Between two international matches, the national coach Hansi Flick was fired from Germany, which meant a new face was behind the microphone leading up to the friendly match with France. Rudi Völler is filling in, and he sat with Ilkay Gündogan at the press conference.
For the Barcelona midfielder, it's been a week full of emotions. 'The mood is a mix of sadness, frustration, and disappointment. As a player, I feel like I let Hansi down. He was always focused and full of energy. Unfortunately, we as a team couldn't translate that onto the field.'
Völler quickly made it clear to the German press that he will sit on the bench for the national team just once. The ninety-times capped international was also the national coach between 2000 and 2004. 'We have a lot of work ahead of us in the coming years,' admits the German.
Völler would have preferred not to intervene, but according to the director of the German association, it was inevitable. 'It was a difficult decision, but Hansi also realized the situation had become untenable. We had to tell him, even though Hansi was still combative. I wanted to support Hansi; we hadn't anticipated this when we appointed him. But we had to pull the emergency cord; there was simply no other way.'
Germany last won an international match in March, and World Cup finalist France is the next opponent for the organizer of Euro 2024. Völler did not mention names during the press moment, but Louis van Gaal is one of the candidates mentioned in the German press. Van Gaal is not averse to the idea.
