Hansi Flick repeated the message so often that it was clear that everyone should hear it. Sounds honorable, according to a national coach who partly takes responsibility for a defeat like the one against Hungary. In truth, there was a tough calculus behind it as a coach, it was more an internal signal than an external signal: Listen, I won’t slap you in the pan even after a game like this.
Flick did the opposite of what various Bundesliga coaches (Tedesco, Kovac) recently sent out with their violent team scolding – in the end to their own detriment. You can be sure that this will be appreciated in the team. But one can just as firmly assume that Flick spoke tacheles internally, a game like that on Friday in Leipzig cannot be offered even by the most understanding national coach.
