German football is on the ground. Yet again. For national coach Hansi Flick, the 4-1 defeat against Japan was one defeat too many. First of all, a trio around Rudi Völler should judge it.
As a farewell, Hansi Flick signed autographs in the bright sunshine and forced a smile.
The public training on Sunday after the apparent 1:4 disgrace of his national soccer team, which was again humiliated by Japan, was the 58-year-old’s last appearance as national coach. Against Vice World Champion France this Tuesday in Dortmund, the two sports directors Rudi Völler, 19 years after his resignation as team boss, and Hannes Wolf as well as former national player Sandro Wagner will take over on an interim basis.
“The committees agreed that the senior men’s national team needs new impetus after the recent disappointing results,” said DFB President Bernd Neuendorf, according to the statement. “With a view to the European Championship in our own country, we need a spirit of optimism and confidence. For me personally, it’s one of the most difficult decisions of my tenure so far.”
The trio around the former crowd favorite Völler should only take over against the French. Sporting success has “top priority. That’s why the decision was unavoidable,” said Neuendorf. According to the association, a successor to the home European Championship in 2024 should be presented “in a timely manner”.
Nagelsmann in focus
According to the “Bild” newspaper and the Funke media group, the DFB is now trying hard to recruit Julian Nagelsmann. The 36-year-old was chased away from FC Bayern and is still contractually bound to the Munich team. It’s all a question of money. Several names are being traded, but the only thing that has been clear in public opinion since Saturday evening is that Flick is no longer the right one.
“I think we’re doing well and I’m the right coach.” That was the sentence from Flick that will remain from this weekend in Wolfsburg, where the deep problems, the cracks and the desolate state of the DFB selection became clear, just like in the disastrous preliminary round exit at the World Cup in Qatar nine months ago. At that time, the DFB had stuck with Flick, but nothing had improved since then – on the contrary. The last time there were three defeats in a row was almost 40 years ago.
And so the training events in the small stadium in the green and white Wolfsburg colors seemed surreal. The coaching team unwound the program for the reservists like on any other day. The regular players around goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen, who had been Germany’s best despite four goals conceded, showed up to the officially 2376 fans and then withdrew to the nearby team hotel. The national team prepared for France.
Worries about German football – who should take over?
“We will continue to do that, there is nothing to explain about it,” Flick said on Saturday evening. “We are convinced of what we are doing. That’s why it continues like this for me.” Things turned out differently. As in 2000, when Völler stepped in during a deep crisis, the former world champion is now sitting on the bench again.
The national coach, his team, which he had again overwhelmed with experiments, the DFB – the overall picture was worrying, despite the beautiful pictures on Sunday morning, nine months before the home European Championship. Völler spoke to the fans before training and said it was “natural that we would stand here.” Flick said nothing more.
Immediately after the 1:4 shock, in which only Leroy Sané’s goal to make it 1:1 briefly raised hopes of a change in mood in the European Championship host country, the names of those who had been like Flick for weeks were being whispered around the Wolfsburg stadium again shadows accompanied. In addition to Nagelsmann, there are also Jürgen Klopp (56), who still seems to be unattainably tied to Liverpool FC, and reformer Ralf Rangnick (65). But Austria’s national coach is very successful in the neighboring country. Matthias Sammer (56) is also mentioned.
Stefan Kuntz (60) trains Turkey. The former successful U21 coach might not be averse to returning to the DFB, even if the association once preferred Flick to him. In November, the national team will certainly play against Rangnick in Vienna at the end of the year and probably before that against Kuntz in Berlin. Or does one of the two switch sides?
The Austrian Oliver Glasner (49), who led Eintracht Frankfurt to the Europa League triumph, is on the market. Record national player Lothar Matthäus said that the national coach did not fit into his “life plan”.
After the Japan debacle: Players defended Flick
The task force hastily installed after the World Cup with the grandees around Völler, Sammer, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, Neuendorf and DFL boss Hans-Joachim Watzke is said to have joined forces at least in part on Sunday. The 1:4 against Japan was another step back, at least.
“It’s not about pointing the finger at the coach or anyone else,” said Joshua Kimmich, who played a central role in Flick’s failed system experiment. The Bayern professional didn’t do too badly as a right-back who moved into the build-up game, but as a team nothing worked. There were also “individual errors,” as Flick complained. First and foremost from Dortmund’s Nico Schlotterbeck, who was still allowed to stay on the pitch for a long time.
“At the end of the day we have to trust the coach that he makes the right decisions, that he knows what is right and good for the team,” said Kimmich. You “have to” trust him – conviction sounds different. “The Japanese are playing a good role and are currently definitely in the top 10 or top 15 in the world. And we don’t belong there at the moment,” said returnee Thomas Müller. At least in theory. “In practice it looks different.”
The international malice (“Disaster for Germany”, “Bizarre leadership style”, “Mega-crisis”) is hitting the DFB hard before the European Championship world event in its own country. On Sunday, the former members also made punitive judgments. “You can put all this possession football in the trash can. This is not the team that I imagine will make the turnaround,” said record national player Matthäus. Chancellor Olaf Scholz reported from New Delhi and stated in an interview on Welt TV that he was “sad” about the DFB selection.