Joachim Low says Hansi Flick has “excellent qualifications” to be the next Germany manager

Hansi Flick still has not come out and concretely removed himself from the running to succeed Joachim Low as the next manager of the German national team. On the short list of other top-tier coaches, Flick’s name was among the first touted when Low announced he’d be stepping down after this summer’s European Championships.

Addressing the rumors, Flick had essentially just stated that he has a contract at Bayern Munich and is focusing on winning titles with them for the time being, but didn’t entirely rule out the possibility of taking over for Low after this summer.

Recently speaking on “Bayern 1” radio (kicker), Low explained that Flick has all of the right prerequisites to replace him. “I think we all agree that Hansi has excellent prerequisites for leading top players. The direction of the game, the game culture are of course very, very good under Flick. He can be imagined like some of the other candidates who are also being interviewed. Of course, the decision is not mine. I am very neutral on the outside because Hansi is of course still under contract,” low explained of his former Die Mannschaft assistant.

After Bayern’s 4-0 win over VfB Stuttgart on Saturday, Flick responded to the kind praise from Low. “I’m of course very happy that he says something like that. But the whole thing has not changed,” he said.

Of course, he’s maintained that he’s fully focused on Bayern right now, rightfully so, but unlike Liverpool’s Jurgen Klopp, he has not taken himself out of the conversation. Klopp was quick to announce that he did not want to be in the running less than 24 hours after Low’s announcement was made.

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Ralf Rangnick had previously said that he would be open to an offer from the DFB if it were to come at “the right time” and he also just played down the rumors suggesting he was set to become Schalke 04’s new sporting director. So, technically, he is still a candidate for the Germany job, though perhaps does not have as strong of a case as Flick.

To conclude his radio appearance on Bayern 1, Low said that he’s ready to step away from the limelight after the Euros, saying that he’s ready to have some “emotional distance” from managing. He said he really wants to learn Spanish during some of his down time, but also revealed that he doesn’t want to sit back in his “rocking chair” for too long. “Rocking chair? I don’t think so. I still enjoy it too much for that, and I still have a lot of motivation,” he said.