While the footballing nations of Brazil, France, Argentina, the Netherlands, England and Portugal are still fighting for the title at the World Cup in Qatar, Germany’s dream of triumph was shattered for the second time in a row in the group stage. A circumstance that is said to be closely related to the preference of national coach Hansi Flick for his former protégés at FC Bayern.
When analyzing the disappointing World Cup performance, “Sport Bild” identified the large block of FC Bayern players, seven of 26 World Cup drivers earn their money with the German record champions, as a brake on harmony.
The fact that ex-Bayern coach Flick relies on “his boys” and has a “special connection” to them is said to have pissed off most of the rest of the DFB team even before the tournament started. “The national team was not the much-vaunted unit,” says “Sport Bild”. During the World Cup, “cracks” in the team structure ultimately turned into “rifts”.
How much Flick actually relies on his ex-players is underlined by the starting formations: Five Bayern stars started against Japan, six against Spain and finally all seven against Costa Rica – for which Flick even surprisingly sent Kimmich into the race as a right-back, although he had just recently emphasized that the team leader is a six.
Also striking: BVB defender Niklas Süle was in the first eleven in all games, despite some blatant wobbles. Süle only moved from FC Bayern to Dortmund in the summer and was part of Flick’s successful team in Munich.
“Harmony change” ensures “enraged” DFB stars
Flick is said to have been aware of the problem and one reason why Leon Goretzka, at least one FC Bayern professional, found himself on the bench against Japan at the beginning. However, the fact that Flick Goretzka finally brought the strong Ilkay Gündogan into play made the sign fizzle out.
Internally, there is said to have been critical talk of a “change of harmony”, with which Flick is said to have “angered” above all Gündogan and the players Marc-André ter Stegen and Antonio Rüdiger, who were close to him.
From this point of view, a debate revealed in the report, which was probably intended to turn things around, also seems unfortunate. At a crisis meeting during the tournament, the appeal was: “From now on we all have to stick together”. The fact that the words should have come from the mouth of a Bayern star probably took a lot of strength from them.
As a further disruptive factor, “Sport Bild” cites the discussion about the ban on the “One Love” bandage. The report confirms that actually only a minority around the spokesmen Manuel Neuer and Leon Goretzka really wanted to set an example. The discussion ultimately culminated in the “shut your mouth” gesture at the team photo before the Japan game.
Don’t miss a game of the FIFA World Cup 2022? This TV station broadcasts all 64 games live*
Points that the DFB will include in its considerations in the current processing of the World Cup disaster. Sports director Oliver Bierhoff has already had to vacate his post, and an upcoming crisis summit will show whether Flick also has to or wants to resign.
*We use affiliate links in this post. If you buy a product through these links, we receive a commission from the seller. There are no additional costs for you. Where and when you buy a product is of course up to you.
