Emre Can reveals contact with Hansi Flick before moving to Borussia Dortmund

In a recent virtual interview with Sport1, Emre Can revealed that he had spoken with former Bayern Munich manager Hansi Flick before he made the decision to join Borussia Dortmund back in the winter of 2019 (officially the beginning of 2020). At the time, he joined from Juventus after spending a season in Italy playing for the Serie A giants having left Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool in the summer of 2018.

Flick and Can already had somewhat of a relationship with one another because of their time on the German U-21 national team. Since the former Bayern manager will be taking over for Joachim Low as the manager for Die Mannschaft after this summer’s Euros, Can said he’s excited to have him at the helm. “I can confirm that we were in contact. I still know Hansi from the U21 national team. He’s a good trainer. I’m looking forward to him. But first of all we still have a lot to do with Joachim Löw at the EUROS. I think it’s a shame that he’s leaving because I value him as a person. I hope that we will play a successful European Championships for him,” he explained. For the time being he said that Low is “very motivated and wants to prove it to his critics again. I hope we can give him the title.”

For both club and country, Can possesses the ability to play a multitude of different positions. Between Liverpool, Juventus, Dortmund, and the German national team, he’s played central midfield, center-back, wing-back, and even right-back. While opinions might be split on where he’s best utilized, his versatility makes him a valuable asset, which helps his chances of playing more for the national team, especially since Flick will be taking over after this summer and is very familiar with Can.

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While he does play a number of different positions for both Dortmund and Germany, Can admitted that it’s not the easiest thing to switch positions as frequently as he does. “It is not easy to switch over and over again. I’ve played a decent season, but the past two months haven’t gone the way I imagined. I have to be honest about that. That certainly has to do with the many changes in position. I had six or seven games in a row in which I always played in a different position. I had to think again and again and get used to the rooms. Of course I would rather have a permanent position. The bottom line is that I do everything for the team to be successful. When I play, I really put myself into it. No matter where,” he explained.