"The country was divided": Flick complained about the lack of support after the World Cup - and criticized his own players

Created: 12/19/2022, 9:09 p.m

By: Antonio Jose Riether

For Hansi Flick, the mood in the country during the World Cup in Qatar was criticized.

The tournament was too politicized for the national coach.

Munich – Almost three weeks ago, a 4-2 victory over Costa Rica, which was clearly too low, sealed the end of the German national team at the World Cup.

Since then, national coach Hansi Flick has been investigating the reasons for the disappointing tournament.

But not only the sporting background concerns him, in an interview with the sports information service, the 57-year-old denounced the lack of help from politics and the lack of support from home.

"Efficiency was missing": Hansi Flick talks about sporting reasons for the World Cup in Qatar

After the World Cup, it was quiet around Flick, at the first meeting with the DFB leadership after arriving in Germany, he left the association premises without comment.

In an interview with the sports information service, he now spoke about the reasons why his plan in Qatar failed.

“We lacked efficiency.

Defensively it was just average, we didn't have enough compactness," said the Heidelberger, explaining why he was eliminated from the preliminary round.

It was apparently not easy for Flick to follow the last knockout games of the tournament.

“You think: We could have been there too.

We have to take responsibility for being eliminated early.

Unfortunately, it can no longer be changed and it is a great pity," said the national coach.

Hansi Flick and his DFB team disappointed at the World Cup in Qatar.

© Frank Hoermann/imago

National coach Flick would have liked political support - "Football is too politicized"

The former FC Bayern head coach was apparently also bothered by the many background noises at the World Cup tournament in the controversial host country, such as the debate about the "One Love" armband.

The DFB had announced that it would wear the captain's armband at the tournament to represent its own values.

After a ban by FIFA with threats of alleged sporting penalties, however, the association backed down and refrained from wearing the bandage.

At this point, Hansi Flick complained about the lack of support from German politics.

"French President Emmanuel Macron said something like: 'Football is too politicized, our players should concentrate on football, I do politics.'

That would have been a good sign for us too," said the national coach, adding: "Others are trained for politics."

Hansi Flick complains about criticism of the host: "The mood against Qatar was incredibly strong beforehand"

In retrospect, it is difficult to say whether the German internationals would have played another tournament without the minimal political signal before the Japan game.

The German team also received a lot of praise for the mouth-to-mouth gesture, which was aimed at the lack of freedom of expression in Qatar.

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For Flick, however, the politicization of the tournament was too much. In the years and months leading up to the tournament, there were reports of thousands of dead guest workers and the sometimes devastating human rights situation in the country.

“The mood against Qatar was incredibly strong beforehand.

Many watched the games, many others had concerns.

The country was divided, and that's a shame, football is supposed to unite people," Flick said.

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Hansi Flick criticizes the mood in Germany - "unconditional support" from other nations

The national coach would have liked more support from home and apparently has little understanding for the critical attitude of many football fans in Germany.

That's why Flick refers to other nations who, despite the circumstances surrounding the host country, got into a party mood.

"I was thrilled to see the fans of other teams who gave their team their unconditional support."

Conversely, for many German fans, the conditions at the organizer obviously have to be right in order to be able to really let loose when celebrating.

At the home tournament in 2024, Flick will probably be able to count on significantly more support than in 2022. (ajr)