Markus Babbel pins blame on Joachim Low for Germany's Euro 2020 exit
Euro 96 winner Markus Babbel blames Joachim Low for Germany’s Euro 2020 exit, claiming they lacked a ‘Plan B’ against England…before ‘laughing himself to death’ at the manager’s inability to deploy Joshua Kimmich, Thomas Muller and Leroy Sane
- Markus Babbel, who won the Euros in 1996, says that Germany lacked a ‘Plan B’
- He also says their former boss Joachim Low is to blame for their Euro 2020 exit
- Babbel says he failed to deploy star players: Kimmich, Muller and Sane correctly
- He also felt like Germany lacked ‘conviction’ against England in their last 16 clash
- Babbel believes Hansi Flick will be able to get the best out of Germany’s squad
- Find out the latest Euro 2020 news including fixtures, live action and results here
Markus Babbel says Germany lacked a ‘Plan B’ and that their former manager Joachim Low is to blame for their Euro 2020 exit.
Babbel, who won the European Championship in 1996, says he has been ‘laughing [himself] to death’ at Low’s claim that Germany did not have enough squad depth.
Babbel believes Germany had the firepower to succeed in the tournament and that it was Low’s wrongful deployment of Joshua Kimmich, Thomas Muller and Leroy Sane that cost them.
Markus Babbel, who won the Euros in 96, says that Germany lacked a ‘Plan B’ against England
He also says their former manager Joachim Low (above) is to blame for their Euro 2020 exit
Germany crashed out of the tournament after suffering a 2-0 loss to England in their last 16 clash at Wembley. The result also put an end to Low’s 15-year reign as Germany national team manager.
Former Liverpool defender, Babbel, has criticised Low for his tactics during the all-important clash and has refused to accept the idea that he lacked the squad depth to deploy his best players in their primary roles.
Speaking to Goal and SPOX, Babbel said: ‘Insisting on three at the back without having a Plan B irritated me very much. It’s always hard when players are not in their best position. Joshua Kimmich can play on the right, but in my opinion he radiated a high level of dissatisfaction. He wanted to play No.6.
Germany crashed out of the tournament after suffering a 2-0 loss to England in their last 16 tie
It was Raheem Sterling (above) who opened the scoring, before harry Kane added to the tally
‘Nobody can tell me that you can’t find a defender on the right. I’m laughing myself to death! It doesn’t have to be a Cafu that constantly initiates every attack. Closing the side is enough and Matthias Ginter, Emre Can or Niklas Sule would certainly have managed it.
‘Leroy Sane didn’t play in his favourite position either. He feels comfortable on the right side, with us he constantly had to come over to the left, which only increased his already cracked self-confidence.
‘The same applies to Thomas Muller. Muller has found his best position around the striker at Bayern. He still did well at the European Championship, but why don’t we let our boys play where they are best? You have so much time to prepare for a tournament like this and then you lack a Plan B.’
Nevertheless, Babbel thought Germany started their last 16 clash with England well and that they had the upper hand during the first-half.
Babbel says he failed to deploy Joshua Kimmich, Thomas Muller and Leroy Sane correctly
He also felt like Germany lacked ‘conviction’ against England in their last 16 clash at Wembley
However, he says the squad lacked ‘conviction’ – claiming they became too ‘passive’ and allowed England into the game.
He said: ‘They lacked the conviction that they could do it. The team started well, that should have given them confidence.
‘You could feel that the English were afraid of us, but suddenly we became more and more passive, we couldn’t hold the ball as soon as England became a bit more aggressive.
‘The result was rapid ball losses and the atmosphere in the stadium gradually seemed to have made an impression.’
Germany must now turn their attention to the 2022 World Cup and look to better their previous campaign – having failed to make it out of the group in Russia, 2018.
Babbel believes that that arrival of incoming manager Hansi Flick will be beneficial for the Germany squad.
Babbel believes the arrival of incoming manager Hansi Flick will be beneficial for Germany
He says the ex-Bayern boss will have the tactical know-how to get the best out of his players
The Euro 96 winner believes the former Bayern Munich boss will have the tactical understanding to get the best out of his players and build up the confidence within the squad.
He said: ‘It has to be based on the performances and not on the age group. The World Cup is coming up next year and we don’t have an over-aged or poor quality team. However, it has to become more dominant and self-confident again and appear completely different.
Speaking of the treble-winning boss, Babbel added: ‘Flick has to do this in the short term. He has already impressively demonstrated at Bayern that he can do that. In the future, too, talented people will keep coming who want and will fight for their place.’
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