opinion
The arduous 2-0 win against Liechtenstein shows that the new national coach, Hansi Flick, is in great demand as an educator: He has to help a deeply insecure team to believe in themselves again – because the burden of the Löw era is still heavy.
Great footballers usually have gracious long-term memories. Defeats, missed shots, chants from the fans – all of this is only saved for a moment, especially since there are constantly new opportunities to forget yesterday’s bankruptcy with a glamorous victory of today.
This is different with the German national team. After the unsuccessful European Championship, which for the DFB team was over after the round of 16, it was hoped that a new era could be ushered in by changing coach from Joachim Löw to Hansi Flick. Flick was supposed to sweep the team away with his optimism and vigor and thus erase the memories of the frustrating European Championship tournament.
The beautiful plan doesn’t work
That was the idea. A nice plan, but it doesn’t work, as the Germans’ game against Liechtenstein showed on Thursday evening. In the World Cup qualifier against the football dwarf, Flick’s team tortured themselves to a 2-0. At times she played as if Joachim Löw was still standing on the sidelines: discouraged, without esprit, without belief in himself.
The burden of the last few years under Löw obviously weighs heavily. It cannot be easily shaken off with a new coach, not even against Liechtenstein, number 189 in the world rankings, framed by Bangladesh (188th) and Brunei Darussalam (190th). This realization comes as a surprise to Flick, as he has had this again and again in the past few days “enormous potential” and “the great class” highlighted by his team. After the Liechtenstein game, Flick was sobered to find that one “a long way” have in front of you. “You can tell that this team does not yet have the confidence that they can score goals.”
The DFB jersey seems to inhibit players
Flick did not exaggerate when he praised the quality of his team’s play. The national team is peppered with players who play key roles in top European clubs such as Manchester City, Chelsea and FC Bayern. Just as soon as they put on the DFB jersey, they seem inhibited, sometimes even blocked. The best example of this is Ilkay Gündogan, who became English champion with ManCity in the summer and is now one of the top performers in Pep Guardiola’s team again. In the national team he did little during the European Championship – and Gündogan also remained pale against Liechtenstein. You could have expected him, the technically gifted, to mess up the opponent’s defense and put his teammates in the limelight. “Patience and precision” I was missing, Gündogan complained after the final whistle and probably addressed these words primarily to himself.
With the Liechtenstein game it became clear that the team needed Hansi Flick above all in the role of a therapist. The last third of the Löw era, the failure at the 2018 World Cup in the preliminary round, the 6-0 win against Spain, the 2-1 defeat against North Macedonia, the EM 2021 – all of this has burned into the collective memory of the team. The famous Gary Lineker quote, according to which 22 men chase the ball in football and the Germans always win in the end, has long since ceased to apply. There is nothing left in the DFB team of the pride and self-confidence that was based on winning the 2014 World Cup.
Positioning is supposed to drive away the past
With his line-up against Liechtenstein, Flick has shown how he tries to dispel the shadows of the past: with young, unencumbered forces like Jamal Musiala, Ridle Baku or Florian Wirtz, who know many of the old stories only from television.
Flick does not have much time for his group therapy. The schedule is tight, there are still six World Cup qualifying games to be played by mid-November. The home game against Armenia in Stuttgart will continue on Sunday. Another chance to free yourself from the burden of history. At least a little.
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
