Dare to Dream: Germany in World Cup Final

The dream came four years early.

Germany wasn’t supposed to go this far. Injured starters, a difficult qualifying round and the lack of a obvious goal-scorer were supposed to doom the German side to the Round of 16 in this year’s World Cup at best. World Cup dreaming was supposed to take place in 2006, when the tournament came to Germany.

Yet there they stood, hugging and crying as the around 1,000 German fans in the packed Seoul stadium outcheered the 64,000-strong South Korean fans for the first time in the game's 93 minutes. Germany, with a 1-0 victory over upstart South Korea, is heading to the World Cup final.

The difference was scored by midfielder Michael Ballack in the 75th minute. The injury-plagued Ballack took a nice cross from Oliver Neuville as he charged into the box. He struck with his right foot, was blocked by South Korea’s Jae Woon Lee, and then put the rebound in the back of the net with the other foot.

The score was the reward of one of the most aggressive games Germany has played in this World Cup. Germany spent a great amount of time in the South Korean side of the field, pulling midfield and defender Christoph Metzelder forward to increase their size advantage.

Taking advantage of Korean fatigue

The relentless attack was the result of thorough research before the game, said captain Oliver Kahn.

"We saw that from game to game they lost something," said the goalkeeper. "We knew that if we stayed halfway together, it would be enough."

Germany did have to rely on Kahn’s spectacular goal keeping at least once. In the 8th minute the keeper made a diving one-handed save to his right on a powerfully struck ball from Korea’s Soo Chun Lee. Kahn kept his trademark aggresiveness throughout the game, charging out from the goal to stifle the speedy South Korean attack.

Defense steps up

But Kahn could rely on his defenders a lot more than in the USA match, where he withstood and onslaught of shots. Christoph Metzelder, the 21-year-old yearling who stepped in when injuries struck the German side before the Cup began continued the fantastic tournament he’s had.

Metzelder not only used his size to stop Korean attackers on defense, he also showed some offensive prowess, setting up decent chances in the first half.

"The secret of our success today was the four-man backfield," Metzelder said. "We fought hard."

Referee Urs Meier, closely watched after accusations that FIFA referees were favoring the Korean team, was restrained in his whistle-blowing. He gave out only three yellow cards, but one of them was to Ballack who, following his yellow in the USA game must sit out the final.

It’s still too early to tell how the absence of Germany’s play-making star will hurt the team. For now, though, Germany is celebrating its unexpected final appearance, where it will face either Brazil or Turkey.

Celebrations in Germany

Thousands of fans celebrated across Germany. Traffic came to a standstill in Berlin’s shopping district, the Kufürstendamm, as hundreds of fans walked through the streets waving German flags.

Chancellor Gerhard Schröder was quick with congratulations, and said he hoped for a World Cup victory. His opponent in this September’s federal elections, Edmund Stoiber said the German side had "earned the victory."

South Korea, which saw its team exceed all expectations by reaching the semifinals, finally came back down to earth. Around 10,000 fans had gathered in the streets outside the stadium before the match, all dressed in the red that has hypnotized so many of their team’s opponents during this World Cup.

After Meier blew the final whistle, the fans continued to cheer their team on even as their dreams of a final lay dashed on the Seoul stadium floor.