Support for coach Di Salvo
National team manager Joti Chatzialexiou warned after the “super disaster” for the U21s and a year before the home European Championship not to badmouth everything. You shouldn’t “bury German football” this summer either, said the 47-year-old on Thursday in Batumi in Georgia.
After the recent failures of the senior national team under national coach Hansi Flick with three games without a win, the sobering EM loss of the U21s without a win in the group phase reinforced the impression of the DFB misery. “This tournament was not really under a lucky star,” said Chatzialexiou after Wednesday’s 0-2 loss to England. With just one point, the German talents were eliminated as the group last, they started as the defending champions.
Becker replaces Knauff: The final EM squad of the German U21
Against the English, who even rested some of their top players, it was shown once again that other nations are ahead of Germany: “We have to sit down and work on certain issues in youth work as soon as possible. There’s still a lot of work ahead of us so that we definitely don’t miss out on the connection to the world’s best.”
Coach Antonio Di Salvo’s team played two decent halves in the three games. “That’s just not enough if you want to become European champions and qualify for the Olympic Games,” emphasized Chatzialexiou, adding: “As a football nation, you have to act differently, decide the games, and want to win the games with a certain punch.” .
Chatzialexiou on Di Salvo’s DFB future: “There will be no coaching discussion”
Against the English, the team “surrendered a bit. It’s sad, but in the end it’s well deserved that we’re eliminated as bottom of the table.” Chatzialexiou immediately assured Di Salvo after his first tournament as the main person responsible for the U21s: “There won’t be a coaching discussion because we expressed our trust in Toni before the tournament, because we see how we work.” The contract of the coach had been extended to 2025 before the European Championship.
“In the end I have to take the blame for everything that happens. I think I’m up to it, it’s fun for me,” said Di Salvo himself. First of all, he has to “shake off the EM and also slow down a bit”. He will spend time with the family, which he has hardly seen recently. Then the gaze is “directed forward”. According to Chatzialexiou, problems must be clearly addressed during the processing.
He sees a challenge in the fact that the implementation of reforms and processes in Germany would be slower than in other countries. Sport must be the focus “and not just sports politics”. In the overall system in Germany, it is difficult to “sometimes get changes into people’s heads”.
At the beginning of September, the U21s will continue with the next international matches. Then the qualification for the European Championship 2025 in Slovakia begins for Germany. At the same time, Flick is required to create the spirit of optimism that the DFB is hoping for with the senior national team.
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