Criticism by Flick! Did Niklas Süle deserve that?

Niklas Süle has been carrying a backpack around with him for years. Critics say he’s overweight and lacking in attitude. Now the Dortmunder is suddenly missing even in the DFB squad, national coach Hansi Flick is publicly criticizing. Right?

For years, Germans have been guessing Niklas Süle’s exact weight as if it were the lottery numbers.

Was the central defender below Bayern Munich’s 100-kilo mark? Did he come to Borussia Dortmund four or twelve kilos overweight? And how much weight does the pro actually gain when he eats at McDonald’s?

The taste limit has long been exceeded in the general body criticism of Süle. Nevertheless, Süle has always had to put up with the sayingsAfter all, he is a professional athlete and his body is his capital.

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Most recently, national coach Hansi Flick, of all people, criticized his former Bayern protégé in one HE DOES-Interview, accused him lack of attitude and form.

But is the constant criticism of the 27-year-old justified? What do Süle’s performance data say about the accusations that are repeatedly made against him from a wide variety of sides?

Last summer, Süle moved from the Isar to the Ruhr, but was immediately slowed down by a muscle injury. He missed the first two games of the season injured, then made his debut in Dortmund’s historic 2-3 home defeat against Bremen. Süle came on for Mats Hummels in the 62nd minute when BVB was still 2-0 up, then Süle’s back team conceded between the 89th and 90+5. Three more goals in a minute.

Then said Guido Schäfer, journalist of the Leipziger Volkszeitung and ex-professional from Mainz 05, im STAHLWERK double pass at SPORTS1, have sule “a start like a shifting dune”. Stefan Effenberg added in the same program: “I think that Süle, as a left centre-back, can very well block the ball if he goes there at the right pace”.

Friedhelm Funkel also blamed the 1.95 meter man right after the final whistle Sky: “Süle simply has to run the pass that is played deep before the 3:2.” And Stefan Reuter from FC Augsburg said of Süle’s tough debut in black and yellow that it looked as if “he hadn’t yet the optimal condition”.

A look at the statistics of the past Bundesliga season speaks against such allegations. When it comes to the number of sprints, Süle finishes ahead of his Dortmund colleagues Nico Schlotterbeck (370) and Mats Hummels (357) with 374. Looking at Süle’s former club in Munich, it is surprising that Süle’s heir Matthijs de Ligt attracted significantly fewer sprints (345), the Dutchman was mostly celebrated in public for his diligence and his quick thinking.

So if willingness to run is a feature, you can’t deny the 27-year-old.

As fate would have it, Süle had his heyday in Munich under Flick’s predecessor. In autumn 2019, when Bayern stumbled through the league under Niko Kovac and at times even fell out of the Champions League ranks, Süle was still Bayern’s best.

Süle was injured in the 1: 5 in Frankfurt, which cost Kovac his job: A few days before Flick was promoted from assistant to head coach, Süle tore his cruciate ligament. The former defense chief had to watch from the outside for seven months as Flick formed a Champions League winner from a pile of chickens.

A year later, Corona autumn 2020: There was a tremendous chill between players, coaches and management. In Munich it was said that Süle had returned to Säbener Straße two kilos overweight after his international trip in November.

After that, Flick left the defender at home in important Champions League games and Bundesliga games, only publicly citing a “training backlog” as the reason. Mysterious, after all, no illness or injury is recorded in Süle’s medical file, at least not publicly for this period.

At the time, Sule’s FCB contract still had a remaining term of one and a half years, but the Bayern bosses are said to have had serious doubts about Sule’s attitude to work. They were unsure whether they wanted to extend the contract with the defense cabinet at all. “Before the start of contract talks, the national player will play on probation,” wrote the sports picture.

Overweight or not: In the During the 2020/21 pandemic season, Süle’s top speed was 34.05 km/h just behind the maximum speed of Stuttgart’s Konstantinos Mavropanos (34.06 km/h), who probably nobody has accused of playing sluggishly or being slow.

Only in the following season under Julian Nagelsmann did Süle give in here too: In the 2021/22 season he was only 137th in the Bundesliga with a top speed of 33.66 km/h.

Bayern’s glass-half-empty brigade should feel right about these numbers, after all Süle was allowed to leave the club for free after his slow season.

As is well known, Süle left Bayern for Dortmund – and promptly appeared at BVB with a full overweight. He is said to have weighed an impressive 110 kilos when he arrived in the summer of 2022 SPORTS1-Reporter Kerry Hau im SPORTS1-Podcast “The Bayern Week”.

Süle’s preference for fast food was even an issue in the BVB negotiations!

The Dortmund bosses had asked their dream player directly in a personal conversation: “Niklas, people say that you like to eat a hamburger or maybe drink a beer.” Süle’s advisor Volker Struth quoted those responsible as saying Bild.

“The boy honestly answered yes to that,” laughed Struth. According to the consultant, Süle also said to those responsible for Dortmund: “I talk about it a little more often. And with me you can see the two kilos that I weigh more.”

Süle now has a year of Borussia Dortmund under his belt. With him on the team, they almost won their first Bundesliga title in eleven years. Süle and Dortmund: That fits.

A guarantee of success is Sebastian Kehl. When various sports media disagreed in the summer of 2022 on exactly how many kilos Süle would now weigh, Kehl defended his star access. “I don’t think it’s okay with Niklas that the topic is being opened up again. We should put a tick under it, ”said the sporting director at a press conference.

This statement apparently gave Süle wings. Because in his first season in black and yellow, Süle – whether overweight or not – reached a top speed of 34.59 km/h. That’s personal best. Only Mavropanos (34.69 km/h), Bayern’s Lucas Hernandez (34.75 km/h) and the Wolfsburg trio of Sebastian Bornaauw (34.83 km/h), Maxence Lacroix (35.23 km/h /h) and Micky van de Ven (35.97 km/h) faster than Süle. The leader, however, is Bayern’s new defense boss Dayot Upamecano (35.67 km/h).

In addition, Süle is one of the fairest and most efficient players in the Bundesliga. Despite his stature, he gets by almost without fouls. In ten years in the Bundesliga, Süle has never (!) been suspended. An underestimated statistic, it shows that the defender’s club can always rely on his commitment, no matter what opponents are next.

Last but not least, there is the structure of the game, a fundamentally important quality in modern football. This can be read, among other things, from the passing accuracy of the footballers. Here Süle embodies absolute top class despite his body size.

The official pass rate statistics of the Bundesliga read like a “Who’s Who” of the best defenders. Niklas Süle is in fourth place in the league and made 92.56 percent of his passes to a teammate this season. The Dortmunder left high caliber like World Cup discovery Josko Gvardiol, Bayern star Joshua Kimmich and the courted Cologne engine Ellyes Skhiri behind. Only the passes from Nico Elvedi (94.25 percent), Matthijs de Ligt (93.82 percent) and Jonathan Tah (92.9 percent) were more accurate than Süle’s.

Süle played a major role in Dortmund’s upswing, playing particularly well in the second half of the season. Lothar Matthäus joked live on the final evening of the Conference League RTL Nitro: “Well, I don’t really want to play against him.”

“Süle looks fit,” said the former world footballer and today’s TV expert. According to Matthäus, the professional’s body simply looks fuller than it really is: “But it’s similar with Serge Gnabry. They’re just built that way by stature, and that’s how you have to take them.”

Ex-Dortmund striker Karl-Heinz-Riedle also emphasized that that he could not go along with Flick’s criticismbecause Süle played a good season for BVB.

Maybe he gets self-confessed fast food lover Yes at the international break in September the chance to personally convince national coach Flick of his qualities.