In the early afternoon, the German national football team’s bus arrived at Erfurt station. Players, coaches and support staff went up to the platforms, where they boarded an ICE train and traveled to Nuremberg. From there, they finally went to the European Championship quarters in Herzogenaurach. After almost a week in Thuringia, the finishing touches are now beginning for the home tournament, which begins on June 14th.
The German Football Association (DFB) team has days behind it in which there were intensive training sessions in the European Championship preparation camp, but some players – due to tasks with their clubs – only arrived at the “Spa & Golf Resort” in Blankenhain later. Or not at all, like the players from BVB (Schlotterbeck, Füllkrug) and Real Madrid (Kroos, Rüdiger), who will play in the Champions League final in London on Saturday evening. Nevertheless, the time spent together in Thuringia was put to good use – for example, one could say, to reinvent themselves bit by bit.
For years, the German Football Association (DFB) team was accused of being out of touch with the people. It was said that it was floating above everything like a spaceship and no longer had any connection to reality. This was not far-fetched.
Empty stands, falling TV ratings
At the height of the last great success, the 2014 World Cup title, the protagonists had lost sight of what was essential, especially the grassroots. More marketing, less proximity.
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When the semi-final at the 2016 European Championship was followed by three tournaments in which the team failed on the pitch – elimination in the preliminary round at the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, elimination in the round of 16 at the 2021 European Championships – there was suddenly a huge outcry: fans had turned away in horror. There were empty stands at test matches, and TV ratings dropped. The elite selection, which had been officially christened “The Team” in the wake of the World Cup triumph, was no longer a magnet – and many football fans just didn’t care anymore. In the summer of 2022, the term “The Team” was finally withdrawn.
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Now that the home tournament is approaching, the tide seems to be slowly turning again. The tender little plant that is the national team, which is growing under the new national coach Julian Nagelsmann, is enjoying more and more interest. Due to nominations that correspond to the performance principle and are no longer based solely on old ties, and two international matches against France (2:0) and the Netherlands (2:1), which were good, there is more attention again.
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They sense this around the national team and within the team itself – and, especially in Thuringia, they were very open-minded and very sociable.
It started with the arrival on Sunday. The players were picked up from the train station or airport in vans. When they arrived at the large area of the quarter on the B85 in Blankenhain, many people lined the way. The players got out, signed autographs and took selfies. Not just a few, but many. They took their time. Thomas Müller and Aleksandar Pavlovic walked the last 150 meters, past the fans and residents.
Thomas Müller is the driving force
On Monday morning, Müller and Chris Führich helped out for people in need. The two national players handed out food and donations in kind at the Blankenhain food bank and helped distribute coffee, oatmeal, toothpaste and shower gel to families and individuals in need.
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“It’s great what the food banks and especially the many volunteers do,” said Müller. “It’s important that people get involved. I can only take my hat off to these people who work here and at the other food banks every day to help people in need. That’s very impressive.” Because word of the event had spread in the town within a very short time, more and more people came along, so that it was more or less an autograph session with Führich and Müller.
National player Thomas Müller pulls a forklift truck with food at the Blankenhain food bank. He visited there with Chris Führich in the middle of the week
Those: dpa/Federico Gambarini
The latter seems to be a real drawcard anyway. The 2014 world champion is currently more popular than almost any other national player. When he went for a round of golf with physiotherapist Wolfgang Bunz at the team headquarters during the week, he stopped every now and then to sign autographs for fans who were standing on the sidelines and watching.
Visit to the board, visit to the school
On Monday afternoon, the team drove to Jena, 30 kilometers away. 15,000 spectators came to the public training session, which lasted an hour. Afterwards, the players spread out in the stadium, shot small balls into the crowd and signed jerseys, shirts or cards. National coach Nagelsmann thanked everyone over the stadium microphone: “It was fun to be here.”
The next day, on Tuesday, Deniz Undav and the two U21 national players Rocco Reitz and Brajan Gruda, who are currently training with the senior team because some of the European Championship riders are still missing, visited two schools in Blankenhain. Undav, for example, was greeted at the state special needs school by around 60 pupils from grades five to ten with a guard of honor and a Mexican wave. At the same time, Reitz and Gruda stopped by the state regular school in Blankenhain – as surprise guests at a football tournament in which around 150 pupils from grades five to ten were taking part.
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On Wednesday, however, the team withdrew for a short time because they had a high-ranking visitor of their own – Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier did the honors and gave a speech. In the afternoon, Leipzig’s David Raum and Benjamin Henrichs stopped by FSV Grün-Weiß Blankenhain, played football with the children, bought ice cream and took time for autographs and selfies. Finally, on Thursday, Manuel Neuer and Maximilian Beier took part in an autograph session on the premises of a supermarket in Blankenhain. The crowd was large – for players of a team that is once again more open and interested in its fans. On an equal footing, so to speak.
Waldemar Anton from VfB Stuttgart signs autographs in Jena. At the start of the European Championship preparation camp in Thuringia, the German national team trained there in front of 15,000 spectators
Source: Getty Images/Alexander Hassenstein
At the beginning of his term as sporting director, Rudi Völler said in early 2023 that the mood around the national team needed to be significantly improved. “The basis of everything is the national players, the national coach, that we sell ourselves well in sporting terms, but also that we present ourselves as closer to the people in advance.”
Now that the start of the European Championship is in sight, it can be assumed that the DFB entourage will withdraw a little more. For the time being, there will not be as much hustle and bustle as there was when they arrived in Herzogenaurach late on Friday afternoon – at least not around the quarters. More concentration is needed, more peace and quiet is needed.
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Investment from just ten euros
But the beginning of a better relationship has been made, albeit in small steps. If the last two good international matches against France (2:0) and the Netherlands (2:1) are followed by further good performances, especially a top start to the European Championship, the run on the German national team should continue to increase.
There are two more tests to come next week: on Monday in Nuremberg against Ukraine (8.45 p.m./ARD) and on Friday in Mönchengladbach against Greece (8.45 p.m./RTL).
