Rudi Völler says Germany can’t “(bleep) our pants now” ahead of massive France tilt

How bad are things for former Bayern Munich manager Hansi Flick in his role as Germany’s head coach?

Pretty darn bad.

After the German national team was shellacked 4-1 by Japan in Wolfsburg, DFB national team director Rudi Völler did not mince words.

“We’re all still in shock. Losing 4-1 is a disgrace,” Völler said (as captured by @iMiaSanMia).

When asked specifically about Flick, Völler provided a cryptic response.

“We all should take a good look at ourselves and then see what happens next,” said Völler. “We would all do well to sleep on it tonight. I just spoke to Hansi - he’s deeply affected. We’ll talk tomorrow about why that happened. That was an embarrassment.”

Later, Völler continued his roll with this gem of a quote to Sport1’s PJ Berger (as captured by @iMiaSanMia):“We can’t sh*t our pants now. We’re Germany. Nobody should be afraid on Tuesday. The boys can do it, they all play for top clubs.”

For his part, Flick reiterated that he felt like he was still the man for the job.

“First of all, we’re brutally disappointed, we have to acknowledge that Japan is a good team. We currently don’t have the resources to outplay such a compact defense. it was simply not enough. We started the game well, the first chance Japan had was a goal. Then we came back and made it 1-1, then we immediately conceded again. I don’t think you can blame the team for anything. They tried again and again, but then they made individual mistakes. The opponent took advantage of that and deserved to win,” Flick told RTL (as captured by @iMiaSanMia). “Today, it has to be said very clearly that we were in no condition to beat this (Japan) team. The Japanese players are all highly trained and have the basics down pat. We in German football have to wake up and work on these things. We will still prepare well for France. It’s clear that the disappointment is huge and I can understand the criticism. I cannot say more about that.

“We’re trying everything to always prepare the team perfectly. I think we (coaching staff) are doing that well and I think I’m the right coach.”

Looking for more Germany analysis? The Japan game may spell the end for Hansi Flick, but how much blame do the players deserve? We talk about that and so much more in our latest podcast episode! Listen to it below or on Spotify.

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