German football on the ground? Ex-national player Matthias Sammer doesn’t see it that way. The BVB consultant relies on fine adjustment instead of a mood of doom. World champion Toni Kroos agrees.
The former national player and former DFB functionary Matthias Sammer still believes in the quality of the German national soccer team even after another World Cup preliminary round in Qatar. “We have great players. We’re not small. We’re Germany, we’re big,” said the 55-year-old Sammer in a discussion on MagentaTV: “We’ve failed several times now, but because of issues that are very easy to control. “
According to the external advisor to the Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund, German football as a whole must now be looked at from various aspects. “We have to talk about it, do we still have an identity in our football? Training will definitely be an issue. I would focus on that,” said Sammer, adding: “I honestly don’t think I’m totally depressed to look at any topics.”
Sammer does not believe in quick personal consequences for national coach Hansi Flick or other officials at the German Football Association. “We should be talking about content at this point. I don’t like talking about heads right away,” said Sammer. The DFB selection failed on Thursday evening despite a 4-2 win against Costa Rica in the World Cup preliminary round and has already left the final round in the Gulf Emirate.
Former world champion Toni Kroos agreed with Sammer. In any case, there is no shortage of capable professionals. “We have quality players. It must not happen to us that we are eliminated twice in the group. We can lose twice in the final against Brazil, but you can’t be eliminated in these two groups,” said Kroos.
The midfielder was still there in the preliminary round in Russia in 2018, in Qatar he only watched in front of the television after his retirement. “It’s not a question of quality, but a question of practice, resilience and automatism,” analyzed Kroos.
With a view to the 2024 home European Championship, the 32-year-old suggested rethinking the sporting orientation of the DFB team. “It is absolutely a main task towards the next tournament, and it really has to be from the next international match that at some point we really say we have a clear eleven, or at least 13 or 14 players,” said the Real Madrid professional. A solid base of professionals should in future “do as many international matches as possible,” said the former national player: “Then they play badly, but then they play again. We should find a formation, regardless of the name.”
You have to get away from “making it right for three or four players so that they are happy,” said Kroos, citing the English national team as an example. “Probably the best individual player, Phil Foden, doesn’t play with the Three Lions because, according to the coach, he doesn’t fit in there. And I think we also have to find a clear eleven with automatisms, both offensively and defensively.”
