Together they were at the top with the German national team. Now the former Löw assistant Flick is admired as Bayern’s head coach. The alliance is to be crowned again next year.
Lisbon (dpa) - At Bayern, Hansi Flick has risen to the astonished head coach in a short time, but next year the Munich master maker wants to become Joachim Löw's most important title helper again.
"We communicate very well, and that's why we will give him all our support to play a successful European Championship next year," said Flick from the Champions League final in Lisbon to his former boss.
From Löw's entry into service in 2006 to his World Cup crowning in Rio de Janeiro in 2014, Flick mostly worked in the background as the first and most important assistant to the national coach. "That will bind us together forever," affirmed Löw: "We have become good friends."
Loew defused the first threatening conflict between the interests of the German national soccer team and FC Bayern during Flick's tenure in Munich before the big premier class final against Paris Saint-Germain. "We will not nominate the internationals, who are heavily burdened by the continuation of the previous Bundesliga season and participation in the final tournament in Lisbon, for the September internationals", announced the 60-year-old.
In addition to Marcel Halstenberg and Lukas Klostermann from Leipzig, Bayern professionals Manuel Neuer, Joshua Kimmich, Serge Gnabry and Leon Goretzka will be missing from the DFB team's restart after more than nine months. "I'm very happy that he did it that way. He and his team also have an important game against Spain. But that's how I know him. He thinks less about the result than about the players," said the native Flick in Portugal.
At the start of the new Nations League on September 3 in Stuttgart, the Löw team will face ex-world champions Spain. The second game against Switzerland follows three days later in Basel. "We talked on the phone. He said right from the start that he would do without the four players because he simply believed they needed the vacation. Of course I am happy that he is considerate of the players," said Flick: " I know what makes him tick. I know how important it is to him that the players have the relaxation and regeneration they need. It's a very tough season for everyone. "
For Löw, the European championship, which has been postponed to the coming summer due to the corona pandemic, is of course also about reparations. The completely unsuccessful World Cup 2018 is still gnawing. The DFB head coach therefore emphasized: "The demands on the top players in particular are extreme. And our highlight of the season, the EURO, is only on the program at the end. Then we need players who are still able to deliver top performances. "
With his decision, Löw also prepared another discussion about Thomas Müller's return to the national team. He had sorted out the 30-year-old a few months after the World Cup disaster and a failed restart at the Nations League premiere, as did Mats Hummels and Jérôme Boateng. Müller has become a top player again under Flick at Bayern - but he is also one of the heavily burdened like Kimmich or Gnabry.
On the other hand, Munich's Niklas Süle and Leroy Sané, who have returned after torn cruciate ligaments, urgently need playing time and training rhythm from Löw's point of view. Thilo Kehrer and Julian Draxler from Bavaria's final opponent Paris are also said to be part of the DFB squad, which will be published on August 25, after a long period of injury. "We have always taken the individual stress situation into account, that has not changed," emphasized Löw.
The players themselves are dying to finally play for Germany again. Junior boss Kimmich made this clear on the weekend in Lisbon: "If we had decided, we would certainly all have liked to go to the national team. But the national coach made a very far-sighted decision. It will be a very tough season with a lot of English weeks and the climax of the European Championship at the end of the season that lies ahead. "
Löw is not surprised by the success of his former assistant Flick as Bayern's head coach. "Because he is simply good, has an incredible acceptance of the players who can form, lead and develop a team. That the successes came was the logical consequence for me," wrote Löw in an article for "Bild am Sonntag". Above all, Flick's "very empathetic nature" gives the players the feeling that he also takes them seriously in his private life and brings a familiar touch. "But: Hansi is tough and disciplined in this matter. He stands up for his convictions," said Löw.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 200823-99-274175 / 3
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