Hansi Flick: "There is a connection between the teams"

Frank Wormuth’s DFB-Team U20s face their senior counterparts this evening. This fixture first took place in the build-up to the 2014 World Cup in Brazil and promises to be another exciting affair. Ahead of the match sporting director Hansi Flick spoke to DFB.de about the match, the progression into the senior teams and his thoughts ahead of this summer’s tournaments.

DFB.de: Mr Flick, the senior squad face the U20s today, just like they did before the 2014 World Cup. Do you remember what happened then?

Hansi Flick: Not exactly. There were two matches. The first one was tight but I think the second one was something like 7-0.

DFB.de: 8-0 and Thomas Müller scored five...

Flick: Sure but the result isn’t the most important thing in these games.

DFB.de: Meaning?

Flick: There’s more to it. It shows that there is a connection between the teams and whether things are progressing well. The sides work together a lot and it’s good to see that pay off. It has more than just a purely sporting value.

DFB.de: Does the match act as a chance for Joachim Löw to look at future prospects too?

Flick: It does but some of the U20 players are away on holiday, so it does have limitations in that regard.

DFB.de: Only 14 U20s are on duty today. Whose absence will be felt the most?

Flick: I’d rather talk about the guys who are here. Mo Dahoud, for example, will play today. Obviously we all know that he wanted to be in the provisional squad and that he was disappointed not to be selected; however, he jumped at the chance to link up with the U20s. He wants to show the head coach what he’s all about first hand. He deserves credit for that.

DFB.de: The DFB has created a distinct playing style from top to bottom, so won’t the two sides just cancel each other out?

Flick: I don’t think so because the U20s have been instructed to play a certain way today. We’re playing four 20-minute periods. It’s not going to be easy for them as they’re playing in numerous styles, however, Frank Wormuth is looking forward to it.

DFB.de: Players from the youth sides frequently appear in Jogi Löw’s squads. Are you pleased with how the system is functioning?

Flick: The DFB are happy with how things are going. Joshua Kimmich, Julian Weigl, Julian Brandt and Leroy Sané have recently jumped form the U19 or U20 sides into the first team. These examples show how good our youth system is. A lot of hard work has gone into this – we’ve worked hard alongside the league associations to give young players chances at the high levels. There’s always room for improvement though.

DFB.de: There are three big tournaments this summer – the Euros in France, the Olympics in Rio and the U19 European Championship in Baden-Württemberg. How important is the latter?

Flick: It’s important for the players but it also portrays the clubs in a good light. We want to put out the best side we possibly can and the clubs have allowed us to do that, which is great on their part. It’s always great to have a tournament in your own country and I’m really looking forward to it. The Olympics and senior Euros are also exciting though!

DFB.de: Have you set any goals for the summer?

Flick: I’m certainly not putting emphasis on titles, although we can’t ignore the fact that the senior team are one of the favourites for this summer’s tournament. It’d be great to win Gold in Rio too. However, neither are foregone conclusions. As far as the youth team is concerned, we mainly want to see them go as far as they can in the tournament and implement our style of football. The event itself will be a great experience for the players involved. Over 50,000 tickets have been sold for our opener against Italy. We want to represent the country well and perform to the best of our ability in every competition this summer.