When André Schürrle lifts the ball into the penalty area and Mario Götze takes it with his chest, when the television commentator Tom Bartels yells "Mach him" into his microphone and Götze then does it when the players and coaches from Germany have almost reached the climax of their sporting lives Miroslav Klose sits with dirty socks on the substitutes' bench in the Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro.

From there he watches the final of the soccer World Cup against Argentina, since Joachim Löw, the national coach, ordered what is perhaps the most momentous change in the history of the national team in the 88th minute: Klose out, Götze in.

Christopher Meltzer

Sports correspondent in Munich.

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    Later, when the Germans strut through the media zone with gold medals, this moment is discussed several times in the 88th minute.

    One interview is about coach Löw, who is said to have said to Götze on the sideline: "Show the world that you are better than Messi!" to Gotze is said to have said: “You do the thing!” One change, many heroic stories.

    Change without effect

    Now, with a gap of seven years, this moment from the Maracanã can also be interpreted differently in terms of sports history with a view to the development of the national team.

    The change of Joachim Löw, who replaced the real nine-man Miroslav Klose with the fake nine-man Mario Götze, initiated the ascent to the climax.

    And at the same time the descent.

    On Tuesday evening, when Löw wanted to change the duel against England in the round of 16 of the European Championship in London, he tried again with fresh players.

    He sends Serge Gnabry, Leroy Sané and Jamal Musiala one after the other onto the grass, where they are supposed to navigate the ball with their fine feet through the traffic jam in front of and in the English penalty area.

    They are reminiscent of Gotze, not Klose.

    In the end, Germany lost 0-2.

    Lots of changes, no hero stories.

    Two phases of the Löw era: with and without toilets

    It is logical that the era of national coach Joachim Löw, who held power for almost 15 years, ended with the end of the round of 16. Since his last international match in London, it has also been clear that this era can be divided into two phases: one before and one after the World Cup in Brazil. Back then, in the summer of 2014, Löw led his team to the throne of world football. And although he did a lot of things right before and a lot of things wrong afterwards, it is probably no coincidence that these two phases can also be demarcated as follows: the time with Miroslav Klose - and the time without him.

    On Tuesday lunchtime, four hours before kick-off in London, Miroslav Klose, 43 years old, speaks four names on the phone. It is center forwards that he noticed during these days of the European Championship. He first names Robert Lewandowski, whom he saw in training every day last season when he worked as an assistant coach for FC Bayern. And otherwise? Harry Kane from Tottenham, but also Patrik Schick from Leverkusen and André Silva from Frankfurt. They have what Klose wants from strikers: “A nose for situations, a neat finish in the box with the right and left foot, good speed, strength of the headers. That's a big package for me. ”And of course it says something about the state of the national team that he spontaneously picked a Pole, an Englishman,lists a Czech and a Portuguese, but not a German.

    Walter, Müller, Völler, Klose

    In the history of German football there is a connection between great strikers and great titles that cannot be definitively proven empirically, but has not yet been falsified.

    1954: Fritz Walter.

    1974: Gerd Müller.

    1990: Rudi Völler.

    2014: Miroslav Klose.

    Four strikers, four world championship titles.

    And now?