Gary Lineker, the English Team star and golden boot in the 1986 World Cup, angered some of the Germans this weekend by stating that the country’s current team is one of “the weakest” he has ever seen play. Only part of the Germans, because, for many, the statement may be uncomfortable, but it is not far from the truth.
The criticism, recalled the German tabloid Bild, is significant coming from Lineker. He is the author of the famous phrase that, in 1990, defined football as an “11 against 11 sport in which, in the end, the Germans win”.
Germany plays this Monday (29), against Paraguay, in Boston, its first knockout stage in the World Cup since winning the 2014 final, at Maracanã, coach Julian Nagelsmann’s team inspires little confidence among the fans so far. The atmosphere worsened after the 2-1 defeat to Ecuador, although the setback did not compromise the team’s leadership in Group E of the competition.
“I don’t feel like I have any obligation to prove anything to anyone except the players,” Nagelsmann said in a press conference on Sunday in the US. The coach was not reacting to Lineker’s comment, but to observations from German journalists themselves. It was Kai Havertz who asked the question about the skewering of the now celebrated commentator, who follows the World Cup on his own program on Netflix.
“Everyone is entitled to their opinion. And, of course, in a tournament like this, a lot of people start talking about the team. I don’t think anyone pays much attention”, minimized the Arsenal striker. “We already have many experts in our own country”, he added, ironically.
In an interview with the French newspaper L’Équipe, in addition to classifying the current team as one of the weakest he had ever seen, Lineker stated that “Germany lives off its past”. “Remember that in the last two World Cups, the team didn’t even make it past the group stage.”
The top scorer at the World Cup in Mexico (six goals) also suggested that France, a potential opponent in the round of 16, would run over Germany if the team beats Paraguay this Monday. France, in turn, takes on Sweden on Tuesday.
