Völler calls for Germany to show more “passion, dynamism and energy”

Germany are currently showing too little “passion, dynamism and energy,” according to Rudi Völler.

German national team sporting director Rudi Völler didn’t hold back in his criticism following Tuesday’s disastrous 2-0 loss to Austria.

“It’s not about the result, it’s about the way we played, that’s not good, we can’t accept that. And it has to get better,” Völler said in a post-match interview.

Völler defended the controversial tactical decisions made by Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann, claiming that the main problem is that the team currently lacks some of the qualities that have defined the German national team in the past.

“I know it’s a bit of an overused term, but we’re lacking traditional German virtues,” Völler said.

“It’s not about whether you play with three or four players at the back or whether Kai Havertz plays as a left back. That is not the point. The point is the five or ten percent of passion, dynamism and energy that we lacked in both games. We have to work on that.”

Völler added that he doesn’t know if Germany’s problems can be explained by the “type of players” in the team. Perhaps the team had “relaxed a bit” after their promising performances in the United States last month, he said.

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