Speaking to the German Press Agency, Hansi Flick spoke about why he wants upheaval in the DFB team as well as the future of Thomas Müller.
With the performances of Jamal Musiala at the World Cup, Flick would like more players like him in the team: “It’s good for a team when a fresh breeze blows in.” Flick highlighted that there are exciting young players coming up in the youth ranks as well: “We have some good, very talented young players coming up. We have to look at that because it’s about the future. We have a year and a half. We want to try to support one or the other so that he can takes the next step, improves in such a way that it is an issue for us or gets stuck.”
In the World Cup squad, the only notable youngsters were Musiala (19), Youssoufa Moukoko (18) and Armel Bella-Kotchap (21) with the latter two playing little to no minutes.
The topic then moved onto the older players in the group with the likes of Manuel Neuer (36) and Thomas Müller (33). On Neuer, who recently broke his leg while skiing, Flick said: “Manuel is injured first. I’m really sorry about that because after the World Cup it’s another situation that’s not very easy. For him it’s the decisive thing , that he gets fit again, that he gets back to his old form.” Flick added on Müller: “I will try to talk to every player in the coming days – also to complete the World Cup and then I will also talk to Thomas. We have spoken briefly, but not in detail.”
Flick also said how age does not affect who he calls up for the national team: “Italy showed with Bonucci and Chiellini that players can still deliver top performances and be successful in old age. They have become European champions. That’s why you can never say categorically that someone is too old It’s all about performance – and we have that.”
Germany exited the World Cup at the group stage for the second time in a row and their next competitive game will be the opener of the European Championship in Munich in 2024.
GGFN | Jack Meenan
