On Sunday afternoon, the DFB leadership ended the Hansi Flick chapter, a 1:4 debacle against Japan was the last straw. A first national player has now said goodbye to the fired national coach.
The new national team captain Ilkay Gündogan thanked Flick “for the time we spent together, the mutual respect and the cooperation”.
“You are a great person and coach,” the experienced midfielder wrote on Twitter/X a few hours after Flick’s expulsion.
And further: “It is a great shame that we as a team were not able to repay your great trust in us. We will continue to try to learn as a team in order to come back stronger for a successful home European Championship in 2024 – also for you!”
Gündogan, who has been playing for FC Barcelona since the summer, concluded his message by wishing Flick “only the best for the future.”
Sad national team novelty by Flick
Flick, who had only won four of the last 17 matches with the DFB team, is the first national coach to be thrown out by the association.
On Tuesday (9 p.m./ARD) in Dortmund against runner-up world champion France, sports director Rudi Völler, U20 coach Hannes Wolf and Sandro Wagner will look after the team once.
“This is not an easy moment for me, because I joined the DFB in February to support Hansi Flick with all my options, to keep his back free so that he can be successful in sport,” said Völler after the decision.
The former Bayern coach Julian Nagelsmann is now hotly traded, Oliver Glasner and Stefan Kuntz are considered alternatives. The new man could carry out the task for the first time on the controversial US tour in October.
Record national player Lothar Matthäus demanded Matthias Sammer, but he himself turned down the job.