By Peter Weis @PeterVicey
In an interview with North Rhine Westphalia’s “Ruhr Nachrichten” published earlier today, Nico Schlotterbeck spoke on his double snub from Bundestrainer Julian Nagelsmann in the October and November international breaks.
| Photo: Sandro Halank, Wikimedia Commons, CC-BY-SA 4.0 |
Since last appearing for the German national team under previous German national team head-coach Hansi Flick, Borussia Dortmund defender Nico Schlotterbeck has not yet gotten the phone call from newly appointed Bundestrainer Julian Nagelsmann. The 24-year-old – once considered a sure-fire bet to be one of Germany’s next great central defender – has found himself under closer criticism and scrutiny following a poor 2022 World Cup and more inconsistent play for his club.
Schlotterbeck directly addressed such criticisms in an interview published in North Rhine Westphalia’s “Ruhr Nachrichten” newspaper earlier today. The 11-times capped international mostly deflected the criticism and expressed hope that he would be able to reclaim a spot on Nagelsmann’s roster. Real Madrid’s Antonio Rüdiger and Bayer 04 Leverkusen’s Jonathan Tah are presently Nagelsmann’s starters. Schlotterbeck’s BVB teammates Mats Hummels and Niklas Süle earned call-ups ahead of him in November.
“I can always understand criticism if it’s substantive,” Schlotterbeck noted in his interview, “I also know that I didn’t play well against Japan [in the World Cup’s opening group stage fixture] I just have the feeling that people like to generalize about me. A lack of consistency is often cited. I don’t know if I’ve been inconsistent this season.My impression is different.”
“I haven’t been nominated by Julian Nagelsmann yet,” Schlotterbeck continued, “I can deal with that too. I could perhaps even understand it, because the coach wanted something from me that I didn’t deliver at that moment. Since then, I’ve been trying to constantly improve and deliver. I hope to be there again.”
“He knows what he gets from me and he knows what he’s missing from me,” Schlotterbeck concluded, “I think my performances have been very stable since the winter break. I am sure that I have a chance of making it to the European Championship if I continue to perform consistently. I will do everything I can to give the national team coach good arguments for my nomination.”
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