Die Mannschaft — A New Hope

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Hansi Flick quits as Germany manager after dismal World Cup campaign

Hans-Dieter "Hansi" Flick stepped down from his post as Germany manager today following a World Cup campaign in Qatar which saw the European powerhouses eliminated in the group stage. In a joint statement with the German Football Association (DFB) it was announced that Flick’s contract would no longer see him presiding over “Die Mannschaft’s” 2024 European Championship tournament, of which Germany are the host nation. Flick had been Germany’s manager for a little over a year prior to his resignation, overseeing the team’s European League group stage matches against Belgium, Poland and Denmark. While qualification for the European League’s semi-finals was secured prior to the World Cup, Germany’s failure to advance into the knockout rounds of international football’s biggest stage cannot be seen as anything other than a failure. Thomas Tuchel and Heiko Herrlich have already been named as Flick’s potential successors in the wake of his resignation.

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Situated in Group E of the World Cup, Germany were drawn against Costa Rica, Japan and Spain for the Qatari tournament. Their opening match saw a frustrating 1-1 draw play out, with Joshua Kimmick scoring for the pre-match favourites. Then, Germany would succumb to a humiliating 4-1 defeat against their European rivals, Spain, Nico Schlotterbeck the sole scorer on this occasion. Germany needed a victory in their final game against Japan should they have stood a chance of qualifying from their group. Alas, the game ended goalless, sealing a shock qualification into the round-of-sixteen for the Asian side. Media surrounding Germany’s humiliating elimination from the World Cup was undoubtedly heightened given every other favorite for the tournament breezed through the competition’s group stage. Hansi Flick came under immense criticism over the course of the small campaign, with a lack of intelligent defensive organization and no creativity nor fluidity in the final third being pinpointed as large contributors to Germany’s ultimate downfall.

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Belgium would become the fifth consecutive European side to win the World Cup, mercilessly thrashing Brazil in the final. Romelu Lukaku, who had the Golden Boot award wrapped up prior to this bout, was forced out with injury. However, Belgium didn’t need their central man and didn’t struggle for goals as Axel Witsel, Youri Tielemans, Toby Alderweireld and Kevin de Bruyne all got on the scoresheet en route to victory. Neymar would score first, however that’d be Brazil’s only goal of the match which saw Belgium massively outperform their expected goals. This victory sparked massive scenes of jubilation in the Belgian capital, the dubbed “Golden Generation” for the nation fulfilling their destiny, albeit later than most would have expected them to. Attention now turns to the 2024 European Championships to see if football’s new top dog will be able to expand on their newly-found legacy. Suffice to say, Europe’s other top nations won’t make the world champion’s task an easy outing.​
 
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Miracle on Christmas Day as Germany hire unknown Elena Schneider

Germany have today announced the appointment of Elena Schneider as their new manager on a contract initially lasting until 2024. Schneider, 29, has had previous experience coaching in the youth levels of the German national team. This new contract sees her replacing the outgoing Hans-Dieter “Hansi” Flick following a poor World Cup campaign in Qatar. This appointment has been met with skepticism. Germany were linked with the likes of Thomas Tuchel and Heiko Herrlich following Flick’s departure, it seems the German Football Association (DFB) opted to go a different route, of which many have expressed their surprise and disappointment. Elena Schneider’s promotion sees her take the German national side into the semi-finals of the European League, presumably, she’ll also manage the side in the 2024 European Championships of which shall be hosted on home soil. “I’m delighted to work as the national coach and build something in the coming years. There’s some incredible players, especially some of the younger players that I cannot wait to work alongside. We’ll approach the upcoming European Championships with great optimism.” Schneider was quoted as saying.

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Schneider’s first competitive matches shall see her German side take on France, the defending champions, in the European League semi-finals. Should Germany advance to the finals, they’ll face either Spain or the Netherlands. “Die Mannschaft” showed good form in the European League group stages, amassing fifteen of a total eighteen points and advancing to the latter rounds over the now World Cup winners, Belgium. However, they weren’t able to carry that good form into the Qatari World Cup, taking home two of nine points and being dumped out of the group stage, results which inevitably led to Hansi Flick’s resignation. The German Football Association (DFB) don’t have expectations for the European League, although doubtful fans of Elena Schneider’s appointment and Elena Schneider herself will be hoping to see a good performance against a talented and historically strong side such as France.

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With Germany hosting the 2024 European Championships, this means they have automatically qualified for the upcoming competition and will not be playing qualification matches. So, Elena Schneider’s official debut as the national team’s manager will be in exhibition matches, played on home soil against Carlos Queiroz’s Iran and then South American side Venezuela. It’s likely that the inexperienced manager will utilize these match-ups to experiment and find her starting XI for the European League game against France, and then the finale or third place play-off depending on the result against “Les Bleus.” While only friendly matches, given the scrutiny both Schneider and the German Football Association are under following this shock appointment, a statement of intent shall have to be made, especially given how strong the German national side is across all areas in comparison to their immediate opposition.​
 
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