Hansi Flick is happy about his successful home premiere with half a dozen hits. Two offensive forces in particular received praise from the national coach. But the focus is again on the Iceland game.
Hansi Flick applauded his players gratefully after his first football festival as national coach. The 18,086 spectators in Stuttgart cheered half a dozen wonderful goals on the 56-year-old’s home debut – and sang “Oh, how beautiful!” With the 6: 0 (4: 0) against Armenia, the national team stormed on Sunday evening, led by double goal scorer Serge Gnabry, in the World Cup qualification in first place in Group J. In the top game against the Armenians, who offered large leeway, the fans, who were often disappointed recently, got a first Tasting of the offensive football propagated by Flick with pressing, quick direct combinations and goals from the delicatessen department.
National coach Hansi Flick answered the questions at the press conference in a correspondingly good mood.
What is your conclusion after the clear victory? Did all plans work out?
We set out to do two things. First of all, of course, it goes without saying that we will take the championship lead with a win. And the second thing was that we want to take the next step, that we simply play football that inspires, that we play football that is fun, joyful for more. That was the case. No more and no less.
The fans were thrilled. How important was it to play in front of more than 18,000 spectators again?
I said in advance that I have very good memories of Stuttgart because there is a great atmosphere here. Today was exactly the same, it was such a togetherness. The team with a great performance, the audience with an inspiring atmosphere. Yes, you got a little goosebumps because you haven’t seen it for a long time. That’s why you have to say a compliment to Stuttgart, to the fans who were in the stadium.
Karim Adeyemi scored on his debut. What distinguishes him?
He showed what he showed in Salzburg at the beginning of the season, that he is simply a good enforcer in the penalty area and that he acts very self-confidently. So I’m happy that he scored the goal because he is very self-confident. Nevertheless, there is still a lot of work to be done, including for him. But he does it well like any other player.
They had a youngster faction on the pitch. Is that the future?
Florian Wirtz came in. Jamal Musiala has played a lot at Bayern. They showed what talent they are. Just like David Raum, who played a little less and still showed where his strengths are. That is one thing that is important because you always need alternatives in the positions. That is doing very well and is a good process for the team that is being initiated. That’s why we can be very satisfied with the squad.
How did goal-guarantor Serge Gnabry regain his old strength after the disappointing European Championship?
He started the season very well at Bayern Munich and took that with him to the national team. So we are happy that he opened the door with the 1-0 for such a great football evening. I think that was important because it gave the team confidence. It was an impulse that was needed.
The focus was on Leroy Sané. How do you rate his performance?
I’ve already seen approaches in Munich. And I saw approaches in Liechtenstein. And I think that he showed what quality he is. I am happy when he is so agile, so active, because he is on the move with an ease that is impressive. At the moment you have the feeling that he has a lot of self-confidence. That’s exactly what he needs. He’s on a really good way.
The nine-point goal for the international three-pack has not yet been achieved. What’s next for the Iceland game on Wednesday?
The game is over again. The view is to Iceland. To be focused there is absolutely the most important thing for us, for a competitive athlete, to be able to perform again. That is why this is the task that we will tackle from Tuesday. Now let’s look at the new tasks.
After the Liechtenstein game there was criticism, today there was great jubilation. Where does the team really stand?
We did a lot of things well in the game against Liechtenstein, but many of them weren’t so good either. I attached great importance to the positioning today. How can you play the rooms freely? That was important to us. We just want to show that we can play great football and that the team also has the precision in their finals and also the confidence in their quality. You saw that, we did it better. That is why it is also a benchmark. It will be such that that is the standard. We still have a lot to do.
Can you also plan with Kai Havertz and Robin Gosens? Are all players going to Reykjavik?
We take all players with us. Kai Havertz has already trained again, not on the pitch, but on the bike. With Robin Gosens everything is better, he was already on the pitch. We assume that everyone will come along.
