When the German national team leaves for Iceland this Tuesday, it could be that one or two childhood memories are on board. At least the older national players could remember: a national coach who was so furious late at night in the Laugardalsvöllur stadium in Reykjavík that he produced a small football and television historical moment.
Rudi Völler’s cheese-dung-wheat beer dialogue (the other roughnesses were politely concealed) with the moderator Waldemar Hartmann celebrated the 18th anniversary on Monday. The national team has not been to Iceland since then, and the expectation management of a national coach is no longer so entertaining.
As far as that goes, Hansi Flick had a much more grateful job on Sunday evening than Völler after that dreary 0-0 in September 2003. There would have been plenty of reason to praise, yes, to rave about the victory against Armenia. But Flick had resolved not to applaud his team too enthusiastically for this 6-0 and the associated jump to first place in the World Cup qualifying group – which then turned out to be not so easy when this mean television director just kept the next one these wonderful goals scored, one more beautiful than the other and all with punchlines that would have given a story of their own.
“For now, that’s the benchmark”
The one from Serge Gnabry, for example, the attacker who was long accompanied and promoted by Flick and who scored the first two hits, an “impulse that we needed,” as the national coach said. Those of Messrs. Werner and Reus, who have been looking for luck in the national team for a bit longer and have now contributed the hits number three and four. That of Jonas Hofmann’s premier goal, in a new role as right-back, or that of Florian Wirtz and Karim Adeyemi, the U-21 European champions, who set a magical end point and at the same time a small sign for the future.
And because Flick had of course also liked all of this, it seemed as if two forces were pulling inside him: The head that told him: Better to step on the brakes on Wednesday (8.45 p.m. in the FAZ live ticker for World Cup qualification and on RTL) is finally being played again in Iceland. And the stomach, which somehow wanted to come into its own on this late summer evening, which gave off so much warming energy. The formula in which he brought both together was: “That is the standard for now.”
Lustful to defend and thrilling, often enough even irresistible, on the way to the goal – in Flick’s second game as national coach, the audience got a very good impression of where the journey should go under him. “We had actually imagined the start under Hansi as it did today,” said Leon Goretzka, which was also to be understood as self-criticism after the disappointing, sedate 2-0 win against Liechtenstein on Thursday.
In St. Gallen, however, Goretzka himself had not yet participated, and the Munich man’s speed of thought and action was one of the greatest gains against Armenia in the team, which Flick composed a little differently this time. He played a key role in the creation of three goals.
Together with Gnabry and Leroy Sané, who shook off his weaknesses from Thursday in a remarkable way, but continued to play out his strengths with relish, a Bavarian triangle was created that could also represent the standard that Flick spoke of in the future. And of course you can also add Joshua Kimmich, even if he wasn’t quite as conspicuous in Stuttgart.
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Right from the start, Flick made no secret of the fact that football, with which he led FC Bayern to seven titles, should also be recognizable in his new job. In fact, it was a best-of-Bayern on Sunday, but colleagues from other clubs fitted in perfectly on the vacant seats, Reus and Werner in the lead.
Even if the Armenians were friendly towards the Germans with their offensive approach: The result was a football that made it easy for the audience to fall in love again after years under Joachim Löw, which were more marked by relationship crises. The 18,000 in Stuttgart savored the moment, after an hour La Ola rolled through the arena, and there was also singing: “Oh, how beautiful it is.”
The players and their coach also enjoyed the unusual feeling – on the one hand, that fans were there again, but even more, that they played their way into their hearts straight away. Flick spoke with satisfaction of the “togetherness” that had arisen. “We wanted to play football that inspires, football that is fun, joy for more.” Goretzka said: “You look into bright eyes and bright faces, that’s what football is about.” Feelings of butterflies everywhere.
However, it was a bit like it is in a newly established relationship: The uncertainty as to how sustainable the new happiness will prove is somehow part of it and also found its way in Stuttgart every now and then – for example with Werner, der had to fear no contradiction when he pointed out that Armenia was not exactly an opponent like from a World Cup knockout game.
Or with Goretzka, who acted as a warning in Flick’s sense: “Even under Jogi there were always good games in which we let our class flash. Now we have to perform consistently at a high level. ”What he didn’t have to add: Until the“ deepest low point ”, which Völler spoke sarcastically about 18 years ago, the way under Löw wasn’t far.
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