Germany Watch: Hansi Flick out to change the squad’s culture by building relationships

For those expecting former Bayern Munich sextuple-winning manager Hansi Flick to have a larger, more public presence as Germany’s coach, you likely won’t be disappointed.

Already at the Gladbach-Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund-Eintracht Frankfurt matches over the weekend, Flick reportedly wants to change the image associated with the position (per Abendzeitung):

The 56-year-old wants to show his presence, do his work as a national coach more publicly and document it in a more contemporary way than (Joachim) Löw. There were phases, the brooding and withdrawal phases, when the 2014 world champion was also considered almost lost internally by the DFB. Flick works differently, also seeks closeness to his chosen ones outside of the off periods.

Flick wants to enhance relationships and increase cohesion with his players; something that Joachim Löw clearly struggled with in recent years.

“We have no time to lose. It is important that we take the players with us directly, reach them again and again between internationals and communicate with them,” Flick said.

How does Flick plan to do that with his players likely spread all over Europe? Abendzeitung thinks it has an idea:

There will be a lot of phone calls and emails, exchanges via WhatsApp or other channels. The main thing is that the connection is right — especially with his ex-players in Munich, who will form the foundation of Flick’s national team.

Flick has a major chore ahead of him, but the same could have been said when he took over for Niko Kovac at Bayern Munich.

Can he achieve similar results?

We will not have to wait long to find out.