Germany to Host the UEFA Euro 2024

Why Hansi Flick was given a second chance by Germany

According to Hans-Joachim Watzke, the outcome of talks between Hansi Flick and German FA (DFB) bosses was settled well before the national team manager presented the reasons for Germany’s World Cup failure on Wednesday afternoon.

“There was no question of going separate ways with Hansi Flick being on the agenda, we didn’t think about that for one second,” DFB vice president Watzke told reporters the next day.
That wasn’t the whole truth. The federation had braced themselves for the possibility that Flick might walk out of his own volition after the 57-year-old had released a remarkably emotional statement about the departure of national team director Oliver Bierhoff, his biggest ally.

“At this moment, my coaching staff and I find it hard to imagine how the void left by Oliver’s exit can be filled on a professional and human level,” Flick had said, setting off alarm bells. The former Bayern Munich midfielder has a history of stepping down from positions if he doesn’t feel sufficiently backed. Only last spring, he left the German champions after falling out with sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic.

As it turned out, Flick’s statement was more of a love letter to the man who had been made the scapegoat for the group exit in Qatar than an expression of real anger. Any initial frustrations he might have harboured over the DFB board’s role in Bierhoff’s demission were tempered by the realisation that the Euro 96 hero had offered up his own resignation before anyone had seriously pushed him. Bierhoff did his friend one last favour in that respect. By making himself the sacrificial lamb the public had demanded, he vastly reduced the pressure on Flick to walk as well.

The DFB was not sure how Flick felt until Wednesday, however, which is why Thomas Tuchel was sounded out as a contingency (sources say neither side was particularly enthusiastic about the prospect). Jurgen Klopp’s representatives were not contacted because German FA officials knew the answer would have been negative. If Liverpool’s coach had been available, Watzke and DFB president Bernd Neuendorf might have pushed Flick a lot harder.

But for all the mistakes he made in Qatar, the German FA was, from the outset, prepared to give him the benefit of the doubt. He is still seen as the best man for the job at this point. Large sections of the squad continue to back him and there is a belief at the DFB headquarters in Frankfurt that Germany’s troubles came down to details rather than wholesale deficiencies which warranted a huge overhaul of methods.

While there have been some misgivings about the relaxed atmosphere at the team’s remote Zulal base camp, where wives, girlfriends and families visited a few times, as well as the unproductive training camp in Oman, Flick made a convincing argument that these issues were ultimately less important than Germany creating (and missing) enough chances to win at least two if not all three games comfortably.

There are other considerations, of course, namely the side’s defensive problems and chronic lack of control, but these are seen as not insurmountable to a successful Euro 2024 campaign.
Flick will have to learn some coaching lessons, too. His over-reliance on Bayern Munich players and loyalty to Thomas Muller, in particular, hampered the team and brought his judgment into question.

Unlike a club manager, who needs to keep the dressing room happy over the course of a season, he should be a lot more decisive; much more Flick than Hansi, if you will. He understands now that there are no second chances in a big competition.

Just as importantly, he will have to learn to function in a less harmonious environment. Whoever the DFB installs as Bierhoff’s successor, Flick can expect more scrutiny and criticism from close quarters than ever before. The federation hopes that a set-up offering more challenges and constructive discourse will bring out the best in the national coach and the team but Flick, as mentioned before, has often walked away from confrontation. The next man alongside him will therefore have to work out carefully how much input Flick will accept before feeling undermined.

Whether the new leadership team will get that balance right will be just as relevant as him finding more tactical cohesion on the pitch. The last thing German football needs heading towards a tournament that urgently needs to rekindle public enthusiasm for the national team is internal disagreements and bad vibes behind the scenes.
https://theathletic.com/3985544/2022/12/09/hansi-flick-germany-world-cup/?amp=1

 

Florian Wirtz (19) made his long-awaited comeback in Leverkusen's 0:3 friendly against Glasgow Rangers. 272 days after tearing the cruciate ligament in the left knee. The national player came on as a substitute in the 62nd minute and after the long break showed directly why he was sorely missed at Bayer.

"We saw today what a special and special quality he has," said Bayer trainer Xabi Alonso (41) after the Wirtz premiere under his direction.

Sport boss Simon Rolfes (40) explained: “Of course he is an important player and also has a great influence on the team and our game. He also helps the other players to play better. However, it's not just up to Flo, the other players also have to make steps forward."

Despite all the joy at Wirtz's return, Rolfes warns against expecting miracles from Wirtz after a nine-month break: "Of course he's a unique player who we have to give him the time to get back into his game over the next few weeks and months to get in top form because he was out for a long time. There will also be phases in which it is a bit more difficult.”
https://www.bild.de/sport/fussball/...n-florian-wirtz-zeit-geben-82218120.bild.html

 

LOL Rolfes already admitted to what some of us have been saying all season. He carried Bayer
“Of course he is an important player and also has a great influence on the team and our game. He also helps the other players to play better. However, it's not just up to Flo, the other players also have to make steps forward."

 

Marc-André ter Stegen is set to replace Neuer in #GER goal in the next internationals in March & June. The Barcelona goalkeeper has been waiting for his chance for a long time and feels this might be the right time to take over as #1, even relatively late in his career [@kicker] pic.twitter.com/72EcWOEDT8

— Bayern & Germany (@iMiaSanMia) December 11, 2022

 

Being automatically qualified for Euro 24 & having been eliminated from Nations League, #GER only have friendlies until summer 2024. 10 games are planned in 2023, opponents to be announced later. The next competitive game will be Euro 24 opener on 14 June 2024 in Munich [@kicker] pic.twitter.com/aeZI3ZHa5R

— Bayern & Germany (@iMiaSanMia) December 12, 2022

 

from another angle, its cringe though as Bayern, Bayer, Leipzig especially latter 2 don't care much about domestic players.

 

DFB president Bernd Neuendorf: "I have complete trust in Hansi Flick, he is an excellent coach. He has a high sense of responsibility. He wants to make the home European Championship in 2024 successful under all circumstances, he was probably the most annoyed with the WC exit""The impression was that Hansi Flick is the right man, I want to emphasize that again. We talked about the tournament in all its facets. Hansi Flick and his staff will draw the right conclusions"

"We held talks with people with a lot of experience and expertise, even if they're not currently at the DFB. We will set up a DFB working group, that includes Alexander Wehrle, tournament director Philipp Lahm and Celia Sasic as ambassador.""We'll take a close look at Bierhoff's area of responsibility. He was also responsible for the academy & the management of the entire area, for personnel & financial planning. In this working group, we want to talk about how we have to set up this area in the future""There will be a second group, I'd like to call it an advisory group. It's about the sporting future of the DFB, how are we positioned in 2024 and beyond, promoting young players and talent. I had many discussions for this working group last week."Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, Rudi Völler, Oliver Kahn, Matthias Sammer & Oliver Mintzlaff are among them. This group is very familiar with men's football and the national team, we can get good impetus. We'll discuss what the profile of Bierhoff's successor should look like""This is a circle of highly respected people. I don't think the interests of their own clubs will be the priority. It's all about how we get back on track and build a successful national team. They have a high sense of responsibility, that's what I felt in the talks."

Neuendorf on what he learned from the debacle and unrest around the One Love armband topic: "I think I would clarify that well before a tournament. We asked FIFA in September if we could wear the armband and there was no feedback, the topic was carried into the tournament.""In retrospect, I'd have acted differently. We should have sought direct contact with President Infantino and a binding statement. I would do that differently. That might be easier when I join the FIFA Council in March, even though I spoke to Infantino several times""But not everything we said towards Qatar was wrong in the first place. We wanted a compensation fund for the workers who were injured and killed building the stadiums, and a migration center for any workers who needed assistance. FIFA took up both.""There will be a permanent office for migrant workers and an effective system for paying compensation. If we Europeans hadn't always vigorously campaigned for this, it probably wouldn't have happened. There's a certain amount of progress in that respect"

Neuendorf on the choice of Bierhoff's successor: "Hansi Flick will know everything that is discussed in the advisory group. In the end we will find an amicable solution. It's important there's trust in each other. That can be done.""Many names have appeared in the press. But now let's do the process first: How can such a person effectively contribute to improving us. The final step will be to see who fits in. It's important that whoever will be appointed is accepted by everyone"

 

Toni Kroos suggests Per Mertesacker as Oliver Bierhoff successor: "I really think Per is the perfect man for the job. He's a big personality, has absolute authority and is on the other hand also a friendly person.""Per is extremely professional and could also ensure that a certain closeness to the fans is created again. In my eyes, he would be the perfect man for it. He has also gained a lot of experience in the youth area from working in the Arsenal academy over the years."

 

axing 50+1 would kill German footy and turn everything into plastic and no club will give a shit about integrating their own. Will buy left and right and turn this into a worse version of EPL. Why worst version, because all 1BL clubs admit that they dev foreign players to sell them, that is no applicable to Germans who sell for peanuts. Dortmund looks to want to make $300M between Sancho, Bellingham, Gittens and Sancho so far is a major flop. That much money for 3 players when most German struggle to hit $20M.

clubs always talk about insane market prices yet they still spend like crazy, lol. Always funny seeing 2-3 clubs overspend just to fight relegation battle, LOL. Love to see it, since I'm anti-overspending.

 

- @kicker poll with over 123k participants

Will Neuer retain his #1 spot at Bayern?
Yes 35%
No 65%

Will Neuer retain his #1 spot at the national team?
Yes 16%
No 84% pic.twitter.com/25NELNsKjz

— Bayern & Germany (@iMiaSanMia) December 14, 2022

I'm hoping Nubel becomes Bayern #1 and then it'll be ter Stegen vs Nubel for #1 in future.