It wasn’t that long ago that the German national soccer team was booed by their audience. When things didn’t go well against Ukraine in Bremen in the summer and then things got even worse against Colombia in Gelsenkirchen, the goodwill of some fans in black, red and gold was over.
Tobias Rabe
Editor in charge of Sport Online.
A lot has happened since then, not only that it has become quite cold in Germany, as it did on Saturday evening in the Berlin Olympic Stadium. The national coach is no longer called Hansi Flick, but Julian Nagelsmann. In terms of sport, things were looking brighter again after the low point in September. But now the trend that Nagelsmann set in the 3-1 win against the USA and the 2-2 win against Mexico is pointing downwards. Germany lost to Türkiye 2:3. After the final whistle, Nagelsmann said on RTL: “A few did very well, but some didn’t reach the emotional level to push themselves to their limits.”
The new national coach’s home debut sounded like an away game. When the German goalkeepers and a little later the players ran onto the pitch to warm up, they were met with loud boos and whistles. In the sold-out Olympic Stadium, as was to be expected and heard early on, tens of thousands of Turkish fans had vocal sovereignty.
Havertz and the 1-0
It got particularly loud when Ilkay Gündogan, who was playing against the home country of his parents and grandparents for the first time, was shown on the stadium screens. The radio play was repeated when the line-ups were read out: cheers for the eleven Turks, whistles for the eleven Germans, especially Gündogan. The Turkish players showed a heartwarming gesture when they took off their jackets during the anthems and placed them over the shoulders of the freezing children.
When the ball rolled, the Germans initially set the tone, at least on the pitch, because whistles were loud, especially when Gündogan was on the ball. As in the last home game against France under interim coach Rudi Völler, the first attack led to the lead. Right-back Benjamin Henrichs passed sharply behind the Turkish defensive line to the incoming Leroy Sané. He still had space and time to put the ball on his left foot. Kai Havertz was free enough to slide in the cross pass to make it 1-0 (5th minute).
Goalscorer Havertz? This was surprising for two reasons. Since moving from Chelsea to London city rivals Arsenal, he hasn’t really gotten going yet. He has only managed one goal for the “Gunners” so far, and fans are wondering why their club spent around 75 million euros on a player who has played anything but a leading role at the top English club.
Even more surprising was the role that Nagelsmann came up with for him. Havertz was the left link in the back four, even though the national coach assured in an interview on RTL before the game that Havertz would “not always be the classic left-back as we know it”.
“He is an outstanding player, but doesn’t always have the standing and playing time he deserves. He’ll get it today.” The training week focused on defensive stability. But Havertz as a left-back. You had to figure it out first.
