The U21 European Championships is just four months down the line. Preparations for the tournament are in full swing and the team of coach Stefan Kuntz have important friendly games scheduled for the end of march. In Wiesbaden they will host England, before heading towards Stuttgart where they will face Portugal, the 2015 EURO finalist. Both nations will be represented in the 2017 U21 EURO’s, where Germany have been drawn into a group with the Czech Republic, Denmark and Italy.
Stefan Kuntz met with DFB.de editor Maximilian Schwartz to discuss the tournament preparations. Furthermore, the 54-year-old gave insights on his collaboration with Germany coach Joachim Löw and DFB interim sporting director Horst Hrubesch.
DFB.de: Mr. Kuntz, have preparations for the friendly games in March already begun?
Stefan Kuntz: Of course, our coaching staff is in the midst of preparing for the game and have been following the progress of our players in the past weeks intensively. We will make a decision soon which players we will take with us for the two games, after having consulted Jogi Löw.
DFB.de: Have you already set up an appointment with the national team coach?
Kuntz: Yes, our first meetings will take place in the next few days and we will remain in contact until we announce the nominations. If possible, our squad for the games in March will look fairly similar to the team that we will take to the EURO’s, but that’s something we will have to discuss. A lot can happen still until June.
DFB.de: In England and Portugal you have opted for very strong opponents in your friendly games before the tournament. Both nations qualified for the EURO’s as group winners and remained unbeaten in the process.
Kuntz: We wanted to opponents who are also taking part in the EURO’s. Both games present exciting challenges and will be a good indicator for the tournament. They will give us the final opportunities to make tactical or personnel changes. We might also invite new players in order to get to know them and to test them. And of course we also want to give the spectators in Wiesbaden and Stuttgart a good performance against strong opponents.
DFB.de: What type of style do you expect from both teams?
Kuntz: England plays with a lot of pace and especially in attack they have very quick players, who will pressure the opposing defence far up the pitch. Traditionally, Portugal have a technically skilled team. But for us, these friendly games are primarily important for our own style of play. We want to be flexible and will work on a variety of systems. What position do the boys play for the clubs? Where will they play for us? In which position can they play to their full potential? These are questions that will be answered with our two games at the end of March.
DFB.de: You had been closely working together with Hansi Flick since he resigned in January. Now, Horst Hrubesch is the new DFB sporting director and also you predecessor as coach of the U21 side. Has anything changed?
Kuntz: Everyone at DFB misses Hansi Flick a lot. But his successor knows this association very well and is a close adviser for me. Horst Hrubesch has enormous experience and knows most of the players in the U21 team very well. Even before he became sporting director he had offered me his help and now he’s doing it because it’s his job. Not a lot has changed to be honest.
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The U21 European Championships is just four months down the line. Preparations for the tournament are in full swing and the team of coach Stefan Kuntz have important friendly games scheduled for the end of march. In Wiesbaden they will host England, before heading towards Stuttgart where they will face Portugal, the 2015 EURO finalist. Both nations will be represented in the 2017 U21 EURO’s, where Germany have been drawn into a group with the Czech Republic, Denmark and Italy.
Stefan Kuntz met with DFB.de editor Maximilian Schwartz to discuss the tournament preparations. Furthermore, the 54-year-old gave insights on his collaboration with Germany coach Joachim Löw and DFB interim sporting director Horst Hrubesch.
DFB.de: Mr. Kuntz, have preparations for the friendly games in March already begun?
Stefan Kuntz: Of course, our coaching staff is in the midst of preparing for the game and have been following the progress of our players in the past weeks intensively. We will make a decision soon which players we will take with us for the two games, after having consulted Jogi Löw.
DFB.de: Have you already set up an appointment with the national team coach?
Kuntz: Yes, our first meetings will take place in the next few days and we will remain in contact until we announce the nominations. If possible, our squad for the games in March will look fairly similar to the team that we will take to the EURO’s, but that’s something we will have to discuss. A lot can happen still until June.
DFB.de: In England and Portugal you have opted for very strong opponents in your friendly games before the tournament. Both nations qualified for the EURO’s as group winners and remained unbeaten in the process.
Kuntz: We wanted to opponents who are also taking part in the EURO’s. Both games present exciting challenges and will be a good indicator for the tournament. They will give us the final opportunities to make tactical or personnel changes. We might also invite new players in order to get to know them and to test them. And of course we also want to give the spectators in Wiesbaden and Stuttgart a good performance against strong opponents.
DFB.de: What type of style do you expect from both teams?
Kuntz: England plays with a lot of pace and especially in attack they have very quick players, who will pressure the opposing defence far up the pitch. Traditionally, Portugal have a technically skilled team. But for us, these friendly games are primarily important for our own style of play. We want to be flexible and will work on a variety of systems. What position do the boys play for the clubs? Where will they play for us? In which position can they play to their full potential? These are questions that will be answered with our two games at the end of March.
DFB.de: You had been closely working together with Hansi Flick since he resigned in January. Now, Horst Hrubesch is the new DFB sporting director and also you predecessor as coach of the U21 side. Has anything changed?
Kuntz: Everyone at DFB misses Hansi Flick a lot. But his successor knows this association very well and is a close adviser for me. Horst Hrubesch has enormous experience and knows most of the players in the U21 team very well. Even before he became sporting director he had offered me his help and now he’s doing it because it’s his job. Not a lot has changed to be honest.
