Berlin ( Germany), August 28: New German national coach Hansi Flick doesn't waste time to get his idea of football into his player's minds.
Only hours after the national league's third round of matches, the former Bayern manager gathers his 26 nominees at the remotely located "Waldhotel" in the forested hills near Stuttgart this Sunday evening.
The challenge, the 56-year-old successor of the 2014 World Cup-winning Joachim Loew is facing couldn't be more ambitious. The 2020 treble winner announced nothing less than to lead the wavering football giant back to international glory "with us playing fast and aggressive football."
Flick wants to enjoy fans with high-class football. "We want to create an all-in-mentality. Meaning, players and coaches invest all they have and proudly wear the German shirt."
The former midfielder's recipe sounds as simple as it might be hard to achieve. "The 2020 Euro told us, teams acting with high speed and a high pressing approach are the successful ones. The last four changed extremely fast from defense to attacks," Flick said.
The reluctant strategy of Loew seems a thing of the past.
Ahead of three 2022 World Cup qualifiers against Liechtenstein, Armenia and Iceland, three new arrivals complete a squad containing a growing number of youngsters aside from established forces such as Marco Reus (Dortmund), Thomas Mueller, and Manuel Neuer (Bayern).
Dortmund's injured defender Mats Hummels is said to return in October after full recovery while striker Karim Adeyemi (19 years old/Salzburg) and the defenders Nico Schlotterbeck (21/Freiburg) and David Raum (23/Hoffenheim) received their first call.
Wolfsburg defender Ridle Baku is slipping into the German shirt aside of Bayern's genius Jamal Musiala, Dortmund's Mo Dahoud.
Seven internationals wait for the newly formed German side in 2021. The re-start is carried out without Toni Kroos after the Real star announced his retirement after the disappointing exit at the Euro 2020.
Expectations seem paramount, while Hansi Flick not only needs quick success in the 2022 World Cup campaign but is under pressure to form a competitive team for the Euro 2024, hosted by Germany.
The new coach said he intends to revitalize enthusiasm around the national team after many fans turned their heads away after Loew's team failed to repeat the success of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
National team director Oliver Bierhoff called Flick a people's catcher, able to get everyone's foot behind the line.
Having won seven titles in only two years with Bayern, Flick is expected to do some repair work as the team's spirit suffered in the last years.
Performance is said to be in the center of Flick's thinking as he claims age doesn't play a role for him, but output.
"As long as established players deliver, they are part of the team. Our national team is about the best, disregarding their age," the German coach commented.
For Dortmund star Reus, his coach's demand means, to return to a top-level after the striker skipped the 2020 Euro due to a lack of fitness.
Source: Xinhua