“He leaves a lot behind”
National coach Flick takes on the BVB star
6/6/2023, 10:08 p.m
In the international three-pack against Ukraine, Poland and Colombia, Hansi Flick is looking for a way out of the crisis with the DFB team. In the run-up, the national coach talks about individual players, praises the much-criticized Joshua Kimmich – and accuses Niklas Süle of not using his talent.
Hansi Flick clearly criticized national player Niklas Süle and accused Dortmund of not making the most of his opportunities. “For me, Niki could be one of the best central defenders there is. His potential is huge,” said the national coach to the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung”. “But I think he still leaves a lot.”
Flick will not play the 27-year-old in the upcoming international matches against Ukraine on June 12 in Bremen, four days later in Poland and on June 20 against Colombia in Gelsenkirchen. For the tests, Flick nominated Matthias Ginter, Thilo Kehrer, Antonio Rüdiger, Nico Schlotterbeck and Malick Thiaw for central defense – on the other hand, he did without the long-standing DFB regular Süle. “I want him to take a step forward with his attitude and mentality,” he said of his former Bayern protégé. He sees a “danger” in the fact that 80 percent could be enough for Süle in the league.
He doesn’t let anything come to another former player from Munich’s times. As a defensive midfielder, Joshua Kimmich offers “exactly what we need in this position,” he said, attacking his critics: “Half a year ago Jo was a world-class six, and now we’re questioning him?” Kimmich has been criticized for a long time, the midfield duo with him and Leon Goretzka has not been able to recommend itself in Munich or at the DFB in the recent past.
In the international three-pack, Flick wants to test a three-man chain with “a six in front”, which he does not want to be misunderstood as a defensive system. His eleven will “always have at least six players who primarily think offensively,” promised the 58-year-old. With a view to the home EM 2024, it is important “that we now quickly develop stability,” emphasized the national coach. It is important to think “more result-oriented”.
İlkay Gündoğan recently warned to lower their own standards. “At the moment we are certainly not one of the absolute top favourites. Maybe we shouldn’t say so ourselves, but rather bake smaller rolls. Unfortunately, the last tournaments were far too disappointing for that,” said the Citizens captain about half a year after renewed World Cup disaster of the German national team in an interview with the editorial network Germany.