Neu-Isenburg (dpa) – Julian Weigl made a premature start to the comeback in the national football team, which was also “hugely surprising” for himself.
The manager from Benfica Lisbon checked in at the DFB team hotel just outside Frankfurt two hours before the official meeting point on Monday evening. The 26-year-old midfielder wants to use Hansi Flick’s invitation to jump on the World Cup train. Some high-profile failures in defensive midfield could help the former Dortmund player.
After Hansi Flick in the friendlies on Saturday against Israel and then in the Netherlands may have to do without Leon Goretzka and his Bayern colleague Joshua Kimmich, who initially stayed in Munich due to the impending birth of his third child, Weigl moves up next to the Mainz newcomer Anton Stach in focus: Weigl could celebrate his international comeback after five years – and of all places in Kimmich’s position (27).
Aged at Benfica
This week, Flick wants to get a personal impression of the former Dortmund player Weigl, who has matured and set at Benfica. With Portugal’s top club, Weigl is even in the Champions League quarter-finals against Liverpool. “Julian wasn’t there for a long time. We know what he’s capable of, but we also want to see him live,” said Flick.
There was a simple explanation for Weigl’s absence from the first training session in Frankfurt on Monday morning: he took a break for workload management reasons, like all the players who were still in the league on Sunday. Weigl was again in action for 90 minutes in Benfica’s 2-1 win over Estoril.
Flick also amazed Weigl with his appointment to the first DFB squad in 2022. “It would be a huge surprise if I jumped on the World Cup train,” he had said just a short time before. He was all the more pleased after the invitation. “Of course, the World Cup is a big dream. It would be a great honor if I were there.”
Back-up wanted for Kimmich
Flick is looking for a back-up for top performer Kimmich for the tournament in Qatar: “In addition to Jo, we need an alternative.” He sees corresponding qualities in Weigl. The prudent ball distributor could embody the “stabilizer” in the six position, “which offers a certain security”, as Flick said of the requirement profile. “Julian is someone who can organize well, who talks to the team-mates around him and coaches them. We need that. We need a player who is reliable. Besides Jo Kimmich, we need an alternative.”
So Weigl could get a second chance in the DFB team. The first began immediately before the EM 2016 at the age of 20 – together with Kimmich, who was one year older at the time. Both made their debuts six years ago in the 3-1 draw against Slovakia in heavy rain in Augsburg. After that, Flick predecessor Joachim Löw took both youngsters to the European Championships in France. Kimmich’s steep DFB career began there. Weigl, on the other hand, didn’t play a minute in the European Championship and was soon out with Löw. Five years later, the Weigl story is rewritten again.