Frankfurt / Main (dpa) – Hansi Flick first had to adjust his picture on the laptop. What he wanted to say about his leader Joshua Kimmich, who was counted in the emotional Corona debate, the national coach had already worked out.
“I do not think that he is responsible for the fact that we have such high numbers of infections,” said Flick during a media round of the German Football Association. He also reported on a personal conversation in which the Bayern professional had at least shown the “tendency” for corona vaccination.
Conversation with midfielder
He thinks “that it is also in the direction that he can be vaccinated,” said Flick. “I assume, yes, nothing else will be possible in the future, I guess.” because of Corona has to do without several professionals. “I think he’s bothered by the whole thing,” said Flick. “Now we just have to wait and see how things go from here. We have to set an example, in this situation it’s not that easy. “
He believed his conversation with the midfielder was “very good”. “He has to decide that himself,” said Flick. “Let’s wait and see.” The national players Jamal Musiala and Serge Gnabry, who were quarantined in Kimmich, are now said to have been vaccinated, Gnabry once after a corona illness, said Flick.
For the time being there is no compulsory vaccination for national players
The national coach has been following the corona issue for several weeks – most recently because players had to be quarantined before the final World Cup qualifiers at the beginning of November. Also Kimmich, Gnabry and Musiala. Flick will not introduce a compulsory vaccination for national players, which has been discussed for this reason: “I can now play for a limited period, we only have the next international match in March. I think a lot will have changed by then. “
National coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg, who will play the European Championship in England with the DFB women next summer, said that with a “2G plus” rule it could “sometimes happen that you cannot nominate a player”. Among the German national players, however, the vaccination rate is “almost 100 percent”.
Flick also seems to be betting on this, leaving no doubt that there is still a lot to do before the Qatar World Cup 2022 (November 21 to December 18). “I can say that we are currently not benchmarks,” said Flick, who was connected via video from London and initially saw “double” on his own laptop.
“Claim to be among the top four”
In the lounge in the Frankfurt stadium there was DFB director Oliver Bierhoff, who had made it clear minutes beforehand: “At every tournament, our aim is to get into the top four”. That applies to all teams of the DFB, which had imposed the motto “Back to the top” after the embarrassing preliminary round at the Men’s World Cup 2018.
Bierhoff emphasized that the relationship with the fans must continue to be worked on. “It is our aim to get to the top of the world in these areas – what we have had over many years, enthusiasm, full stadium, identification with the boys, that is what world class means to us,” said the former national player. “We want our players to be role models.”
Therefore, the national team will speak to organizations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch about the human rights situation in the host country Qatar before the World Cup. “For me it is important that we deal with the topic in more detail,” said Bierhoff. “Qatar is of course an issue that is already on our minds today, but of course especially next year.”
The emirate has been criticized for years because of the human rights situation and the conditions for foreign workers. Qatar’s government points to great progress and reforms – Amnesty International recently criticized the fact that these are not being sufficiently implemented.
