What Is Next For Hansi Flick?

Despite a 4-2 win over Costa Rica, Germany has been eliminated from the FIFA World Cup at the group stage for the second tournament in a row. The result against the Concacaf nation on Thursday became irrelevant after Spain fell to Japan in the parallel game, eliminating Germany, who, prior to 2018, had never failed to reach at least the final eight of a World Cup.

And like 2018, the early exit at the world’s biggest stage was consequential. Germany, after all, did not lose because Spain failed to get a result against Japan but because Die Nationalmannschaft could not hold on to 1-0 lead over Japan on matchday 1 (1-2) or turn a 1-0 deficit into a win against Spain on matchday 2 despite having the majority of the chances.

“The disappointment is huge,” Bundestrainer Hansi Flick said when asked about Spain’s defeat to Japan after the game. “I can’t blame Spain. I never look at other teams. We only have ourselves to blame; we had enough chances, especially against Japan and also against Spain at the end of the game.”

Flick himself will have some tough questions to answer after the World Cup. Brought in to replace his former boss Joachim Löw, the 57-year-old’s appointment was one full of hope after Flick guided Bayern Munich to an incredible treble in 2020.

The former Bayern boss certainly had a brilliant start guiding Germany in a dominant fashion to the World Cup. But the recent UEFAEFA
Nations League campaign was a warning that not all was well for Germany. Germany lost to Hungary and then gave away a 2-0 lead to relegated England. Then in the buildup, a 1-0 draw against Oman highlighted that many of the old problems were still around.

A few of those problems were visible at this tournament, where Germany had the best xG differential of any nation in the tournament. But gross mistakes in defense and an inability to put away major chances—issues that go back to 2018—ultimately meant that Germany is now going to jump on a plan on Friday morning to return to Frankfurt.

Flick, in fact, was brought in to shut down the mistakes made by his predecessor Löw after 2017. Germany, as a dominant pressing machine with a ton of possession, was supposed to become more creative on the ball, and turn more of the chances into goals while also abandoning some of the tactical mistakes—mostly the high defensive line—to become better defensively.

None of that has happened, and perhaps this is due to some of the players that have been developed by a nation once famous for solid no.9s and bone-crushing defenders. “We need to get better at player development,” Flick said. “We’ve been crying out for no. 9s and strong full-backs for years. Defending has distinguished German football for years. We need to get back to the basics.”

Basics that were abandoned during Germany’s last football revolution in the early 2000s. That revolution, of course, led to a World Cup in 2014, but since then has led to an overproduction of technically gifted attacking midfielders. At center-back, only Antonio Rüdiger is close to being world-class; his partners Niklas Süle and Nico Schlotterbeck have the potential but, for some odd reason, have been struggling since joining Dortmund.

As for no.9s, well, Germany did have Niclas Füllkrug, and the Werder striker got the job done by scoring against Spain and Costa Rica. Here Flick perhaps carries the blame for not playing Füllkrug in every match from the start.

And make no mistake, Flick is not without blame in this tournament. Not nominating a proper right-back and not starting Füllkrug are two issues. His reliance on Thomas Müller, who might retire after the tournament, is another issue. Either way, there are important lessons here; whether Flick will be learning from them as a national team coach is another question.

“We’ll work that out quickly, it’s difficult to answer now right after the game when we’re eliminated,” Flick said when asked whether he will now step down from the role. “We’ll see about that very soon.”

It is hard making those kinds of decisions right after a tournament, but there is no doubt that change now needs to come. The DFB (German Football Federation) needs major reform from top to bottom. Decision-makers like Oliver Bierhoff need to take a long look in the mirror and ask whether it is time for them to step down to make room for change. Change that needs to come as one thing is certain; the status quo is no longer acceptable.

Manuel Veth is the host of the Bundesliga Gegenpressing Podcast and the Area Manager USA at Transfermarkt. He has also been published in the Guardian, Newsweek, Howler, Pro Soccer USA, and several other outlets. Follow him on Twitter: @ManuelVeth