Jürgen Kohler was one of the most consistent defenders in the Bundesliga for years. To this day, the now 56-year-old, who played for BVB and FC Bayern among others, has a close eye on German football – and expresses sharp criticism of the quality of the defensive players.
For Jürgen Kohler it is clear that the Bundesliga currently lacks top-level defenders. The former international let off steam in his comment on the “kicker” ranking of the best defenders published on Thursday.
Kohler agreed in principle with the choice of the specialist magazine, which Nico Schlotterbeck from SC Freiburg and Bayern’s Niklas Süle listed at the top, but denied the two DFB stars the international class.
“At the moment I don’t see a central defender in this category in the Bundesliga,” the 1990 world champion made it unmistakably clear.
Schlotterbeck would be missing “the international appearances with the club or in the national team, the regular comparison with European top strikers”. Having met Erling Haaland or Robert Lewandowski every now and then was “not conclusive enough as evidence,” emphasized Kohler.
FC Bayern: Kohler von Süle is not completely convinced
Kohler was not completely impressed by Niklas Süle’s performance either. The 26-year-old shows “too many fluctuations at Bayern and in the national team”.
The ex-professional provided a possible reason for the lack of consistency. “He has had to partially help out as a right-back, which is not his position,” he noted.
Kohler’s tough judgment: “The fact that there is currently no central defender at the very highest level in the Bundesliga says something about mistakes in training.” The defense center has long been “a neuralgic point” in German football.
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