Wednesday June 30th 2021
DFB-Aus: focus on more important things
It’s good that they left
A comment from David Needy
Germany is out – and that’s a good thing. Now the Loew self-deception of the past few years has finally come to an end and Hansi Flick can herald an honest change after the EM. And anyway, it’s time to focus on more important things than football.
It’s good that it’s finally over. Finally no more rumbled football à la Joachim Löw’s post-2018 era. Finally no more platitudes that have become ritual after bitter defeats or unnecessary draws. Finally no more self-deception that you actually play great, have top talents and, with a little time, will have initiated the grandiose upheaval. Germany was eliminated and that is a good thing.
Because the German national soccer team has not been among the best in the world for at least three years. The World Cup in Russia showed that, the Nations League showed, the World Cup qualification for Qatar showed, the European Championship showed. Even before, during and after the 2018 debacle, it was recognized that Löw lacked new energy, new stimuli and impulses. That he no longer really reached the team. You no longer felt. This became very clear again at this EM. Because like a tournament favorite, the German team only played once against Portugal. A sworn troop was never on the field.
Now, under his successor Hansi Flick, the honest processing of the past three or four years can finally begin. An investigation and remediation that Löw was no longer able to tackle honestly and consistently at some point. There is not much time until the 2022 World Cup: In order for the former Bayern coach to lead the national team back to the top of the world, he has to go his way coherently and undeterred – just as he did with the German record champions.
Flick has to quickly find the right system (in Munich he played with a back four, but also had world footballer Robert Lewandowski up front) for the existing staff. He will have to change the team and question aging professionals (Thomas Müller, Mats Hummels, Toni Kroos). If they want to continue at all. Young stars like Jamal Musiala, Florian Wirtz, Ridle Baku, Lukas Nmecha, the already established Kai Havertz and maybe soon the teenager Youssoufa Moukoko could become new stars. The new national coach will also build on pillars like Joshua Kimmich and Leon Goretzka.
In both offense and defense, Flick has to fix profound chains of errors and make changes. The inadequate exploitation and creation of opportunities. The completely harmless standard situations. The lack of coolness. In general: Who in Germany has the potential to be a penalty area striker with international potential? The defense must be able to withstand counter-attacks again and must no longer invite the opponent to score goals.
It’s good that the German team was eliminated. So Hansi Flick had to recognize once again how much work he had to do. It remains to be seen whether he will completely turn the shop around and make a real change. Luckily, there will be no more Loew’s self-deception of the past few years, which of course bit the record national coach in the end.
And anyway: It’s good that the DFB-Elf is out of the pandemic tournament so that society can focus on the really important issues again. UEFA is playing with human lives by allowing the European Championship semi-finals and the final in the Delta stronghold of London with 60,000 fans each. A new chancellor will be elected in September and the right-wing populist and right-wing extremist AfD, which once again attracted attention with queer-hostile actions during the EM, will move back into the Bundestag. The schools are not yet prepared for the new school year, there is a lack of air filters and the pace of politics.
Good thing they’re out – it’s just football.
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