Dhe first and most important man was missing. Hansi Flick, that much was clear beforehand, will only speak to the audience on Wednesday, if the protocol obliges him to do so, before the first of three World Cup qualifiers that are due for the national soccer team and their new head coach. The fact that he gave way to his entire quartet of assistants in addition to the old and new captain Manuel Neuer at the first press conference of the restart phase, however, went very well with Flick, who uttered the word “team” ten times before he even said once “I” thought.
What could be seen and heard in Stuttgart on Monday made us curious, especially how boldly Danny Röhl presented himself, the 32-year-old man who was already Flick’s assistant at FC Bayern and now apparently the closest confidante to the national team will be his side. It is possible that Flick will want to straighten out such an impression at one of the next press conferences after the analysis of the speaking time revealed a considerable imbalance between Röhl and Marcus Sorg, who was part of the inventory under Joachim Löw – a primus inter pares should be in Flick’s team term not be provided.
In any case, Röhl, who started as a student of Ralf Rangnick in the Leipzig RB universe, then went to Southampton with Ralph Hasenhüttl before a call from Flicks lured him to FC Bayern, already presented a very catchy impression of the future game idea, Flick’s successful model at FC Bayern as a blueprint. “Speed, intensity, activity”, these were his three catchphrases, which, in addition to balls and cones, he wanted to take with him as an inventory for the first training session in the afternoon – and which gained in suggestive power when you put them over the picture of the last European Championship.
It sounded like more than just hints between Röhl’s lines when, with a view to topics such as pressing, conquering the ball, switching moments, he said that the team should “live these things with conviction again”. The beautiful, old football word “pomadig” should be on the index under Flick and Co. under maximum penalty. “The view,” said Röhl, “should always be directed forward. That also has something to do with courage. “
New wants to be world champion
From this courage, which Flick has already exemplified elsewhere and now also demanded from the national team, Captain Neuer seemed to have already taken an effective dose. The FC Bayern goalkeeper did not dwell on self-evident milestones such as the nine points to be collected against Liechtenstein (Thursday), Armenia (Sunday) and Iceland (Wednesday), and also the announcement that “something make up for ”, faded into the background when Neuer got down to business. He said he had continued with the national team because he had “very big goals”, specifically: “If possible, be world champion with this team”.
World Champion? When asked how this confidence matched with the impressions of the two previous tournaments, Neuer fell into raptures about European champions Italy. “Italy has been a unit, how active they have been, how they stuck together, that was fun to watch,” he said. “This is how it has to be for us too.” Neuer seemed convinced that in Russia 2018 and at the EM 2021 it wasn’t the quality, but, even if he didn’t put it that way, the wasted talent. “I know what potential we have,” he said, “unfortunately we weren’t able to access that in the last few tournaments.”
A hybrid from Italy, Bavaria and Saxony
So if you closed your eyes on Monday, left the Löw era behind and tried to imagine the national team for the coming months and years, a hybrid of passion and corps spirit all’italiana and Bavarian overwhelming style (with a Saxon touch) emerged – delightful, But it is still far from reality, even if Röhl saw no reason why the national team should not be capable of what has made the Munich-based team under Flick into a model that is admired throughout Europe.
“In terms of quality, I am completely convinced that we can play this kind of game here too,” he said. It is no secret that the central axis, the importance of which Neuer emphasized on Monday, will have a strong resemblance to the Munich model.
New specialists
You could almost think that captain Neuer, who is now having his second national coach after twelve years and 104 international matches, isn’t going to see much new things, he has known Flick for a bit longer, like other companions. But firstly, he will have to adjust to a new goalkeeping coach, Andreas Kronenberg from Freiburg, and secondly, there is a new member of the team for very special detailed work, which Neuer should also enjoy.
The Dane Mads Buttgereit should ensure that standard situations don’t fizzle out or even backfire, as was the case recently. On Monday he already told us how an analysis tool from golf helps him analyze movement and contact with the ball. Or how he helped his compatriot Mikkel Damsgaard to get his almost magical free-kick goal at the European Championships. Two things seemed important to him: That even such a singular moment was the result of teamwork – Flick would have liked to hear it. And that the run-up – Flick will know – was a bit longer.
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