Germany's national team counters right-wing propaganda strategy.
Germany's national football team is kicking off its preparation for the European Championship in eastern Germany. DFB's managing director, Rettig, considers this a fantastic move, especially considering the political aspect. National coach, Julian Nagelsmann, isn't holding back either - even with some key players still out of town.
DFB's managing director, Andreas Rettig, also sees a political meaning behind the German football team's training camp in Thuringia before the European election. The decision to hold a preparation camp in Blankenhain, Thuringia, in the east part of Germany, is "great," the 61-year-old told the Frankfurter Rundschau on Monday. "It's crucial to ensure that the feelings of those in eastern Germany, who often feel neglected, don't worsen."
"There's a reason for the constitutional crisis in our country. We wouldn't want to go too far, but having the German football team preparing for this massive tournament in the east serves as a beautiful symbol that conveys, 'You're here too!'" Rettig added, with a thought to the upcoming European election on June 9th. He hopes for a sense of unity during these trying times, a rallying cry against right-wing slogans.
"We aimed to show that we're all one team," DFB sports director, Rudi Völler, said during an event in Blankenhain. Often, people in the east feel abandoned when it comes to football. Leipzig is the only European Championship venue in the new states. All of Germany's group matches against Scotland (June 14th in Munich), Hungary (June 19th in Stuttgart), and Switzerland (June 23rd in Frankfurt) will take place in the southwest cluster.
Not the Same as the 2006 World Cup Preparations
Rettig isn't keen on comparing the emotionally heavy 2006 World Cup, which gave Germany a fresh image both at home and abroad, to the current home tournament. He finds this "inappropriate because the conditions are not the same."
There's "war, conflicts, the laboriously overcame pandemic, inflation, and economic conditions that weigh on our minds and wallets. But you can sense that something's brewing, also because of the positive feedback we've received from the games against France and the Netherlands."
The EM squad of Julian Nagelsmann is getting ready from Sunday to Friday in Blankenhain, Thuringia, for the European Championship, starting June 14th. On Monday, the national team will put on a public training session in Jena. The national coach is wasting no time getting everyone in shape. From the get-go, Nagelsmann demands everyone's full commitment - whether they're 14, 2 or 18 - to create the necessary competition pressure and tension.
From the start, Nagelsmann has to find a suitable mix. Out of his 27 provisionally nominated players, only 18 are in attendance due to the DFB Cup final and the Champions League final. "We've put together a strong group, with a balance between strong personalities and those who can work as a team," said Nagelsmann. "It's already two busloads of players, and they all need to fit together."
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Source: www.ntv.de
