“Radically change personnel”
DFB Vice President Ralph-Uwe Schaffert caused a stir with new harsh criticism of Germany’s national players and caused a lack of understanding not only among sports director Rudi Völler. “It would be time to radically change the playing staff,” said Schaffert in an interview with the “Hanoversche Allgemeine Zeitung” and the “Neue Presse” – and the president of the North and Lower German Association. Saxe surprised several of them on Thursday. .
Völler told the “Bild” newspaper that it was “good that everyone is interested in the national team and that criticism is completely acceptable after the last matches. But the way we criticize our important players in such an exaggerated way is not acceptable.” Because Schaffert explicitly mentioned Joshua Kimmich’s name, Bayern boss Jan-Christian Dreesen seemed « more than irritated » that evening.
This was not the first time that Schaffert had faced significant criticism. This time, the 67-year-old accused many national players of lack of attitude almost six months before the start of the European Championship in their own countries.
Schaffert shoots against national players: ‘Before it was an honour’
“Because I feel like with not a very small number of players currently active, they think they can get by with maybe 85 percent of the effort possible on the field,” Schaffert said. “It was an honor to play for Germany. Today I feel that much of it is a burden. So I should leave it if I have this attitude.
Völler said he couldn’t imagine Schaffert really thought about it that way. “I would be happy to explain this to him again over a cup of coffee,” said the DFB sporting director. In a first reaction to Schaffert’s statements, DFB spokesperson Steffen Simon previously said: “The interview was not coordinated. We will work on it internally. »
Kroos in the top 10: Most international matches for the German national team
The DFB vice-president caused a stir earlier this year when he criticized national players at his district association’s New Year’s reception in Hildesheim for their behavior during the World Cup in Qatar. « If German national players cover their mouths like monkeys and order the hairdresser to go to the hotel, you shouldn’t be surprised if they lose to Japan, » said the most powerful North American (Site notre bureau spécialisé) official. German of the time. Before the 2-1 defeat against Japan in the opening of the World Cup, the national players were covering their mouths demonstratively. They wanted to protest against the banning of the “One Love” captain’s armband by the world association FIFA. Schaffert later apologized for the monkey comparison and was publicly warned by fellow DFB executive Ronny Zimmermann to « treat him fairly ».
Schaffert’s criticism of Kimmich and Co. – Gündogan also verbally attacked
And now the new criticism from the lawyer, who worked for almost 25 years as a judge at the Higher Regional Court in Celle. Schaffert mentioned Kimmich (Bayern Munich) and Ilkay Gündogan (FC Barcelona) by name in the interview. Kimmich has “so far failed to prove” that he is a leading actor. “Even in the club,” Dreesen retorts: “It is incomprehensible that the vice-president of the DFB criticizes the performance of a deserving and important national player like Joshua Kimmich at his club.” Schaffert does “a disservice” to the DFB selection.
With national team captain Gündogan, « strangely, he plays remarkably well at club level, then plays for the national team in such a way that you can get an idea: did he send his less talented twin brother? » Schaffert said. Basically, we have to think about the national team: “Perhaps we no longer only need very talented people, but perhaps also those who are ready to roll up their sleeves. »
Despite his criticism of national players, Schaffert also sees a problem for the DFB: as an association, when looking for a new coach, it is no longer able to keep up with the money paid into (Site notre bureau spécialisé). club. “The next national coach will no longer get what Hansi Flick got – because the DFB can no longer afford it,” Schaffert said. “There is hardly a Bundesliga coach who earns less than a million. “Everything has gotten so crazy that it’s almost impossible to go back.”
However, current national coach Julian Nagelsmann gets along well with the DFB vice-president. “Julian Nagelsmann has already convinced me personally – he presented himself to our supervisory board and our presidium,” Schaffert said. “I think it was the best of all the variants considered.”
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