Flick is fired as coach of the German national soccer team after a 1-4 loss against Japan.
The ‘Chariots of Fire’ continue to struggle after a group stage exit at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, and head coach of the German national soccer team Hanji Flick has been sacked in the aftermath of a 1-4 exhibition loss to Japan.
The German Football Association (DFB) announced on Tuesday (local time) that it had dismissed Flick and coaches Markus Zorc and Danny Röhl.
“There was a consensus within the federation that the men’s national team needed a fresh start after recent disappointing results,” said DFB President Bernd Neuendorf. “This decision was inevitable, as on-field performance is our top priority.”
The team needs a wake-up call and firm expectations ahead of the European Football Championship (Euro 2024) in Germany, he explained.
“The match against Japan clearly showed us that progress is not possible in this situation,” said Rudi Pöhler, head coach of the German national team. “It’s not an easy moment, but now we have to act responsibly and change something in order to play a decent and ambitious role as hosts at Euro 2024.”
According to the BBC and others, this is the first time a German national soccer team has “sacked” a coach since the country introduced a full-time managerial system in 1926.
Flick, who took over the reins of the German national team in August 2021 after winning the Bundesliga in 2019-2020 and 2020-2021, the UEFA Champions League (UCL) in 2019-2020 and the FIFA Club World Cup in 2020, left after more than two years at the helm of German professional soccer giants Bayern Munich.
Flick’s departure follows a string of poor performances at the national team level, including a group stage exit at the World Cup in Qatar.
After failing to reach the round of 16 in two consecutive tournaments following the 2018 World Cup in Russia, Germany won 2-0 against Peru in March, their first A match since Qatar, but have since lost one and drawn four.
They lost 2-3 to Belgium in their second game in March, battled to a hard-fought 3-3 draw with Ukraine in their first game in June before falling to Poland (0-1) and Colombia (0-2).
Desperate for a turnaround, Germany welcomed Japan home on July 10, but were brought to their knees by a staggering 1-4 defeat.
It was the first time in nearly 38 years that the German national team had lost three consecutive games in an A-match since 1985, when they were West Germany.
What could be considered an “embarrassing” run of results was followed by a thunderbolt of a head coach change with just over nine months to go before Euro 2024.
For the time being, the German national team will play a trial against France at 4:00 a.m. ET on June 13, with Poeller and U-20 coach Hannes Wolf and U-20 coach Jandro Wagner serving as acting coaches.
Julian Nagelsmann, who has been touted as a young mastermind, is among the favorites to succeed Flick.
Born in 1987, Nagelsmann was recognized for his leadership at Hoffenheim and Leipzig in Germany before succeeding Flick as Bayern Munich coach from 2021-2023.
He won the Bundesliga title with Munich in 2021-2022, but struggled with UCL and the DFB-Pokal, and is currently without a club after being sacked in March of this year following a disastrous 2022-2023 campaign 카지노사이트킴 that saw the club fall short of the league’s top spot.