Germany coach Hansi Flick has come under pressure following Germany’s defeat to Colombia
Germany coach Hansi Flick began his tenure in 2021 with a successful eight-game winning streak and a commitment to bringing the four-time world champions back to their former glory.
However, their recent 2-0 unexpected defeat at home against Colombia seems to have depleted much of the goodwill Flick had initially earned. The German team, who will be hosting Euro 2024, has also suffered losses against Poland and a 3-3 draw against Ukraine in their three international matches this month.
“Is he the right man for the job?,” asked several German media in their online polls on Wednesday.
“A year before the Euro it looks like the coach and his team have lost all orientation,” Kicker football magazine wrote in a comment.
Germany, who have less than a year to assemble a battle-tested team for the continental tournament and boost morale in the country, required two late goals to secure a draw against Ukraine before suffering a 1-0 defeat in Warsaw on Friday.
Their performance against Colombia in Gelsenkirchen was even worse, with Flick’s players lacking urgency and firepower in the attack. Since their surprising elimination in the group stage of the World Cup in December, Germany has only won one of their last five matches and three out of their last eleven.
When Flick took charge two years ago, Germany had just experienced a round of 16 exit at the Euro in 2021, following their first group stage elimination in over 80 years in 2018. Initially, Flick seemed like the ideal candidate for the job, given his successful tenure at Bayern Munich in 2020, where he won six trophies, and his previous work as an assistant coach to Joachim Loew, culminating in the 2014 World Cup victory in Brazil.
However, despite Flick’s assurances that the team will undergo significant changes in their upcoming international fixtures in September, he now finds himself under pressure.
“We will see a different team,” Flick said. “We will stabilise the team and we will fine-tune it.”
“We are positive for September because we are convinced we have a good team and good players.”
Germany will have a match against Japan on September 9 and then play against France three days later. After that, they will travel to North America to face the United States on October 14. However, German fans are becoming increasingly impatient as they have not seen any noticeable signs of improvement in recent months.
“Flick’s announcement that things ‘will be different in September’ now only sounds like a morale-boosting slogan,” Kicker said.
The Euros are now one year away, and Flick has also begun the countdown to deliver by September.
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