Before the game against Spain
Bierhoff: Flick is “calm and stable”
Oliver Bierhoff relies on coach Flick’s wealth of experience. photo
© Federico Gambarini/dpa
Oliver Bierhoff admits a downward trend in the DFB-Elf in the past four years. Before the home European Championship in 2024, another World Cup knockout would be fatal. Hansi Flick’s experience should help against Spain.
In the World Cup group match against Spain, Oliver Bierhoff is also building on the experience of Hansi Flick as a former successful coach at FC Bayern Munich and as an assistant to ex-national coach Joachim Löw.
“He seems very calm and stable. He has also been in important situations with Bayern Munich and also as an assistant coach,” said the DFB director about the national coach in an interview with MagentaTV.
After the 1: 2 at the start against Japan, the national soccer team in Qatar is threatened with an early World Cup knockout in the preliminary round if they lose again against fearful opponents Spain on Sunday (8 p.m. / ZDF and MagentaTV). Flick had won seven club titles with Bayern. With the DFB-Elf he became world champion in 2014 as an assistant coach.
dissonance in the team
For Bierhoff, it doesn’t matter whether Spain are the opponents in the second group game or in the knockout stages. “You would wish for an easier opponent. But if it were a quarter-finals, you would have to go in the same way,” said the 54-year-old, who has been responsible for organizing everything to do with the national team for 18 years. Bierhoff described the game at the Al Bait Stadium as “our first final”. National coach Hansi Flick has scheduled the final training session for Saturday evening (local time) in Al-Shamal.
Bierhoff did not want to overestimate alleged dissonances in the team, including between the different parts of the team. “Each team has its own identity. Basically, even if it crackles: We had very successful national teams, some of which didn’t talk to each other when you hear it in retrospect. This myth that eleven friends have to be there – those times are over anyway , and that didn’t exist before either. A certain amount of friction, a conflict, is always good,” he told ARD.
A World Cup failure would have long-term consequences for Bierhoff – precisely because of the upcoming European Championship at home in 19 months. “At least there’s more to it than that, it’s about the enthusiasm for the national team,” warned the DFB director before the mood would drop if there was another group knockout like four years ago in Russia.
“I’m not denying that, we’ve been in a difficult phase since 2018. During that time we didn’t manage to make this breakthrough emotionally and in terms of results. In this respect, it would of course be important and helpful in the direction of the European Championship to play a successful tournament here,” said Bierhoff. The goal with Flick after he took office in August 2021 was: “Back to the top of the world.”