DFB comeback after almost 2 years
Emre Can is back – not only at Borussia Dortmund, but also in the German national team. The 29-year-old midfielder could celebrate his comeback in the DFB team next week almost two years after his last international match. National coach Hansi Flick surprisingly called the in-form professional into the 24-man squad for the friendlies against Peru in Mainz and Belgium in Cologne.
Even before the failed World Cup in Qatar, Can Flick had raised hopes of a DFB return, as he revealed when presenting his first squad in 2023. “I spoke to Emre before the World Cup. I said to him at the time: Hey, listen, we have a European Championship in Germany in 2024. If your development is as we would like it to be, you have another chance here to make the team. That’s how it is now,” said Flick.
With 5 newcomers: Flick’s squad for the internationals in March
And Can delivered: Since the World Cup, he has been in the starting XI in eleven of twelve competitive games at BVB, ten times over the full distance. For the TM community, the right foot is one of the main reasons why the black and yellow came out of the break with eight Bundesliga wins in a row and almost reached the quarter-finals in the Champions League against Chelsea. “Be honest, without Emre’s improvement in performance Dortmund would not be playing for the championship. He became one of the top 3 most important players in the second half of the season,” wrote TM user “spegel” in the BVB forum. “Bvbbb09” agrees: “Emre has the train to goal, drives.” Even the otherwise celebrated Jew Bellingham “goes down a bit because Emre is so dominant.”
He has already brought these performances for us, especially in the CL. However, he kept making a “mistake” that decided the game. For example, a bad pass before a goal was conceded or a handball in the penalty area or a dismissal. The fact that many of these situations were unfortunate from his point of view and that he had otherwise made a good game didn’t matter to many. I admit that I was also part of it and I was disappointed at the time, especially after losing to PSG and City.
Flick has also noticed this development and put his words into action. “His last games were really good on the six. He implemented a lot of things that we would also like to see here,” he praised. The national coach has known Can since his time in the German U21 selection, when he was also responsible for the junior teams as sports director at the DFB. “I have always followed his career. He didn’t have enough games before the World Cup.” But now the consistency is right.
Can played his last of 37 international matches on June 29, 2021 under Flick’s predecessor Joachim Löw as a substitute in the German European Championship defeat against England in Wembley. He made his debut on September 4, 2015 in his hometown of Frankfurt. In the 3-1 win against Poland, Can was used as a right-back for over 90 minutes.
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