Leroy Sané looked almost as mysterious as Mona Lisa in the portrait in Frankfurt’s famous Schirn art collection. However, there will definitely be no smiles from Mats Hummels and Leon Goretzka at the European Championships this summer. While the DFB’s strange nomination show delighted most fans on social media channels on Tuesday, the tournament exit for the Dortmund defensive veteran is obviously a done deal despite the Dortmund premier class frenzy, as well as for his Munich fellow sufferer Goretzka.
Hummels marched into the dressing room earlier than his BVB colleagues on Tuesday after a public training session. Not a word about his pulverized prospects in the national soccer team. No word on a possible career end in general. But it’s also clear that Hummel and Goretzka already know. National coach Julian Nagelsmann has long since informed all European Championship candidates.
Hummels’ colleague Niclas Füllkrug indirectly confirmed the deportation. “Of course he certainly deserved it in terms of performance. But these are certainly also considerations where other things also play a role. The national coach will also have his idea. We all have to trust that,” said the 31-year-old, who himself received his European Championship confirmation via radio news on 1live early in the morning about Hummels.
Führich at the bakery, cook in the world wide living room
The weight of evidence against the 35-year-old Hummels and Goretzka, who is six years his junior, was overwhelming. On Tuesday, after Füllkrug and Chris Führich, Robin Koch also received his official European Championship confirmation at a bakery in the northern Black Forest – from the YouTube entertainers Dennis and Benni Wolter in the WorldWideliving room.
There when it starts in summer: Chris FührichPicture Alliance
After Hummel’s BVB colleague Nico Schlotterbeck and Leverkusen’s man-marker Jonathan Tah, the Frankfurt central defender is the third central defender, Antonio Rüdiger from Real Madrid is also certainly there and another ticket seems to be reserved for Waldemar Anton from VfB Stuttgart.
After Nagelsmann was clearly booted out in March, Hummels is no longer wanted anyway. After 78 international matches with the 2014 World Cup victory as the highlight, the rollercoaster career has now finally come to an end. With the nomination of club colleague Aleksandar Pavlovic by RTL frontwoman Frauke Ludowig on Monday evening, Goretzka was able to put two and two together that he was not needed as a box-to-box expert. In an Instagram photo he presented himself fashionably elegant with a cap and sunglasses on the sofa.
Nagelsmann’s March words still apply
By rejecting the alpha animals, who were still considered absolute safe EM players when Nagelsmann took up his post in the fall, the national coach is radically continuing the personnel course he initiated in March. Anyone who listened closely to the 36-year-old back then can’t be surprised now. “There is no question: If everyone stays healthy and continues to perform, we will definitely not trade ten players in the summer. Actually not five, maybe one or two – plus injuries,” said Nagelsmann after the European Championships against France (2:0) and the Netherlands (2:1).
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These one or two changes are now Schlotterbeck and the then suspended Sané and not Hummels and Goretzka, whom Nagelsmann simply does not trust to be able to accept the European Championship summer in supporting roles. Sané (28), who occasionally tends to be grumpy, recognized the national coach’s message and traveled to Frankfurt despite the red card, strolled through the mixed zone in a peaked cap and made sure the weather was good.
In Frankfurt, his portrait was unveiled on Tuesday in the famous Schirn Gallery. The next PR coup of the DFB series, which is supposed to culminate on Thursday at 1 p.m. with Nagelsmann’s appearance to announce the rest of the squad in the middle of Berlin at the old and new general sponsor VW.
Goal celebration in purple-pink: Niclas Füllkrug after his 2-1 goal against the Netherlands in Frankfurt.dpa
The DFB has taken into account that something can go wrong with social media campaigns. The completely unknown X-user Valentin saw and posted the bread bag with the picture of Führich at the Seeger bakery in Nagold on Tuesday morning, shortly before it was supposed to go online.
DFB strategy works
In the noise of the many internet and media messages, this loop made the campaign even more charming. The normal fan gets involved. The marketing strategists couldn’t have come up with a better idea. “Somehow you get the whole of society on board,” said Füllkrug.
The day had already started euphorically with radio celebrations by Nagelsmann’s best goalscorer to date (four goals since October). “I get goosebumps when I think about it,” said the Füllkrug, who was connected by telephone, looking ahead to the tournament in a few weeks. The fact that his daughter is already reenacting the European Championship with the Playmobil figure designed after him fit perfectly into the plot of the human national players that the DFB is selling on its nomination tour.
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The whole campaign is – as Füllkrug revealed – also a retaliation against the excited media industry. “All this leaking over the past few years. Nominations take place on Thursdays and on Mondays there are a few non-specialist magazines that have leaked a few squads – we’ve now poked fun at them a bit and leaked them ourselves. I think that’s very cool,” said the attacker.
Havertz also shoots
Keeping track of who is already there wasn’t easy. Some media copycats wanted to follow the nomination practice on Tuesday and announce more names without the DFB’s Instagram seal. Kai Havertz was initially listed. The Arsenal striker was named a European Championship player by YouTubers Calcio Berlin from the Baller League. As expected, he will be allowed to score goals for Germany in the summer – in contrast to Hummels and Goretzka.
