It’s almost a ritual requirement for new national players to tell the public about their first reaction to being invited to the DFB. It happens again and again that players scold the national coach because they think the phone call is a scam; Mark Uth, then Schalke 04, frantically left the hardware store a few years ago when Jogi Löw unexpectedly startled him – only hours later did he realize that he had neglected to get firewood; Mainz’s Anton Stach made two wrong turns last week after Hansi Flick sent him his call for international matches.
Julian Weigl, 26, received his first nomination for the national team in May 2016, but he still felt like a young debutant when the call of his homeland reached him at a surprise party in honor of his teammate Soualhio Meite.
The display showed him that a certain Hans-Dieter Flick had called, apparently he had saved his number – but he still didn’t want to believe it. He looked for a quiet corner and called back, and what followed was a chain of telephones: Weigl informed the parents, the wife, friends and sponsors. “Obviously we were extremely happy,” he says.
Julian Weigl says he became “mature and grown up” in Portugal
Weigl hasn’t been considered for so long that he had to be considered an ex-national player, his most recent appearance was almost exactly five years ago: in the 1-0 win against England, at Lukas Podolski’s farewell gala, he had a home game in Dortmund. At the beginning of 2020 he left BVB, switched to Benfica Lisbon and was therefore a little further away from the national team.
If the signs are not deceptive, he will be able to show on his return to Germany whether he has sharpened his game in the meantime, as he said on Thursday: “He has become more mature and adult” in Portugal, his use in defensive midfield is more aggressive and his orientation more offensive.
He will probably be able to prove all of this on Saturday evening in the friendly against Israel if Flick entrusts him with central midfield instead of Joshua Kimmich, who is absent due to father duties. It would fit into the logic of the coaching staff’s planning.
Julian Weigl was there in 2016, he even made it into the EM squad.
(Photo: Kenzo Tribouillard/AFP)
In addition to Kimmich, his usual neighbor Leon Goretzka is also missing from the squad. In anticipation of two friendlies, that’s not too bad, but Flick wants to be prepared if a situation like this should happen again. Weigl was a serious six in Dortmund’s times, and he still describes himself as a player “who tries to organize and give stability”.
In this role and as a safety-conscious ball distributor, he limited himself a bit at the time, but now, he says, he “looks ahead more often”. He should show his influence on the big picture in order to make an impression, there will not be many more opportunities beyond the upcoming test track, and there is no lack of competition: Wolfsburg’s Max Arnold was allowed to introduce himself to Flick in November, the Mainzer Stach is ready, and in Cologne Salih Özcan is waiting for the magic call, which he would then have to report to posterity.