Sam_B said:
Van Gaal called his position that of a shadow striker - a position he used before for Jari Litmanen at Ajax - and they have a lot in common.
He comes deep out of the midfield and knows exactly when he has to join the attacker and where to position, is the team worker, has the best eye for his fellows players and the situation or how a situation will change when he takes action, is very fast (he has the high speed that Robben has even if he might be slower on the first metres, but he reacts very fast), works in the defense...
He is wasted a little as sole right midfielder as he has clear tasks there and does not have the freedom to roam around - but that does not matter so much at the German team as the recent German tactics is that whenever he leaves his right side somebody else (Özil, Khedira or even Klose) will take over his position and especially Özil and Klose take advantage of the spaces he finds... During the World Cup Löw wanted to have fast forwardlike wingers - he just played twice 45 minutes before it and since then is in the starting formation.
How good he really is and what value he has especially on his position a lot do not understand as the most do just watch the ball and the actions with it but not the special doings of a bystanding player. Through his movements and his actions he often manages that Ribery stands there with only one opponent or none - as he draws them away - or just has the right timing to come into the box to get the attention away from Gomez, so he can shoot without interference of the defender. He draws the holes that Robben and Schweinsteiger use to shot out of the second row...
In the new setups he switches positions a lot with mostly Robben - so no defender can be really sure what kind of agressor he will have next...