Former Bayern Munich manager Hansi Flick has started his role as German national team head coach, and he has already assured that veterans Thomas Muller and Mats Hummels will be considered for selection. The new Die Mannschaft boss has cleared that there won’t be any age criteria to select players during his reign.
The experienced duo was excluded from the national team after the team’s horrible group stage exit at the 2018 World Cup in Russia. Joachim Low, who was the head coach at that time, thought of focusing more on younger players, overlooking the experienced stars.
But ultimately, Low had to lower guard and recall Hummels and Muller for the European Championships after their strong domestic campaigns for Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich.
Low stepped down from his role after the Euros, and Flick has taken up the vacant spot as the new German national team head coach. Right after starting his role, he was asked whether he would include the likes of Muller, Hummels and Jerome Boateng in the squad for the 2022 World Cup qualifiers scheduled for September.
“There is no age at which I exclude players from the national team.
“The most important thing is that the player is good enough and has a desire for the national team,”
Flick said.
The former Bayern manager enjoys a free-flowing style of football which helped the Bavarians win the Champions League in the 2019-20 season, and now he wants to implement the same style for Germany. Although he is not setting any age quota for players, he still wants them to be at their physical best in terms of work ethic and tenacity.
“We are working with the best players in the country, they have to show that they are the best ones,” he said.
“It’s about every single player giving their very best, giving everything. We want to fascinate the fans with our offensive play. We still have a lot of work to do.”
Die Mannschaft are third in their Group of World Cup qualifiers, and they are due to face Liechtenstein, Armenia and Iceland in the following month. Flick is confident to make a winning start and get the team up and running for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
“We want to get nine points and finish first in the group stage – that’s clear,” he added on the importance of winning all the upcoming matches.
The 56-year-old was the first choice for the Germany role after Low decided to step down following the Euros. Flick earned this role due to his fantastic performance as Bayern Munich manager. He guided the Bavarians to a historic treble in the 2019-20 season and also won the Bundesliga consecutive two times in the last couple of seasons.
