The boos are beginning to crescendo around the Germany men’s national team for their poor performances, and Hansi Flick’s future has never looked in more doubt.
But for now, the squad are firmly behind their head coach — and it’s not only his former Bayern Munich connections.
FC Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen has stepped up on the pitch in Manuel Neuer’s injury absence, and stepped up off it to defend Flick after Germany’s 2-0 defeat to Colombia on Tuesday.
“We have absolute trust in him, he wanted to try something and will draw his own conclusions from it,” said Ter Stegen, who started the final two games this June after Frankfurt’s Kevin Trapp stood between the sticks against Ukraine. The comments were captured via Az’s Maximilian Koch.
That something — an experimental back three — didn’t seem to be last the whole of the international period and looks set to be discarded. But it’s not only the tactics, and there’s no hiding from the results.
“It’s extremely disappointing. We have different expectations of ourselves, we understand the frustration of the fans,” Ter Stegen summarized.
Ready for more fallout from the game? Chuck is here to take us all on a tour of sadness in this International Friendly Rant edition of the BPW Postgame Show. Short, sweet, and bitter all at once: you need to give this a listen. Find it on Spotify or use the player below:
And while you’re at it, please throw a vote our way for the 2023 Best Club Podcast Award at WorldSoccerTalk! As always, we appreciate all your support!
