Matthäus slams BVB star after Germany defeat: “Sunday league” | OneFootball

After the DFB team’s poor start, Lothar Matthäus has voiced clear criticism. One BVB star in particular comes in for it.

Jürgen Klopp’s start as Germany head coach has so far been anything but ideal. After the 1-1 draw in the Netherlands, the German national team then suffered a disappointing 1-0 defeat against Greece. For Lothar Matthäus, however, responsibility for the poor performances does not rest solely with the new head coach. The record international also says several DFB stars must take responsibility — including Dortmund’s Felix Nmecha.

What particularly bothers Matthäus is that some national team players have so far been unable to reproduce in a Germany shirt the strong performances they show for their clubs. The 65-year-old was especially blunt about Nmecha. “Did Felix Nmecha play the way he does in Dortmund? His tackling before the 1-0 was amateur-level,” the TV pundit of today criticized in his Sky column.

Karim Adeyemi and captain Joshua Kimmich also came in for criticism. Matthäus criticized former BVB star Adeyemi, among other things, for his finishing. He also expects Bayern pro Kimmich to have more influence on Germany’s play. “Why doesn’t Joshua Kimmich play for the national team the way he does in Munich?” asked the 1990 World Cup winner.

Matthäus demands more from BVB star Nmecha

At the same time, he stressed that he fully believes the experienced player is capable of improving his performances. In general, Matthäus does not see Klopp alone as being responsible. The head coach’s system is similar to Bayern Munich’s, which means the players should already be familiar with many of the required patterns from their clubs. The key, therefore, is for them to deliver their existing quality at national-team level as well.

Photo: IMAGO

Above all, Matthäus is calling for the basics. “Running, winning tackles — those are basic requirements. Playing intelligently and finding solutions, that’s the players’ responsibility.” Despite the winless start, the former Germany captain does not yet see any reason to write off the situation.

The individual quality in the German squad is still there. What matters now is that key players such as Kimmich, Florian Wirtz and Jamal Musiala show it in a Germany shirt as well. That means the pressure is now increasing on Klopp and his team ahead of the upcoming matches to deliver their first truly convincing results.

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