BVB: Schlotterbeck hopes for a DFB return & defends himself against criticism

Left out under Nagelsmann

On Thursday, national coach Julian Nagelsmann will nominate his squad for the upcoming international matches in France (March 23) and against the Netherlands (March 26). Nico Schlotterbeck, who was last on the pitch for the DFB team in the 4-1 defeat against Japan on September 9th, has not yet been taken into account by the 36-year-old – it was the last game under the direction of Hansi Flick. The central defender from Borussia Dortmund is self-critical about his performances, but hopes to take part in the home European Championships in the summer.

“In principle, I can always understand criticism if it has substance. I also know that I didn’t play well against Japan. I just have the feeling that I like to generalize. A lack of consistency is often cited. I don’t know if I’m not consistent this season. My impression is different. I have my people and my family with whom I talk about it. You can tell me to my face when I haven’t played well and I can deal with it,” explained Schlotterbeck in an interview with the “Ruhr News“.

The 24-year-old is aware that “my position with the national team is not that easy. I haven’t been nominated by Julian Nagelsmann yet. I can handle that too. Maybe I could even understand it because the coach wanted something from me that I didn’t deliver at that moment. Since then, I have tried to constantly improve and perform better. And hope to be there again.”

Nagelsmann explained his previous absence to him in a personal conversation. “He knows what he’s getting from me. But he also told me what he was missing from me. I try to always give it my all. He said that he demands more consistency – I’m trying everything to achieve it,” said Schlotterbeck, who sees his performance as “very, very stable” since the winter. He therefore confidently announced: “I can only influence my performance and I am sure that I have a chance of making it to the European Championships if I continue to perform consistently well at BVB. I will do everything I can to give the national coach good arguments for my nomination.”

Schlotterbeck, the most valuable German central defender with a market value of 35 million euros, has played eleven games for the DFB team so far, of which he was in the starting eleven nine times. Three of these games ended in a nil draw. In his previous four duels, Nagelsmann mostly relied on Real Madrid’s Antonio Rüdiger and Bayer Leverkusen’s Jonathan Tah in the defensive center.

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