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Berlin (AFP)
German coach Joachim Loew is hoping to prove the truth to his critics and will open the 2019 season with a win as his newly-created team host Serbia in a friendly match at Wolfsburg on Wednesday.
Loew, who arrived in Wolfsburg later than expected due to a dental operation this week, hopes to rebound after a painful 2018, during which Germany was eliminated from the World Cup and was relegated to first place in the League of Nations of UEFA.
The friendly matches against Serbia prepare Sunday the prestigious qualifying match for the Euro 2020 in the Netherlands. The Germans are seeking revenge after a 3-0 win against Oranje last October at Amsterdam Arena.
While he fears that German football is in decline, Loew, 59, is eager to show that he can build a new era of success around a younger generation of players.
However, he also had to face strong criticism for his decision to knock out veteran World Cup winners Mats Hummels, Jerome Boateng and Thomas Mueller of the national team, falling out of the game with their club, Bayern Munich.
The controversial call was seen as a bet, which increased the pressure before Wednesday's game.
"Loew is playing a game of poker big stakes," wrote Monday the German magazine Kicker.
Still, the German boss insisted that last year's failures helped draw the right conclusions.
"We've been thinking since the World Cup," he admitted on Friday. "We have to be faster, more ambitious and more dynamic, we lost all of that at the World Cup and our game has become quite predictable."
– New guard –
Loew gave three young players their first international call.
Hertha Berlin defender Niklas Stark, 23, Werder Bremen midfielder Maximilian Eggestein and 22-year-old defender Lukas Klostermann of RB Leipzig join the team, which now has just two winners in the winner category of the 2014 World Cup, with Manuel Neuer and Toni. Kroos.
Loew confirmed Friday that Neuer remained his first-choice goalkeeper, despite calls for him to promote Barcelona's goal, Marc-Andre Ter Stegen, to the forefront.
However, he also invited young players such as Niklas Suele, 23, Leon Goretzka and Joshua Kimmich, both 24, to play a leading role.
"Some players have to go to the next stage," he said. "Goretzka and Kimmich are guys with clear ideas, ambition and opinions."
"Suele must take responsibility, we expect more from him now," said Loew. "He has to organize and direct the proceedings at the back."
Suele will be the direct heir to the defensive duo Hummels and Boateng and will be the subject of special scrutiny from Serbia.
– The criticism of Klinsmann –
Many have questioned Loew's decision to get rid of two seasoned defensemen, including his predecessor and former colleague Jurgen Klinsmann, who coached Germany to third in the 2006 World Cup with Loew as badistant.
"My personal hope is that the door remains open for Hummels, Boateng and Mueller," Klinsmann told AFP's affiliate, SID, this week.
"They are top players and it's important to have them at your disposal if you need them."
"It's obvious that the pressure on the team increases a bit when you make such a decision."
However, Klinsmann also warned that German football was in bad shape and that big decisions were needed to stop the rot.
"The results have been very disappointing in recent years," he said.
"The fact that there is no longer any team in the Champions League is a fiasco." I only hope that there will be a reaction, a change of approach that will allow us to regain the upper hand . "
? AFP 2019
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