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Tag: Hansi Flick

  • Serge Gnabry: Bayern Star Hits Top Form In Time For The World Cup

    Serge Gnabry: Bayern Star Hits Top Form In Time For The World Cup

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    The timing could not be any better for Serge Gnabry. The Bayern Munich striker has scored six goals in his last six Bundesliga games. That brings his overall tally to eight goals and four assists in 15 Bundesliga games as he made an appearance in every one of Bayern’s domestic games so far this season.

    With 12 scorer points, Gnabry ranks second among Bayern players, just behind Jamal Musiala (nine goals and seven assists). Across all competitions, Gnabry’s tally is even more impressive, as he has scored ten goals and ten assists in 23 games.

    Those numbers will be fantastic news for German national team head coach Hansi Flick ahead of the World Cup. The Germany boss will very much look to the Bayern attack when it comes to putting together his starting XI.

    Like has been the case for Bayern, Flick will very much look to build the attack around young Musiala, who, on current form, might be the best player on the planet at the moment.

    “[Musiala] improved a lot and played an outstanding first half of the season,” Bayern head coach Julian Nagelsmann said about Musiala after yet another outstanding game for the Rekordmeister on Saturday against Schalke (2-0). “I hope he plays a great World Cup and then the second half of the season as well. He has extremely quick feet and is very talented.”

    The 19-year-old will likely play the same role for Germany as for Bayern. But the same might not be true for Gnabry. Much of Bayern’s success in recent weeks has been due to Nagelsmann making Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting the center-piece of the attack. With a true no.9 in the team, Bayern has a proper outlet and, as a result, has been unplayable.

    Choupo-Moting, even though he has played for Germany at the youth level, represents Cameroon, which means someone else will have to take up that role for Germany. The case has been made for Werder’s Niclas Füllkrug and Dortmund’s Youssoufa Moukoko. Both have a strong case, but there are doubts about whether Füllkrug can translate his Werder success to the world stage and whether the 17-year-old Moukoko is ready.

    Another option is Kai Havertz. The Chelsea attacking midfielder has sometimes played as a no.9 and has an aerial presence that the other candidates, including Gnabry, lack. But what Havertz lacks over all other candidates is scoring regularly.

    Gnabry, on current form, is making the strongest case in this regard. But there would also be a downside to employing the 27-year-old as a no.9. Even though there was a brief stretch at the start of the season where he played with Sadio Mané in a two-man striker formation, Gnabry has been predominantly successful as a right-winger this season.

    Trying to replicate Bayern’s starting XI at the start of the season could be an interesting approach by Flick. The German national team coach could field Sané and Gnabry in a two-man attack right in front of Musiala and Thomas Müller, if he is fit on time.

    It also allows Flick the luxury to experiment with a formation that looks like Bayern’s attack with either Moukoko, Füllkrug, or Havertz playing the Choupo-Moting role. Either way, Gnabry’s form is excellent news for Flick; it opens up possibilities and further underlines that the attack will be Germany’s strength at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

    Manuel Veth is the host of the Bundesliga Gegenpressing Podcast and the Area Manager USA at Transfermarkt. He has also been published in the Guardian, Newsweek, Howler, Pro Soccer USA, and several other outlets. Follow him on Twitter: @ManuelVeth

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    Manuel Veth, Contributor

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  • How Will The Timo Werner Injury Impact Germany At The World Cup?

    How Will The Timo Werner Injury Impact Germany At The World Cup?

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    Timo Werner will be out of the 2022 FIFA World Cup. The German striker is just the latest casualty caused by the congested schedule due to FIFA scheduling the tournament in Qatar in the winter rather than the summer as originally planned.

    As a result, the games will now take place from Nov. to Dec. right in the middle of a season that saw games compacted to ensure that the Champions League, Europa League, and Conference League group stage could be concluded in the fall. Mounting injuries for many countries are, therefore, no surprise and Germany are just the latest nation to be hit.

    For Werner the incident happened on matchday 6 during RB Leipzig’s 4-0 win over Shakhtar Donetsk that secured their passage to the round of 16. Just three minutes after he set up his teammate Christopher Nkunku for the 1-0 lead (10’), Werner got his ankle twisted in a duel with Taras Stepanenko. The striker briefly continued but then had to be replaced.

    The next day the bitter prognosis. Werner had torn syndesmotic ligament and will be out for the rest of the year and, consequentially, also the World Cup.

    “It was a shock for him and for us,” Leipzig head coach Marco Rose said about the injury on Friday. “It always hurts the club when such an important player is unavailable. Timo has the full support of all of us and we’re looking forward to the day that he comes back.”

    Bundestrainer Hansi Flick also reacted to the news. “This news is very sad,” Flick sad. “I feel very sorry for Timo personally because he really wanted to play the World Cup. But Timo’s absence is a huge loss especially for the team. We all wish him a speedy recovery.”

    The national team head coach is now faced with an interesting problem. Although Werner was at times seen controversially by members of the fan base, there is no doubting that in recent form the forward would have been an important member of the team.

    Werner has scored nine goals and four assists in 16 games across all competitions this season. Most importantly, the 26-year-old two goals and one assist in the Champions League and was an important member of a Leipzig side that made a late resurgence to get out of the group stage.

    On the surface, Flick will now miss a productive member of the first team. But even with Werner on the plane to Qatar, Flick would have an interesting problem to solve. Under Rose in the Leipzig system, Werner has played on the left, off Nkunku, who is also playing on the left but in a more advanced role.

    In other words, Werner has not really played as a typical no.9 this season. But that is where Flick would have likely fielded him, playing him in a role that would have been unlikely to set Werner and Germany up for success in Qatar.

    Now with Werner not going to the tournament, Flick will most likely look to Werder Bremen forward Niclas Füllkrug. Füllkrug was previously a long shot to make the team but with Werner out and an additional slot available, the center-forward has seen his chances massively improve.

    Füllkrug, however, was very likely planned as a part-time option. A forward to come in to get a late goal for Germany. To fill the void in the middle of the box the best option is now most likely Youssoufa Moukoko.

    The 17-year-old striker has been on fantastic form for Dortmund lately. Werner’s injury could now be his opportunity to shine on the big stage, forcing Flick to do the right thing and play the player that most deserves to be there and has the best abilities to fill a role that has been left departed since Miroslav Klose retired.

    Manuel Veth is the host of the Bundesliga Gegenpressing Podcast and the Area Manager USA at Transfermarkt. He has also been published in the Guardian, Newsweek, Howler, Pro Soccer USA, and several other outlets. Follow him on Twitter: @ManuelVeth

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    Manuel Veth, Contributor

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