Record national player Lothar Matthäus has clearly criticized the constant tactical experiments of national coach Hansi Flick.
The German national soccer team can meet on Tuesday evening (8:45 p.m. live at RTL) against Colombia do not allow any further mistakes, Lothar Matthäus emphasized on the sidelines of the Nations League final on RTL. According to the latest statements from the DFB officials, he certainly has the impression that one can “afford a setback”, but the 62-year-old sees it differently: “In my opinion, you can’t do that.”
There are successes that “weld together” and “give security”. Victories are also “important for the German fans so that they transfer the atmosphere to the team”. In other words, a win is definitely needed against Colombia.
Nations League finalists Croatia, who also finished second at the past World Cups in 2018 and third four years later, show how it works. “The results are right, the commitment and the cohesion is right. And that’s why 50,000 Croatians came to Holland today to lead their team to their first international title,” said Matthäus in Rotterdam’s De Kuip.
Matthew demands a firm tribe and a firm system
For national coach Hansi Flick, the time for experiments is over. Lothar Matthäus explained: “In my opinion, he has to start trusting a bigger team. Back and forth, back three, back four: As a player, I also want to have security at some point, how does the coach feel about me? What job does he give me ? What trust do I have?”
That “ambiguity” “of course also goes through the players’ minds,” said the former world-class midfielder: “After this summer break, I really wish that Hansi Flick with his coaching team, with all those responsible and also with the players, this system finds whom he then trusts at the European Championships in a year’s time.”
Matthäus also emphasized that some players had “never played the back three in their lives”. Such a system is therefore “difficult”.