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Hansi Flick and his construction sites: five experts put their fingers in five DFB wounds

2021-07-07T10:31:02.108Z


A disappointing World Cup and a disappointing EM: Germany's national team has seen better times. What is missing from the top nations? We analyze.


A disappointing World Cup and a disappointing EM: Germany's national team has seen better times.

What is missing from the top nations?

We analyze.

Munich - On Tuesday, the EM goes into the very hot phase with the semi-finals - and the German national team is only a spectator.

Italy, Spain, England and Denmark are fighting for the Euro title at London's Wembley Stadium.

What do these nations have ahead of the German selection?

The

tz

has contacted five experts. 

That's what the DFB-Elf is missing: a coach who gets the best out of the team

The Danes currently have more fun with their national team than the Germans. This is also due to coach Kasper Hjulmand, who led the surprise team to the semi-finals. "The trainer is an excellent man," says Sepp Piontek (81) in an interview with

tz

. The German was the coach of the Danes between 1979 and 1990 and set off "Danish Dynamite". Piontek: "Hjulmand gets the best out of the team."

That cannot be said of Joachim Löw.

At his last tournament as national coach, he was criticized primarily for his stubbornness.

On the defensive, he always defended his unfamiliar three-man chain with two attacking full-backs.

He did not put Joshua Kimmich in defensive midfield.

Thomas Müller * was also not allowed to play in his favorite position.

“Germany would actually have everything to be able to play successful football,” says Piontek.

“But they couldn't reach their potential.

I'm not sure if the players were deployed in the correct positions.

But that's my view of things from a distance. "

The DFB-Elf is missing: Talented goalkeepers with experience

It was not because of goalkeeper Manuel Neuer that the DFB-Elf * had to give up after the round of 16.

It would therefore be presumptuous to claim that the remaining semi-final goalkeepers Jordan Pickford (27 / England), Kasper Schmeichel (34 / Denmark), Unai Simon (24 / Spain) and Gianluigi Donnarumma (22 / Italy) are the better goalkeepers per se be.

Germany currently has no goalkeeping problem, behind the 35-year-old Neuer there is another world-class goalkeeper available as a successor in Marc-André ter Stegen (29).

But then there is a gap in performance among the German goalkeepers.

Academy director Tobias Haupt said the

tz

: “We are working very intensively on the National Goalkeeper 2028 project. Under the leadership of our goalkeeper coordinator Marc Ziegler, we have developed our own goalkeeper DNA, set up a goalkeeper database and regularly conduct international analyzes: What distinguishes top international goalkeepers? “The realization: All national goalkeepers of the big nations have played an average of 150 senior games up to the age of 23. The undisputed leader is Italy goalkeeper Donnarumma, who has already played more than 270 games at the age of 22. Haupt: "If you compare current top talents such as Alexander Nübel with 37 or Finn Dahmen with three Bundesliga games, it quickly becomes clear in which areas there is a need for action."

The DFB-Elf is missing: A coordinated defense

In the unfamiliar chain of three, the DFB defenders often gave the impression that they did not know what their job was.

This was particularly evident against England.

With the Three Lions, however, the defense is right on the defensive.

"To get to the semi-finals of a major tournament without conceding a goal is a huge achievement," says ex-international Wayne Bridge (40).

"I think an important part of that defense was the club connections - Manchester City's John Stones and Kyle Walker on one side and Manchester United's Luke Shaw and Harry Maguire on the other."

How did defensive expert Bridge see the German defense at the EM?

“It looked a little fragmented.

Hummels is coming back after a long absence and may not have this connection to Rüdiger, who played very well for Chelsea towards the end of the season, and the other defensive players, ”said the ex-star of Chelsea and ManCity.

The DFB-Elf is missing: A midfield that sets the pace

Ideally, the heart of the German game would have been the link between defensive and offensive. It was anything but smooth for Jogi's boys in either direction. Toni Kroos (31) and Ilkay Gündogan (30) are also partly to blame for this. “In previous tournaments, the midfield was always decisive, especially when we won the 2014 World Cup,” explains Inter legend Sandro Mazzola (78) in the

tz

interview. "It has been shown that it is now getting a little old."

Real star Kroos has already ended his career in the national team, and Gündogan is apparently also thinking about this step.

“Kroos was the linchpin of the German midfield.

His resignation gives others the opportunity to shape the German game over the coming years. ”It is therefore an advantage that the new line-up for midfield headquarters has long been available: Munich's successful duo Joshua Kimmich * (26) and Leon Goretzka * ( 26).

"I am convinced that Germany will again go into the tournament as one of the favorites at the World Cup," says Mazzola, who once set the pace for his teams himself.

That's what the DFB-Elf is missing: strikers who score goals

The German attackers have a lot of quality, but a classic center forward who serves as a pass station and is freezing in front of the goal is missing.

For the Spaniards, the offensive no longer causes problems after initial difficulties at the EM *.

Nobody makes fun of Alvaro Morata anymore.

“The key to goal success is a classic nine like him.

The Juventus striker is the beacon that midfielders and wingers are looking for and finding, ”explains journalist David G. Medina from the Spanish sports newspaper Marca.-

pk, bok, lop, jau - * tz.de is an offer from IPPEN. MEDIA.

Source: merkur

All sports articles on 2021-07-07

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