On the way to the EM next year the German national team is in an earnings crisis. In the last international phase there was only one win in three games, a tedious 2-1 against Ukraine. The other two games ended 3: 3 against Turkey and Switzerland. Recognized a lack of automatisms and a weak game structure ARD-Expert Bastian Schweinsteiger – who, however, also took Joachim Löw under protection. The world champion underpinned the support for the national coach in Kicker – but also found critical words.
Löw “definitely (…) has the quality as a coach and the experience to get it right,” said Schweinsteiger and added: “He’s the longest coach of a national team in the world and knows what is important. But ultimately the fans judge the team based on their performance, results and successes.” In this regard, the DFB team has had bigger problems since moving into the EM semi-finals in 2016 (at that time with Schweinsteiger). The end of the World Cup in the preliminary round in 2018 and the bumpy upheaval in recent years have left their mark.
“Do you want to leave out Müller and Boateng, who played a key role in the 2020 triple win? If I were the national coach, Boateng and Müller would be in the national team.”The former vice-captain of the DFB team and the national team said clearly, but also admitted: “But I am not the national coach. Boateng in particular would help the currently weak defense: “When I talk about the defense, I could also name Bonucci or the Spaniard Sergio Ramos. We currently have a center-back with this class in Germany – and I don’t see that through Bayern’s glasses “, said Schweinsteiger.
Schweinsteiger, who was active in his career for FC Bayern, Manchester United and Chicago Fire and played 121 times for the German national team (24 goals), does not see the upheaval in the DFB team as negatively as many other football connoisseurs – least of all in the attack, which coach legend Arsène Wenger had identified as the biggest construction site. Schweinsteiger: “The offensive is good, even if you can’t be 100 percent satisfied with the exploitation of chances. The front third is well occupied.”
Recently, however, there have been “a lot of slight mistakes”. That is why the former midfielder demands loudly and clearly: “With a view to the 2021 European Championship, a framework has to be found and a system in which the team feels comfortable.” The young players need “more determination, they have to want to inspire the fans”. The DFB team should not only spark a certain atmosphere and euphoria at major tournaments; “The national team should not be indifferent to the people in our country either. It is one of the most important teams in Germany, and it has to be valued again”, demands Schweinsteiger.
