Sammer warns: “You will no longer develop leaders”

Matthias Sammer sees the future of the German national football team as positive for years to come, despite missed developments in training.

“The dent we’ve been through won’t hurt us much. The four or five years that we haven’t done so well will not mean that we don’t have a strong national team,” the 1996 European champion told SID.

The DFB benefits from a guard of very young players who made it into the national team very early on.

“I can’t always just name players like Joshua Kimmich, Leon Goretzka, Niklas Süle, Julian Brandt, Kai Havertz, there’s a lot of quality in it,” Sammer said. This generation could also bridge a hole caused by omissions.

Sammer, who has given up his job as a Eurosport expert, but continues to be available to Borussia Dortmund as a consultant, warns against neglecting the view of the team in player development.

“Now it’s time again: Only individually! We’ll have to be careful. If you are only in individualization, you will no longer develop leaders,” said the 51-year-old.

“If you forget team tactics and hierarchical developments, no one will take responsibility for the team anymore.”