A documentary about the national soccer team at the World Cup in Qatar gives intimate insights. It shows the bad mood of the national coach, caused above all by the discussion about the “One Love” captain’s armband.
The international matches against Japan and France are coming up. From then on, once again, everything should get better for the German national team.
Before that, however, there are intimate insights into a rather dark chapter in German football history that dates back more than nine months. From Friday (September 8th, 2023), one day before the game against Japan, the four-part documentary “All or Nothing” can be accessed on the “Amazon Prime Video” streaming service. The media were allowed to view three parts in advance.
Again and again “One Love”
The documentary shows the German national team at the World Cup in Qatar, it shows the failure in the preliminary round, it shows how the political discussions, especially those about the “One Love” captain’s armband, supposedly caused the poor sporting performance, and they shows an almost consistently bad-tempered national coach Hansi Flick.
“Fuck off.” This curse from Flick, with which he storms into the cabin after the opening game lost to Japan on November 23, 2022, is the shortest possible summary of the national coach’s state of mind. The half-time speech in the last game against Costa Rica, which they ultimately won 4-2, is another highlight of the bad mood. “I think things are starting here. We’re playing a World Cup. (…) That can’t be true anymore. They’re so blind and we’re making them strong. That can’t be true“Flick roars in the dressing room. Such insights are rare in professional football at the top level, so it’s worth watching.
DFB “here and there with comments”
The German Football Association (DFB) informed the German Press Agency (dpa) that it was not entitled to “Having scenes arbitrarily deleted or changed. After prior exchange with Amazon, the DFB needed an important reason for an intervention, such as an incorrect representation or one taken out of context”. Director Christian Twente said the association had “had notes here and there”but he was free in his decisions: “At no point during the shooting and editing was it prescribed to me as a director what I could or should tell and how.”
most explosive team meeting missing
Then it must have been his concession that what is probably the most explosive discussion during the World Cup was not shown, at least not in the first three parts. The fourth part will not be shown to invited guests until Thursday (September 7th, 2023).
It’s about the meeting that dealt with the issue that dominated the first few days in Qatar. Manuel Neuer was determined to wear the “One Love” captain’s armband as a sign of diversity and, above all, against the rulers of the emirate, where homosexual acts, for example, are punishable.
After other European nations, who also wanted to wear the bandage, backed down due to the alleged threat of severe sporting sanctions from the world association FIFA, there was a crisis meeting at the DFB, in which, according to information from the sports show, things got really busy. Nothing of that can be seen.
tactical disagreements
Other team meetings, on the other hand, are documented in detail. They show tactical differences of opinion between the national coach and the players, undisciplined players who are late and the constant attempts to form the team into a unit and to inspire them, even though there is a lack of support at home. This wailing runs through the first three episodes. Flick and the director responsible at the time, Oliver Bierhoff, repeatedly point out that the discussions about the host country and the captain’s armband had severely impaired concentration.
Motivation by greylag geese
As a counterpoint, the DFB – as in previous tournaments – relied on motivational aids. So the players lit candles and suspended them in small lamps, which then floated on the hotel pool. A film with greylag geese was more elaborately produced. “WM 2022 – let’s learn from the geese and make our big flight together!”is to be read at the beginning.
It was the big departure, well documented, and certainly not as a PR film for the German Football Association. To that extent “All or Nothing: The National Team in Qatar” a remarkable novelty.