„Mediocrity“ Debate: Bayern Star Tah Responds to Schweinsteiger’s Criticism | OneFootball

Following a disappointing start under Jürgen Klopp, the German national team is already in the midst of its next major debate. After the 0-1 loss to Greece, Bastian Schweinsteiger delivered a harsh assessment of the DFB team’s current state.

From the perspective of the 2014 World Cup champion, Germany has now “sunk into mediocrity.” Furthermore, he said, the team lacks players “who make a difference.” After the historic defeat, Joshua Kimmich found it difficult to disagree with this assessment.

His Bayern teammate Jonathan Tah is taking the criticism much more in stride. The center back doesn’t want to jump to conclusions about Germany’s standing under Klopp based on just the first few games.

Tah remains unfazed by the “mediocrity” debate

“I’ll leave it to outsiders to decide how they evaluate or categorize us,” Tah explained in the mixed zone after the match.

For the 30-year-old, the focus is much more on the development process under the new national team coach. Now that Klopp has taken over, the team first needs to find its footing and learn from setbacks like the one against Greece.

“For us, the key point is this: A single loss doesn’t change the fact that we’re starting a new chapter and will gain experience as a team. And that we’ll learn from these experiences. I’m certain we’ll be successful again. Whether someone labels us as mediocre or not doesn’t matter to us.”

In this respect, Tah’s reaction differs significantly from Kimmich’s. The DFB captain had stated after the match that the team is currently “a long way from being a top team.”

Tah already sees positive effects from Klopp

Photo: IMAGO

Despite the disappointing result, Tah doesn’t want to overlook the progress made in recent days. He said we shouldn’t “forget how good the week has been” and “also that we’ve already implemented things in this short time.”

Nevertheless, the Bayern Munich pro didn’t sugarcoat the performance against Greece. Tah was particularly dissatisfied with the team’s offensive play.

“We didn’t make good enough use of the possession they gave us. We didn’t create enough scoring chances.”

For Tah, the current international break is now over. Klopp will field a different squad for the upcoming matches against Serbia and, once again, Greece.

Nevertheless, the Bayern defender is returning to Munich with a clear conviction: Under Klopp, the DFB squad is still in the early stages of its development—and Tah is certain that Germany will be successful again.