World Cup against Costa Rica
First Flick, then Bierhoff – ARD duo Schweinsteiger/Sedlaczek torments DFB officials with uncomfortable questions
Bastian Schweinsteiger and Esther Sedlaczek
© ARD / star
Bastian Schweinsteiger has often been accused of whitewashing and softening things as a TV expert. But on the evening of the defeat against Costa Rica, he and his ARD colleague Esther Sedlaczek really stood out with their interviews.
Much has been said on this memorable evening around the catacombs of Al Khour Stadium in Qatar. But there are probably only a few sentences that will be remembered like those of ARD expert Bastian Schweinsteiger, when he verbally dismantled the performance of the DFB team after the disillusioning performance of the German national soccer team against Costa Rica. “I’m really disappointed and shocked how it went. The performance of the national team is not enough. That’s not enough,” said the 38-year-old.
His core accusation was not directed against the sporting qualities of the players on the pitch, but Schweinsteiger accused the DFB team of a lack of attitude. Other teams would have “burned” more than the German throughout the tournament.
You could really tell from the 2014 World Champion how much this Larifari kick went against the grain. Schweinsteiger flailed his arms, maltreating a red ballpoint pen with which he had probably previously made notes on all the mistakes made by his former colleagues. He himself had dragged himself through extra time in the 2014 World Cup final against Argentina with blood on his forehead and cramps in his legs – and now he had to watch as David Raum embarrassed Jamal Musiala with a careless pass, from which the 1: 1 emerged. “I like the David Raum, but I’m never allowed to play a ball like that,” Schweinsteiger said.
Schweinsteiger surprises with sharp criticism
The harshness of the verdict probably also surprised national coach Hansi Flick, who initially wanted to dismiss it as “absolute nonsense” in a joint interview with Schweinsteiger and his ARD colleague Esther Sedlaczek. When Flick asked what he was doing, Schweinstiger followed up: “There are situations where I notice from the outside: The five percent concentration is missing – like today at 1: 1 as Campell completely free in the middle standing”, Schweinsteiger justified his accusation. “Firing means not only always attacking, but also thinking in your head and being there.”
Against Japan and Costa Rica, the team “too often released the opponent and didn’t deliver it. (…) I expected more. That’s what I mean by burning. I saw that much more clearly in other games. (…) Tonio Rüdiger usually does that. But the others? I’m just missing something there,” Schweinsteiger said.
Sedlaczek doesn’t let Bierhoff off the hook
But not only Schweinsteiger was in good form on this evening, which was so disappointing for football Germany, his partner Esther Sedlaczek also didn’t let Flick and then manager Oliver Bierhoff off the hook. Respectful in tone but tough on the matter, she confronted Bierhoff in particular with his own responsibility for the failure of the national team in three major tournaments in the past four years. “Who are you angry at?” She asked specifically when Bierhoff tried to save himself over time with tried and tested phrases. “Could you have dealt with the subject of one love pads differently?” “Does your position need a change as well?” Hard-hitting questions, as you normally only know from ZDF colleague Marietta Slomka.
One has to give Bierhoff and Flick credit for not ducking the uncomfortable questions, but actually countering them with arguments. If the much-vaunted analysis of the botched World Cup appearance in Qatar is to come soon, then Schweinsteiger and Sedlaczek set the tone that evening. The game against Costa Rica may have been a disappointment for the German football fans, but the subsequent processing in the TV studio was not.