The Flick project is on the brink
The criticism of national coach Hansi Flick is growing steadily
Source: dpa/Christian Charisius
The defeat in Poland worsens the crisis of the national team. It is above all the crisis of the national coach. Far too little has improved under Hansi Flick. The behavior of the DFB bosses is telling.
SInstead of anticipation, there is sadness. A year before the home EM, the German national soccer team is a sporting problem. Under national coach Hansi Flick, she fell far into international mediocrity. And there is little reason to be confident that this will change in the near future. But many construction sites. Too many. The 0-1 draw in Poland on Friday evening threateningly exacerbated the crisis. If Germany weren’t set as the host for the tournament in summer 2024 – one would have to be very concerned that this team would not qualify.
Above all, it is Flick’s crisis. He is responsible as head coach. The 58-year-old protects the players and emphasizes that he has a plan that he is sticking to. But what this plan looks like is not clear. Flick no longer wants to experiment from September. Until the next international trip in three months, he is likely to be the main topic of discussion, especially if the next game on Tuesday against Colombia ends sobering again. The Flick project is on the brink.
This national team has no structure, no face, far too few ideas in the game. After the desolate World Cup in Qatar, Flick set the goal to inspire again with the selection. That didn’t work. So far, the mortgage of this preliminary round is too big. In the six months since the embarrassing performance, far too little or nothing has improved. The personal and tactical experiments are rightly hotly debated. Niklas Füllkrug, one of the few players in reasonably good form to come on late against Poland, was amazing.
A picture with symbolic character: the performance against Poland – especially in the first half – was to look the other way
Source: dpa/Christian Charisius
The fact that Rudi Völler, sports director of the German Football Association (DFB), and association president Bernd Neuendorf did not want to comment after the defeat in Warsaw is not a positive sign. Julian Nagelsmann is traded in the media as Flick’s successor, Jürgen Klopp is the wish of many fans.
Flick’s skills are undisputed. But self-criticism is good for everyone around the team. A lot has to change in the national team. And fast. Otherwise, from a German point of view, the next sobering tournament threatens.
