Berlin – Thomas Müller doesn’t have to constantly check his emails now. In joyful anticipation of the announced World Cup homework by Hansi Flick, the Bayern leader referred to his known contact details at the national coach immediately after the successful qualification at the 4: 1 in Armenia. There will be no post from Flick for the national soccer players before Christmas anyway. Only after the winter break will the Qatar candidates be sent the special training plans for the period up to the first tough World Cup tests in March.
Clear message to Italy, France and Brazil
But Flick still had a clear message ready for the title competition from European champion Italy to world champion France and record champion Brazil in the Armenian autumn cold. “I do believe that we are of good quality. We don’t need to hide. I do think the games showed that we are back. Especially the way we play football, ”said the 56-year-old after winning the seventh game under his direction.
For Flick, the “Return to the Top” project is going according to plan. He himself has long been in the World Cup tunnel and made it clear that the performance of his players must continue to be right even after the slight successes against the opponents in the European B and C categories in the sovereignly won Europe Group J. “But we will look at them, we will see what they offer and then we will keep in touch. It will start in January, “said Flick about his player monitoring – and added what the title favorites for the desert finals should sit up and take notice: The aspiring DFB team is” far from over “.
The detailed work begins for Flick and DFB director Oliver Bierhoff. In March, a test match against a “top-class athlete” far removed from the Liechtenstein or Armenia category is supposed to provide information about real performance, “because for the next step it is also important that we have the right opponent”. In the coming days, they want to report execution if possible.
After a week with a large corona vortex and unusual injury miseries, Flick can record as a positive sporting aspect that he has a larger selection of personnel than long thought in self-doubting German football. “It’s good that we have a broad squad, it has now been shown again that one or the other can show themselves again in a way that might not have been expected in this form,” said Flick.
In any case, the starting line-up in March should look fundamentally different than in Yerevan. Flick was missing, among others, Niklas Süle infected with corona, Antonio Rüdiger, who was banned from yellow, Joshua Kimmich and Serge Gnabry, who were quarantined with Süle as contact persons, and the injured Leon Goretzka. Captain Manuel Neuer and Marco Reus were spared. The last four of the 50 goals in the year of transformation in 2021 were scored by Kai Havertz, Ilkay Gündogan as a double scorer and Jonas Hofmann in Armenia.
Thomas Müller praises the work
“You can see that we have done a good job over the past three months,” said Müller on RTL. “We haven’t had a new national coach in Germany since 2006. So that’s something really big, ”said the Flick indispensable team veteran after his 110th international match. Müller is a beneficiary of the move to Flick. Also the Gladbacher Hofmann – under Joachim Löw a marginal figure – and Paris professional Thilo Kehrer – no longer considered by Löw – can feel as winners.
Flick avoided personal praise. “It’s just something that I like because everyone likes to be a national player, likes to be part of this group, I would say there is almost a family atmosphere, and that’s exactly what I know from the national team,” said the national coach. Not only Müller will be happy about DFB-Post. “Well, something can happen and that shows this awareness that it is important to stay tuned, and I believe that no matter who was on the pitch, everyone is fully there,” affirmed Thomas Müller.