She was a long time coming. It took almost 45 minutes before the press conference scheduled for Wednesday afternoon finally began. When Franziska Wülle, the new spokeswoman for the German national soccer team, sat down with Thilo Kehrer and Jonas Hofmann in the media room on the DFB campus, she addressed the almost 40 media representatives present directly from the podium and referred to a player who was responsible for this date was also announced, but was missing – Manuel Neuer.
Wülle let it be known that Neuer, the captain, and Leon Goretzka had tested positive for the corona virus. There was a corona case in a player’s private environment. A test was then carried out, which was positive for the duo. Both FC Bayern players traveled back to Munich in the car shortly before 3 p.m. in the afternoon. Both players are out of the last Nations League games of the year on Friday in Leipzig against Hungary (8.45 p.m. / ZDF) and on Monday in England (8.45 p.m. / RTL). Dortmund attacking player Julian Brandt also left on Wednesday because of a flu infection. Hoffenheim goalkeeper Oliver Baumann was nominated for captain Neuer by national coach Hansi Flick, and Maximilian Arnold from VfL Wolfsburg joined the team on Wednesday afternoon.
Neuer and Goretzka, both of whom are symptom-free, had already contracted the coronavirus in 2021. Before arriving on Monday, all players had to test themselves. There haven’t been any anomalies yet. Neuer and Goretzka were with FC Bayern at a team meeting at the Munich Oktoberfest last Sunday. The contact persons of Neuer and Goretzka in the DFB squad should now be tested daily. A game cancellation on Friday is not an issue given the current situation.
Manuel Neuer and Leon Goretzka (at the wheel) left the national team together after positive corona tests
Source: dpa/Sebastian Gollnow
“The alarm bells are still going off. Because it immediately means: you’re out, you can’t help the team, you’re sitting around in the room, that’s never nice. Dealing with it has become a bit trivial, generally in everyday life,” said Jonas Hofmann when asked about dealing with Corona: “Nevertheless, our medical department acted well and correctly, and that’s how we will handle it in the future. I hope we don’t have any more cases. But then we’ll also make sure that nobody else is affected.”
Ter Stegen for Neuer in the DFB goal
Most recently, a meeting of the German national team in November last year was overshadowed by a corona case. A PCR test carried out on the players and staff immediately after arrival had shown a positive test result for Niklas Süle. “The national player who tested positive for Covid-19, who is fully vaccinated and currently symptom-free, was immediately isolated,” it said in a statement. In addition to Süle, who now plays for BVB but was still under contract with FC Bayern at the time, four other players who, despite negative tests in the context of contact tracing, were classified as category 1 contact persons, were instructed by the health department in Wolfsburg to be in the quarters of the DFB teams have to go into quarantine – Serge Gnabry, Joshua Kimmich, Jamal Musiala and Karim Adeyemi. They later left.
Flick surprises with a newcomer when nominated for the squad
No Mario Götze, no Mats Hummels – but surprise man Armel Bella-Kotchap. With a newcomer and a squad that is otherwise completely geared towards the World Cup, the DFB team will play its final Nations League games against Hungary and England.
Marc-Andre ter Stegen, who got a break from Hansi Flick in the four international matches in the spring, should play for Manuel Neuer. Neuer was absent from training on Tuesday due to an injury to his big toe. While most of the team-mates were standing on the training ground, he slipped through the first floor of the team’s quarters, the Kempinski Hotel in Frankfurt, in flip-flops at midday. The toe, which hurt a bit, was exposed in the footbed and apparently didn’t cause any problems.
Neuer was in a good mood when he went to an interview appointment he had with Thomas Hitzlsperger. The former German national player is currently working for ARD on a documentary about Qatar, the host of the World Cup – he also wanted to talk to Neuer, the captain of the selection of the German Football Association (DFB). Perhaps Neuer Hitzlsperger also talked about the new captain’s armband that he will wear at national team games after his enforced break.
Neuer takes a stand against discrimination
To send a signal against discrimination and for diversity, the German captain will wear a special captain’s armband in the upcoming Nations League games and during the World Cup in Qatar. This adorns a heart in bright colors that stand for diversity, as well as the inscription “One Love”. The campaign is a joint action by the national teams from England, the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Wales, France, Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Germany. The idea for this arose within a working group which, on the initiative of some European national associations, was dealing with questions relating to human rights in Qatar, among other things.
“The love of football unites us all. No matter where we come from, what we look like and who we love. Football is there for everyone,” Neuer was quoted as saying in a press release from the DFB, which was distributed before his corona infection was announced: “And football must be there for everyone who feels discriminated against and excluded, all over the world. I am proud to send this message along with my fellow captains from other nations. Because every vote counts.” At the European Championships last year, Neuer wore a rainbow armband.
“It’s not in our nature to look the other way,” Hofmann said of the poor human rights situation in the World Cup host country. “We hope that together with other nations we can set things in motion so that something changes. No matter what is said, it is important to follow through. Looking the other way would be a far worse evil.”
