Germany have sacked head coach Hansi Flick after a shock 4-1 defeat in a friendly with Japan. Flick, who led Bayern Munich and won 70 of his 86 matches, lost the fourth of their five consecutive games which was followed by the World Cup group stage exit.
German Football Association president Bernd Neuendorf reflected on the intensity of the decision and said as quoted from Sky Sports and said, “The men’s senior national team needs new impetus after the recent disappointing results. We need a spirit of optimism and confidence in our own country.”
“For me personally, it is one of the most difficult decisions of my time in office so far because I appreciate Hansi Flick and his assistant coaches as football experts and people. But sporting success is the top priority for the DFB. So the decision was inevitable,” Neuendorf added.
Flick is not the only person who is departing from the management. His assistant coaches Marcus Sorg and Danny Rohl have also been relieved of their duties with immediate effect.
BREAKING: Hansi Flick has been fired, he’s no longer German national team head coach
Federation set to discuss internally on new manager as Germany will host Euro 2024 in 9 months.
Rudi Völler will be on the bench as interim coach. pic.twitter.com/rXAXaTdyhO
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) September 10, 2023
Flick failed to recreate his charm at the international level as Germany under his leadership won 12 out of 25 matches. The 58-year-old kicked off his stint with the national team with eight consecutive wins, but the Qatar World Cup marked the beginning of his downfall.
Germany failed to get out of Group E after losing to Japan, drawing with Spain and beating Costa Rica. Oman and Peru are the only other nations they’ve beaten since last year.
Rudi Voller, who managed Germany from 2000 to 2004, Hannes Wolf and Sandro Wagner will take charge of Germany’s Tuesday friendly against France in Dortmund.