Germany manager Joachim Low says the team changes he made for his side’s 4-2 victory over Greece in Friday’s Euro 2012 quarterfinal were “cheeky” but were needed to make his team “unpredictable”.
Die Mannschaft ran out comfortable winners, although they had a scare in the second-half when Giorgios Samaras equalised before they netted three goals in 15 minutes to seal their passage into another competition’s semifinal.
However, Low made a number of changes to his starting line-up to face the Greeks, some claimed arrogantly, with Mario Gomez out for Miroslav Klose, while Marco Reus came in for Thomas Muller among others, but the German boss defended his changes.
“After three wins here, I wasn’t dissatisfied with my team in the slightest, but I had been planning on making the changes to the lineup for a while. I thought we had to be unpredictable against Greece, because I felt they would be ready for us,” Low said.
“It is good to be cheeky like that from time to time. I thought the plan worked out quite well. Looking ahead, I think the four teams in the semi-finals will be serious contenders for the title.
“We know from now on games of this magnitude are decided by small details, and we can’t allow a single mistake.”
Low also touched on his side’s achievement at reaching yet another semifinal in a major tournament.
“For the fourth time in a row, we have qualified for the semi-final of a major tournament,” he said.
“Nobody thought we could have done that back in 2004. We have won 15 games in a row. We are the youngest team at this tournament and have great prospects for the future.
“I am proud of my players. We absolutely deserved to win tonight.”