On the bench of the German national football team, he completed only one winning match this year, so the time has come for Hansi Flick to leave. His tie was broken by a shameful defeat against Japan 1:4.
In an interview with German TV channel RTL shortly after Saturday’s failed warm-up with the Japanese, Flick appeared devastated, but insisted: “Yes, I’m still the right person. I think we’re doing well.”
The German newspaper Bild already called for his dismissal on Sunday morning. But Flick still conducted public training.
To questions from fans who came to get autographs, he laconically replied: “I will keep fighting, but in football it is difficult to predict anything.”
As he said, so it happened. German Football Association (DFB) president Bernd Neuendorf announced on Sunday afternoon that Flick was leaving the team.
“I am sorry for what happened to Hansi and I will tell him personally. But unfortunately it was time to make a decision,” said Hans-Joachim Watzke, DFB vice-chairman. The players then gathered at the hotel and said goodbye to their now former coach.
“The most important task now is to find a coach who will quickly reorient our national team and prepare it for next year’s important home European championship,” added Rudi Völler, a popular international and today the sporting director of the German national team.
The 63-year-old Völler was against Flick’s dismissal, although he himself is a hot candidate for the vacant coaching seat. At least for Tuesday’s preparatory match against the world vice-champions from France.
The 36-year-old Julian Nagelsmann appears as a long-term option. He is bound by a contract with Bayern Munich until 2026, but according to Bild, the German club would not object if he took over the national team bench.
The 58-year-old Flick took charge of the national team in September 2021, when he replaced Joachim Löw. The failure at last year’s World Championship in Qatar, where the Germans already finished in the group, still persisted, but further defeats already broke his neck.
The Germans under Flick’s leadership have won only one of six games this year. Out of the last three, they took an infamous record of 1:7.
2023-09-11 18:49:20
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