Borussia Dortmund waive U21 appearances
The DFB boss is giving the coaches a free hand when it comes to sanctioning Adeyemi
As of: 1:50 p.m. | Reading time: 4 minutes
Training in Dortmund instead of international matches in Paderborn and Essen: Karim Adeyemi wants to work on his form at BVB
Source: dpa/Tom Weller
DFB President Bernd Neuendorf has expressed his displeasure in the case involving BVB offensive player Karim Adeyemi. The 21-year-old canceled the German team’s European Championship qualifiers in order to be able to stay in Dortmund. Neuendorf clearly criticized this.
There had already been quite a stir in the run-up to the German national team’s international match against Turkey this Saturday evening (8:45 p.m., in the WELT sports ticker). Although it took place one floor below, it basically took place in the wake of national coach Julian Nagelsmann’s team.
Karim Adeyemi had decided not to be involved with the German U21 team after the Borussia Dortmund winger was left out of the senior national team by national coach Julian Nagelsmann for the two international matches in Berlin and against Austria in Vienna next Tuesday became. As a side note, Adeyemi wasn’t necessarily able to promote himself at BVB this season.
The U21 team’s European Championship qualification for the 2025 European Championship in Slovakia took place on Friday evening in Paderborn against Estonia (4:1) without him, and the game in Essen on Tuesday against Poland (6 p.m.) will also take place on the 21st Years old offensive players are not present. U21 coach Antonio Di Salvo had already made it clear that he was not a big fan of Adeyemi’s move.
“It doesn’t help if you have to drag her here.”
DFB President Bernd Neuendorf expressed his displeasure in a similar way, only with a much more critical tone. “I think it’s a mistake,” said Neuendorf at ProSiebenMaxx. He gave everyone responsible a free hand for possible consequences. “The coaches have to decide that. It’s a sign of how important he takes this. It’s hard to force him there, and that doesn’t help the team if you have players you have to drag here. It has to be with conviction, with passion. It doesn’t help the U21 if someone shows up with half their effort,” said Neuendorf.
DFB boss Bernd Neuendorf
Source: dpa/Uwe Anspach
From his point of view, Adeyemi missed an opportunity to recommend himself for higher tasks through the youth team. The U21 was “always a stepping stone,” said the DFB boss: “I believe that you should be proud when you wear the eagle on your chest.” He viewed Adeyemi’s decision as a “missed opportunity.”
also read
In contrast to BVB striker Youssoufa Moukoko, Adeyemi, unlike in October, skipped the game, a good hour’s drive from the club’s training ground, in order to be able to stay in Dortmund. He wanted to “achieve his goals there,” as U21 coach di Salvo put it. It fits into the unfortunate phase of his career. BVB brought Adeyemi from Salzburg to the Ruhr area in the summer of 2022 for a fee of 30 million euros. But apart from a few games in the second half of last season, the lightning-fast left-footer was unable to convince.
Moukoko as a counter-example to Adeyemi
Adeyemi’s teammate Moukoko is currently experiencing a similar situation in Dortmund, but he is hoping for further self-promotion for a European Championship ticket in Nagelsmann’s team by continuing his goal series for the German U21 national team. “Everyone who has been with the senior national team has that in the back of their minds,” said Moukoko after the win against Estonia. Moukoko scored for the twelfth time in the tenth game.
“I always score the goals here because I get a full 90 minutes. It’s really good for me to get the rhythm. I’m always happy to come here, there’s always a smile here,” said the 18-year-old, who was part of the senior national team at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. “Nobody expected me to be there at the World Cup. Let’s see.” Adeyemi was also part of the national team at the World Cup in Qatar last November.
Moukoko reported that the senior national team’s game against Turkey this Saturday evening in the Berlin Olympic Stadium “we will all watch together and then we hope that we can go out for a nice meal. And then we want to win our game on Tuesday.” Then it’s against the biggest competitor on the way to the 2025 European Championship finals: Poland. Germany has nine points after three games, Poland twelve after four games.
also read
