Nico Schlotterbeck shines in the 2-0 win against Denmark

When Nico Schlotterbeck once played for Union Berlin, he gave an interview that can still be considered a key text today, three years later. Schlotterbeck, 21, on loan from SC Freiburg, said of his teammate Max Kruse: “You could say that he took me by the hand and introduced me to Bundesliga life.”

A banal sentence, you might think, but anyone who knows the praised Max Kruse will have an idea of ​​what a dubious greeting Schlotterbeck had sent. It was a bit like a gas station attendant thanking the fire devil for explaining the gas business to him.

Dubious teacher

Kruse, then 33 years old, was making one of his attempts at reintegration as a professional footballer, this time at Union Berlin. Before that, he had tested what he could and could not do in Gladbach, Wolfsburg, Bremen and Istanbul. In 2016, national coach Joachim Löw kicked him out of the national team because he had snatched a reporter’s smartphone from her hand in the Berlin dance club “Avenue” who had used it to take a photo of him. A year earlier, it had become known that Kruse had left 75,000 euros in cash in a taxi and had filed a complaint against an unknown person.

Max Kruse, who was just as talented as a footballer as he was as a poker player, was once Nico Schlotterbeck’s mentor, and even today, when Schlotterbeck has long since moved on to Borussia Dortmund and is part of the German European Championship squad, Kruse’s influence can still be seen in his game.

Microsleep with devastating consequences

Just as Kruse said that the industry was very tense and that we needed to take a more relaxed approach to everything – hey, it’s just football – Schlotterbeck also goes about his work in a relaxed manner. And just as Kruse forgot wads of cash on the back seat, Schlotterbeck often forgets where the ball and his opponent are. These blackouts have already made it into the vocabulary of German football: the term “a real Schlotterbeck” stands for a moment of sleep with often disastrous consequences for one’s own team.

On Saturday evening, in the European Championship round of 16 match against Denmark, a real Schlotterbeck was on display again. 42nd minute: Schlotterbeck wins the ball in his own penalty area, the situation seems to be resolved, which leads to a sudden loss of tension in Schlotterbeck’s limbs. The ball slips from his foot, he doesn’t notice the loss at first and then looks left and right to see where the ball might have gone. Denmark’s Rasmus Höjlund has already got it and is smashing it towards goal. Referee Michael Oliver, a friend of the Germans on this evening anyway, blows the whistle to end the scene. Luckily for the DFB team. And luckily for Schlotterbeck.

Schlotterbeck’s clever opening move

The Denmark match will be remembered as the best international match that Nico Schlotterbeck has played so far. Apart from the slip-up in the 42nd minute, Schlotterbeck put in an outstanding performance. In the 2-0 victory, he was more than just a substitute for the suspended Jonathan Tah. Schlotterbeck repeatedly took over the opening play – actually a privilege of Toni Kroos. But he let him do it because he saw how cleverly and confidently Schlotterbeck did it. His balls, whether short passes or long-range Mats Hummels-style passes, reliably reached their intended recipients. And with the through ball to Jamal Musiala in the 68th minute, he even set up the second German goal.

Reason enough for Schlotterbeck to pull out the Becker saw as a celebration gesture. He likes to celebrate, especially himself.

There is probably no other player in the national team who can get as much excitement out of his own game as Schlotterbeck. He thinks he’s pretty great, including all his weaknesses. Like Popeye the Sailor, he shows off his biceps, and on some evenings the autosuggestion of being larger than life actually leads to world-class performances.

Saturday in Dortmund was one such evening. After the final whistle, when Schlotterbeck had cooled down a bit, he understood the historic dimension of his performance: he had finally decided an international match – and in favor of his own team. “I’m so glad that we kept a clean sheet,” he said, “I haven’t had the happiest performances for the DFB so far.”

Bad memories of the 2022 World Cup

Schlotterbeck was referring to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. There, he made a mistake in the first group match against Japan that would cost the Germans a place in the round of 16 (and, after a few months’ delay, national coach Hansi Flick his job). In the 83rd minute, Schlotterbeck let striker Takuna Asano escape, who then scored the winning goal to make it 2-1 for Japan.

The game at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha cemented Schlotterbeck’s reputation as a light-hearted player, a security risk for his own team. Not only at the DFB, but also in Dortmund.

How differently Mats Hummels and Schlotterbeck have been interpreted there. They both played in central defence for BVB over the past two years and both made serious mistakes. The late sliding tackle was a classic in Dortmund’s defence. In the case of Hummels, however, the apologetic response was always: he is wide awake, unfortunately his legs are no longer as fast as his head. In the case of Schlotterbeck, the response was: he is a super athlete, but he sleeps through games and thus through a world-class career. How can he do that!

A victory that makes us forget the worst defeat

Schlotterbeck’s mistakes often look silly. They are an expression of his overestimation of being able to do the little defensive work with reduced attention. At least that’s how it seems, and Schlotterbeck will probably spend a few more seasons correcting this image. But he has time. It is said about central defenders that they become more valuable the more experienced they are. Like heavyweight boxers.

Nico Schlotterbeck, 24, has already had to endure some setbacks in his young career. But on this Saturday evening in Dortmund he celebrated a victory that made him forget his dark moments in Qatar.