
FILE PHOTO: Germany's coach Hans-Dieter Flick looks on during the friendly football match against Japan at the Volkswagen Arena in Wolfsburg. PICTURE: Ronny Hartmann/AFP
MUNICH: He has been sacked along with his assistant coaches following a shocking 4-1 defeat at the hands of Japan.
Hansi Flick has been sacked as a Germany national team coach with just nine months before the country hosts the 2024 European Championships ‘EURO 24’.
He has been sacked along with his assistant coaches following a shocking 4-1 defeat at the hands of Japan in an international friendly match over the weekend.
The loss exacerbated his sacking as the German Football Association had no choice but to look for someone else to lead the country.
“The committees agreed that the men’s senior national team needs new impetus after the really disappointing results. We need a spirit of optimism and confidence in our own country,” said FA president Bernd Neuendorf in a media statement. “For me personally,” he continued, “it is one of the most difficult decisions of my time in office so far.”
Rudi Voeller, who will be on the bench in Germany’s next game against France on Tuesday, will take over the reins on an interim basis while the search for a new coach is ongoing.
Flick replaced long-served Joachim Loew in 2021. He began his tenure positively, winning eight matches in a row.
Thenceforth, Germany began to experience a poor run of results, including a failure to make it out of their group in the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
Following the disappointing World Cup campaign, the four-time World champions have only won one out of six matches in 2023. To be more precise, Germany has not won a match since beating Peru in March 2023 and recently lost three games on the trot.
The coaching change in the context of Germany is a novelty as the country believes in giving the coach time to work on his project for an extended period. The case in point is that of Loew, who was at the helm for 15 years.