The national soccer team practiced secrecy on Thursday. The gates during training remained firmly closed to observers, and the media were not even allowed the usual 15 minutes for up-to-date moving images of the day. At the press conference that followed, Kai Havertz and Julian Brandt at least had power of attorney to talk about what the team had practiced in terms of sport: the topic of standards.
And if you followed Brandt, in a way that promised confidence before the two friendlies on Saturday in Wolfsburg (8.45 p.m. in the FAZ live ticker for the national team and on RTL) against Japan and then on Tuesday (9 p.m. in the FAZ live ticker for the national team and in ARD) in Dortmund against France, for which Jamal Musiala now had to cancel completely. He believes, said Brandt, “that we really have a great weapon with the standards”.
Kimmich defends on the right
What Brandt and Havertz did not talk about was another secret that had happened the day before at the training ground in Wolfsburg. Resourceful “Bild” scouts had observed how Joshua Kimmich worked on the right-hand side of defense in the internal test against his own U20s – a clear deviation from the previous standard under Hansi Flick, who has always seen the Munich player as a man for the Mitte had seen (as he himself is known to have seen).
However, Flick had recently softened this definition somewhat. When “Kicker” asked him about it in July, he said: “It’s like we have a few options. And we consider all options.”
Should the possibility become a certainty, it would be the greatest possible intervention in what has been taken for granted and the structure of the team under Flick. In addition to the hoped-for closure of a gap in one of the neuralgic positions, this would also be supported by the fact that there would then also be a place in the center according to Ilkay Gündogan’s taste and abilities.
In the search for clues, Flick asked Gündogan to take “even more leadership” in the same interview. So far there always seemed to be one or between Kimmich and Gündogan when it came to who this team was built around.
Christian Kamp Published/Updated: , Recommendations: 11 Christopher Meltzer, Wolfsburg Published/Updated: , Recommendations: 1 Christopher Meltzer, Wolfsburg Published/Updated: , Recommendations: 3
However, it remains to be clarified, on the one hand, whether Flick Kimmich will also win internally for this transfer, and, on the other hand, whether a reliable stability pact will come about with Gündogan’s participation in the center, for example in interaction with Emre Can. Details are Flick’s secret – for now. The national coach is expected to attend the press conference this Friday.
