'Too soft': Klinsmann on German team at World Cup
· Yahoo Sports
Germany were not physical enough at the World Cup which contributed to their a third straight early and shameful exit, former national team coach Jürgen Klinsmann has said.
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"They were too soft, they weren't capable to suffer and weren't ruthless enough to generate respect," Klinsmann told Sky TV.
Klinsmann, who won the World Cup as a player in 1990 and coached the team to third place in 2006, said that Germany could learn from Argentina, who are seeking back-to-back titles in the final later on Sunday against Spain.
“What the Argentinians showed the whole world in this tournament is simple: Maybe we’re not the best team, but we’re prepared to go to the limit and beyond, and to decide matches in the final minutes,” Klinsmann said.
He added to Sport1 that Germany had also shown these virtues in the past, but no longer as they went out in the group stage in 2018 and 2022 and in the last 32 against Paraguay this time.
“Right now, we’re absolutely mediocre, completely lost somewhere,” Klinsmann said. “We have to be ashamed of ourselves. We have to admit that a great deal has been done wrong."
He said that he had jokingly told friends from Italy, whose side even failed to qualify the last three times: “It’s better not to qualify three times than to go home immediately three times.”
Klinsmann said he hopes for a fresh start under Jürgen Klopp, who is set to take over as Germany coach in succession of Julian Nagelsmann, who stepped down after the latest World Cup flop.
“I really hope so, because he’s the kind of person who can launch such a new beginning, because he has the energy and the positive attitude to bring other people on board,” Klinsmann said.