries rather than player revolt. Had Lassana Diarra not been ruled out, it’s a good bet they would have stuck with the 4-2-3-1.
Hey Tom, wanted to let you know that I’ve opened up a Prediction League game to the non-Icelandic speaking masses (curiously enough thats a lot of folks!).
It’s a free service for fun, allows users to set up their own prediction leagues and thus challenge friends/co-workers/family etc to predict the outcome on matches, the World Cup 2010 is now active but previously we have had leagues since Copa America 2004 and onwards.
No selling on of e-mails or any funny business. Just a framework for a wholesome fun (which in some places ends up with the winner taking cases of beer from peeved co-workers/family members).
Uhm yes, and the URL was of course absent, http://leikir.betra.is/wc2010/
I’m not the greatest of wannabe-spammers am I…
iwish you luck in south africa
[...] The central midfield pairing will be the young Sami Khedira and experienced Bastian Schweinsteiger. Ballack’s late injury with Chelsea has opened the way for Khedira to really make his mark on the tournament. [...]
[...] into a deep central midfield position recently. Instead, Ballack’s place will probably go to Sami Khedira, a talented, tactically astute player who has been virtually assured of his place in the first XI [...]
[...] States: 4. Michael Bradley Algeria: 7. Ryad Boudebouz Slovenia: 15. Rene Krhin Group D Germany: 6. Sami Khedira Australia: 23. Mark Bresciano (Tommy Oar) Serbia: 3. Aleksandar Kolarov Ghana: 18. Dominic [...]
[...] two wide men usually play up front but did a fantastic dual role, while Bastian Schweinsteiger and Sami Khedira performed what the Germans call the “double six” as opposed to one typical deployed by [...]
[...] two wide men usually play up front but did a fantastic dual role, while Bastian Schweinsteiger and Sami Khedira performed what the Germans call the “double six” as opposed to one typical deployed by [...]
It’s interesting that first paragraph. Maybe tim cahill will get injured and we’ll be able to see some young aussie shine in a socceroos jersey we’ll see!
[...] combination. Bastian Schweinsteiger pulls the strings for Germany alongside the more conservative Sami Khedira, while Xabi Alonso’s effortless midfield organising for Spain is shrewdly complemented by [...]
[...] D Germany: Sami Khedira – Group match 1 (Germany 4-0 Australia): Controlled the centre of midfield with Schweinsteiger [...]
[...] two wide men usually play up front but did a fantastic dual role, while Bastian Schweinsteiger and Sami Khedira performed what the Germans call the “double six” as opposed to one typical deployed by [...]