On Monday, Hansi Flick defended himself against criticism of his work as national soccer coach – with very sharp words for his style. “I find it very audacious to claim that the national team does not invite players based on the principle of merit,” said Flick in Bremen, where the Association of German Football Teachers held its 65th International Coaches’ Congress.
He understands that those responsible for the clubs “want to position players” or see them differently than he sees them, but: “What do we gain from playing players who cannot perform like someone else? That’s why I sometimes find it outrageous how people report it.”
Criticism not only from Ruhnert
These statements can be understood as a response to Oliver Ruhnert, the manager of Union Berlin, who said this month to the “Süddeutsche Zeitung” with regard to Flick and his selection of players as national coach: “His coaching team says they make decisions based on performance – I say: they don’t do it.” In the interview, Ruhnert cited Rani Khedira, his club’s midfielder, as an example.
“It is incomprehensible to me not to continuously nominate him,” says Ruhnert. “He has shown strong performances nationally and internationally over a period of two years. My thesis: Such a player would have managed a 1-0 lead against Japan at the World Cup. But those are not our choices.”
On Monday, Flick said quite fundamentally: “We travel a lot, get an idea and I talk to every coach about the players who are there and about potential candidates.”
But it wasn’t just Ruhnert who discussed Flick’s decisions in these weeks. At least since the international matches against Ukraine (3:3), Poland (0:1) and Colombia (0:2), the view of the national coach has become more critical. He had to “put up with it,” said Flick. “Where there’s clapping, there’s also whistling. You have to face that as a coach.”
Tobias Rabe, Gelsenkirchen Published/Updated: , Tobias Rabe, Gelsenkirchen Published/Updated: , Recommendations: 22 Christian Kamp, Gelsenkirchen Published/Updated: , Recommendations: 12
In Bremen, Flick then repeated the announcement that, unlike in the June games, he would set up his “core team” for the home European Championship in September, when Germany will play Japan and France. And said a sentence that he has said very often in recent weeks: “I am absolutely convinced of the path we are taking.”
