After Rangnick criticism: “Great surprise” at BVB | OneFootball

After his dream debut for Austria, Borussia Dortmund midfielder Carney Chukwuemeka is also making headlines off the pitch. At BVB, Rangnick’s criticism has been met with surprise.

Carney Chukwuemeka made an immediate impression on his debut for the Austrian national team – and at the same time sparked a debate away from the field. In the 5–1 friendly win over Ghana, the midfielder scored after coming on as a substitute, but afterward the focus was mainly on a different issue: his German skills – and team coach Ralf Rangnick’s criticism of Borussia Dortmund.

The 22-year-old, born in Vienna and raised in England, also drew attention after his goal with a spontaneous “Oida, bist du deppert?” in the interview. But the fact that he then had to switch to English clearly surprised Rangnick.

“I was a bit surprised that no one in Dortmund has even tried to get him German lessons so far,” the national team coach said, referring to earlier experiences in the Bundesliga. There, language support had been clearly regulated: “It was mandatory to attend German lessons three times a week. If someone didn’t show up, it was like missing training without an excuse.”

Chukwuemeka in focus: BVB rejects Rangnick’s accusations

In principle, Rangnick sees the clubs as responsible, but also emphasized: “Every club has to handle that the way it thinks is right. We don’t have a problem with it.”

Photo: IMAGO

At BVB, however, these remarks have been met with a lack of understanding. As kicker reports, there is “great surprise internally over Rangnick’s statements.” In Dortmund, it is pointed out that Chukwuemeka’s limited German skills were already known – and yet that did not stop the Austrian federation from naturalizing him and calling him up.

The club also stresses that integration is very much an important issue. Especially with young new signings, targeted investment is made: integration staff look after talents such as Kauã Prates and Justin Lerma, who receive German lessons early on. However, the club takes a different approach with English-speaking professionals like Chukwuemeka. Since a lot of English is spoken in everyday team life anyway, there are no mandatory language courses for these players.

The fact is: Chukwuemeka has made a strong case for himself with his impressive start – and is likely to play an important role for the ÖFB team in the upcoming matches as well.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.