Personnel, tactics, hierarchy
Hansi Flick’s remarkable turnaround
September 9, 2023, 12:57 p.m
In the face of the great crisis, the ailing national coach Hansi Flick has broken with supposed personnel and tactical certainties in a remarkable turnaround. What is the national soccer coach planning in his fateful games against Japan and France? An overview.
The staff: Flick has made clear decisions for the explosive reunion with Japan on Saturday (8.45 p.m./RTL). İlkay Gündoğan will be the new captain and thus the fixture of his European Championship system, a 4-2-3-1, initially with Kai Havertz at the helm because Niclas Füllkrug is missing. The national coach asserts that he has learned his lessons from the shock of the World Cup. This also includes moving Joshua Kimmich to the defense. The six will become a right-back – like Philipp Lahm in the last games on the way to the 2014 World Cup title. The “Jo”, as Flick calls him, will be used “where he brings us the most benefit”. Niklas Süle will play in central defense alongside defense chief Antonio Rüdiger and can be sure of this place for the time being. Malick Thiaw remains a challenger. At the back left, Flick will choose between Robin Gosens and the purely defensive Nico Schlotterbeck.
The tactic: With Kimmich’s transfer, Flick closes a years-long, annoying construction site. The 28-year-old, who is supposed to assist Gündoğan in leading the team, will probably move into the center when in possession of the ball. There he can initiate the build-up alongside the “destroyer” Emre Can, but must not be too offensive – Gündoğan will then do that from a position further forward. Manchester City played the right-back with John Stones, Liverpool FC with Trent Alexander-Arnold. Flick would follow a trend set by Pep Guardiola and Jürgen Klopp, although the idea can be attributed to Brighton and Hove Albion in the Premier League.
The hierarchy: Flick broke up the hierarchy after the World Cup debacle in Qatar by, among other things, leaving out Thomas Müller. Müller is now only intended as an addition; he is denied the armband despite having the highest number of international matches in the squad. Kimmich was recently DFB captain in the absence of the injured Manuel Neuer, but Flick unequivocally put Gündoğan at the top of the pecking order on Friday. Antonio Rüdiger and Marc-André ter Stegen are other important contacts, Leon Goretzka, previously one of the spokesmen, is not scheduled for the European Championships for the time being.
The philosophy: Flick has announced his new playing philosophy, but has not (yet) explained it in depth. He wants constant “activity and intensity”, a team in constant motion, with their heads always on. Only the game against Japan will show exactly what that looks like. Three days later against France in Dortmund (9 p.m./ARD), the opponent will probably take the game – running and disrupting will be all the more important.