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Germany Fire Coach Hansi Flick Before Euro 2024; Rudi Voeller Appointed Interim Manager

The 58-year-old Flick said after the loss to Japan that he wanted to stay as coach.

Hansi Flick
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Germany removed Hansi Flick as coach of the men바카라s national football team on Sunday, one day after a 4-1 loss to Japan deepened the gloom around the squad ahead of hosting next year바카라s European Championship.

The German football federation, known as the DFB, said team director Rudi Voeller 바카라 who coached the team nearly 20 years ago 바카라 would be one of three coaches taking joint charge of the next game, a friendly against France on Tuesday in Dortmund. The DFB said it hopes to name a replacement 바카라as soon as possible.바카라

Germany hasn바카라t won any of its last five games and was eliminated in the group stage at last year바카라s World Cup. The home crowd jeered the team in Saturday바카라s loss in Wolfsburg.

바카라Looking ahead to the European Championship in our country, we need a spirit of optimism and confidence,바카라 DFB president Bernd Neuendorf said in a statement explaining why Flick was removed. 바카라For me, it is one of the most difficult decisions of my time in office so far.바카라

The 58-year-old Flick said after the loss to Japan that he wanted to stay as coach. Sunday바카라s announcement came hours after he led the team in a public training session attended by fans.

Flick won the Champions League with Bayern Munich in 2020 and swapped the club for the German national team the following year. He started by winning his first eight games 바카라 without facing any of Europe바카라s top teams 바카라 but has just four wins from 17 matches since.

A documentary series following the team during the World Cup in Qatar was released this week and included footage of Flick struggling to connect with his squad. He faced particular mockery in Germany over a scene in which he showed the squad a video of flying geese in an exercise meant to improve teamwork.

Germany captain Ilkay Gundogan backed Flick to remain after the Japan game but said the team sorely lacked cohesion and self-belief.

바카라A lot of our players, they are in a mental fight with themselves. There바카라s no confidence, there바카라s no understanding for the timing, for the right decisions on the pitch,바카라 Gundogan told broadcaster beIN.

바카라These kinds of games and results don바카라t help at all. So we feel like everyone is fighting a little bit with himself, and that makes it much more difficult to create a bond between each other, to create a spirit, a good atmosphere, even though we all understand each other. But football-wise, there바카라s a big lack of confidence. I think every spectator can see it.바카라

The interim coaching team of Voeller, former Bayern striker Sandro Wagner and youth team coach Hannes Wolf faces a tough task against France. The French team has won all of its five Euro 2024 qualifiers without conceding a goal since it lost the World Cup final on penalties to Argentina last year.

A likely permanent replacement could be 36-year-old Julian Nagelsmann. He was Flick바카라s successor at Bayern until the club replaced him with Thomas Tuchel in March. After the France game, Germany is next in action on Oct. 14 against the United States and Mexico four days later.

Flick바카라s departure emphasizes what was already a historic low for German football. The men바카라s national team, four times a World Cup winner, has not made it to the quarterfinals in any of its last three major tournaments. The women바카라s national team, a two-time World Cup winner, was eliminated in the World Cup group stage last month in one of the tournament바카라s biggest shocks ever.

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