Former Bayern Munich manager Jupp Heynckes examines why Germany struggled at the Euros

In an interview with kicker (as captured by Twitter account @iMiaSanMia), former Bayern Munich boss Jupp Heynckes could see several reasons why Die Mannschaft was not successful at the European Championships.

“The incredible team spirit of 2014 was missing. You cannot have success this way. (Roberto) Mancini, (Gareth) Southgate, Luis Enrique and (Kasper) Hjulmand have prepared their teams well. It wasn’t the case with Germany. Except the Portugal game, there was no passion, no emotion,” Heynckes said.

The 2013 treble-winner also thinks that Thomas Müller and Mats Hummels should have been re-integrated into the team sooner — and also said Jerome Boateng should have been brought back as well.

“They needed more games before the tournament to fully integrate. They should have been brought back in March. Jérôme Boateng was the best defender in the league last season. I would have bought him back as well,” said Heynckes.

Looking forward, Heynckes thinks Germany should respect Toni Kroos’ decision to retire and offered some observations on how Die Mannschaft can improve moving forward.

“We have to respect his decision. Toni has had a phenomenal career, won the biggest trophies and developed as a player and as a person. He’s retiring at a high point, even though the Euros didn’t go perfectly well,” Heynckes remarked. “We are not producing full-backs like (Paul) Breitner, (Andreas) Brehme or (Philipp) Lahm anymore. In addition, we don’t have world class center-backs and no strikers. We do have talented wingers (Serge) Gnabry, (Leroy) Sané, (Timo) Werner, but they have to offer more. Kai Havertz can have a future world class career. Big teams need a fixed point upfront.. A striker who is good with the ball, who receives the ball and combines with his teammates. (Robert) Lewandowski is currently the prototype. (Karim) Benzema as well.”