This Monday, Robert Andrich was supposed to talk about the man everyone has been talking about since Saturday evening. “An incredible player,” he replied when the spokeswoman for the German Football Association (DFB) asked him directly at the press conference in Frankfurt about his first experience playing with Toni Kroos – the player who played in the first game since his return The national team, with its impressive 2-0 win in Frankfurt, towered above all others.
In his answer, Andrich also said that he wanted to work with Kroos so that he could spark his game and that he believed that they would complement each other quite well. The spokeswoman then remarked: “That was very modest.”
There was some truth to that comment – because you can certainly argue that Toni Kroos could be that version of Toni Kroos because Robert Andrich was, well, Robert Andrich.
If you wanted to get to the heart of this German team’s problem from a sporting tactical perspective over the past few months and years, you had to look at the heart of the playing field. Where in the modern game the defensive midfielders, the so-called sixes, give their teams balance. Where German football lacked such a player. This year, national coach Julian Nagelsmann was specifically looking for such a player – and has now found Andrich, the midfielder from Leverkusen.
Nagelsmann: “They complement each other well”
“The two sixes complement each other very, very well,” said the national coach on Monday. And if nothing unexpected comes up, Nagelsmann Andrich will also line up this Tuesday (8.45 p.m. in the FAZ live ticker for international matches and on RTL) when the German national team plays against the Netherlands in the stadium in Frankfurt.
In his role, Andrich himself said on Monday, he sees his first task as giving the players in front of him – on Saturday they were İlkay Gündoğan, Jamal Musiala and Florian Wirtz – the security that they can try something. And although he also said that he wanted to contribute something to the offensive with his “straightforward nature,” something else was crucial for his role: providing “a certain stability.”
In a good mood in Frankfurt: Robert Andrich : Image: EPA
But how exactly does it work – give a team stability?
In his position, Andrich said, it’s about getting a feeling: in which moments you want to press hard and in which situations you’re more likely to let yourself go. For which space you have to move into so that you can lead certain duels. But also for “getting an emotional mentality in.” And it couldn’t be missed on Saturday.
Christopher Meltzer, Lyon Published/Updated: , Recommendations: 18 A comment from Pirmin Clossé Published/Updated: , Recommendations: 8 A comment from Tobias Rabe, Lyon Published/Updated: , Recommendations: 10
When Andrich said all of this, Toni Kroos was not at his side. But you could tell from another detail that he appreciates his new partner. The latest episode of his podcast was released on Monday. Guest: Robert Andrich.
