Former national coach Joachim Löw joins the discussion about the decline of the German national team. Image: IMAGO images/Sportfoto Rudel
Sport
The initial spirit of optimism that Julian Nagelsmann created with his involvement as national coach for the national team has long since disappeared. The recent international defeats against Turkey and Austria have brought the DFB back down to earth.
A few months before the start of the home European Championship next summer, the German national team is without a functioning game system. She has also lost a lot of credit with fans in recent years. Many supporters are already preparing for another preliminary round exit.
The German national team put in a shockingly weak performance against Austria. Image: AP / Matthias Schrader
The German public is currently discussing heatedly what it will take to finally make the DFB team competitive again. In addition to the squad gaps in the strike center and in the full-back positions that have existed for years, the debate about the “German virtues” keeps coming up.
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DFB team: Nagelsmann indicates a change of course
Instead of playing nice, the team should concentrate on the basics that have distinguished the German national teams in the past: running, fighting, showing toughness. Even Julian Nagelsmann had hinted at such a paradigm shift after the defeat against Austria.
“Perhaps,” said Nagelsmann about the stumbling national team, “we have to give up two percentage points of talent and throw in two more ‘workers’.” As an example, he referred to players like Leon Goretzka, Robert Andrich and Grischa Prömel who would fulfill this profile.
His predecessor at the DFB, former national coach Joachim Löw, has a completely different opinion on this matter. Löw, who had already criticized the debate about German virtues at the beginning of October, has now once again taken a clear stance on the controversial issue.
DFB crisis: Löw rejects “fighter approach”.
We now have to find “tactical solutions and playful elements. That should be our approach and claim in German football,” Löw told “Bild”. The fact that the DFB team lacked German virtues is not the problem. “No, that’s too cheap and populist an explanation for me,” said Löw. The DFB selection has not had these virtues exclusively for a long time. Do you think the English or the Argentinians don’t fight and run in the same way?
The 63-year-old is convinced that “our players’ attitude is right. But that’s not enough to be successful at a high level.” Löw has a high opinion of Nagelsmann, as he made clear in the interview. “He is a young coach with good ideas and a lot of experience,” said the 2014 world champion coach about Nagelsmann. “You can’t question him after four games. I’m sure he’ll find the solutions,” reassured Löw.
The national team will only come together again in March next year to play two test matches before the start of the European Championship in June. The opponents will probably be the Netherlands and France. Even if the pairings have not yet been officially confirmed, one thing is certain: the games will be very hot for the DFB stars because of public perception.
(with material from AFP)
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2023-11-26 09:09:00
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