Oliver Kahn: «Talent takes you to the World Cup, duty keeps you there» | OneFootball

The legendary former Germany national team goalkeeper harshly analyzed the frustrations of the German side and pointed to a lack of leadership after their latest elimination.

The former keeper directly targeted the players’ mentality and said the issue is not a lack of technical ability. “Germany does not have a talent problem. This team has exceptional footballers. What they lack is the confidence to take responsibility in the biggest moment”, he fired.

To support his position, the legend analyzed the tenure of the national team’s most recent head coaches and how all of them stumbled over the same obstacle. “Three national team coaches have failed at the same point: Joachim Löw, Hansi Flick and Julian Nagelsmann. Three different game plans; three different leadership styles. When this happens, the cause lies deeper”, he explained.

The key moment of his criticism focused on one specific image during the recent penalty shootout. “When the shootout went beyond the first five takers, you could see Joshua Kimmich looking for players to take one. For me, that was the most revealing moment. An elite team does not look for volunteers at that point; it has players who demand the ball,” he said firmly.

The former goalkeeper also called for stopping the search for outside culprits or magical solutions on the bench. “We are discussing who has to leave now and placing our hopes in the next savior. We replace faces and call it change, but we avoid the real question: Are we still willing to pay the price that elite performance has always demanded?”, he asked.

Finally, he stressed that this shortcoming has been carried over from youth development. “The defining moment begins many years earlier, the moment when a young player learns that responsibility is not something you pass on to someone else, it is something you take on yourself,”

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