Bayern trio proves mettle under DFB-induced duress
- Chuck Smith
- Mar 11, 2019
- 3 min read
Bayern Munich's Thomas Muller, Jerome Boateng, and Mats Hummels are three of the more famous German soccer players on Earth. Not only was the trio vital to Germany's 2014 World Cup win, but in many ways, the three players have been the face for a very successful generation of German soccer.
Joachim Low's unceremonious and downright arrogant approach to parting ways with Muller, Boateng, and Hummels last week left many German fans irate. While you could certainly argue the merits of each player and how he would fit in on the 2019 version of Die Mannschaft, the manner in which Low axed the trio was universally panned.
An unannounced sniper job on Sabener Strasse was all that Muller, Hummels, and Boateng deserved in Low's eyes. In clear terms, Low's botching of how he handled this news was nothing short of a debacle. Muller, Hummels, and Boateng all expressed a range of emotions from anger to disappointment to outrage at the treatment from Low and the DFB.
But what else do we expect from Low? This is the same man whose personnel management, strategies, and game day coaching have been highly questionable since late 2017. Aside of the fact that neither Low, nor his DFB counterparts Reinhard Grindel, president, and Oliver Bierhoff, team manager, have been held accountable for any of Die Mannschaft's recent failures on the pitch, the trio has failed to even make off-the-field issues be effectively handled. Whether it was the handling of the drama surrounding Mesut Ozil or the cut down that included Leroy Sane last summer, the DFB has been a public relations nightmare time after time. The premature release of Muller, Boateng, and Hummels from international duty is just the most recent example.
None of that circus action under the DFB Big Top mattered on Saturday, however. Muller, Hummels, and Boateng all took the field for Bayern Munich against Wolfsburg. Bolstered by the support of coach Niko Kovac, teammates like Joshua Kimmich, Leon Goretzka, and Serge Gnabry, along with the home crowd at the Allianz Arena, the trio put on a fantastic show.
Muller had a goal and an assist to help pace the Bayern offense, while Boateng and Hummels combined to provide lock down defense and secure a clean sheet in Bayern's dominant 6-0 victory. It was a defiant performance in the face of the shoddy treatment by Low and DFB.
All three players have much left in the tank and could have still been valuable members to the German national team, but that ship has apparently sailed under Low. Rather than lean on the veterans to provide leadership and experience to what will be a very green core group for Germany, Low jumped the gun. Once again -- and as he proved in Russia last summer -- Low's decision-making was questionable at best, horrific at worst.
Goretzka, Gnabry, and Kimmich all came out in support of their Bayern teammates, while Germany captain Manuel Neuer offer up a lifeless, generic statement likely because he is living in fear that his own position may be up for grabs. Sandro Wagner, who also felt the sharp end of the axe from Low last year, sprung to action to take the back of Muller, Hummels, and Boateng.
None of that matters now, though. The DFB will no longer have Muller, Boateng, and Hummels to kick around anymore.
The heat should now be shifted on the trio of Low, Grindel, and Bierhoff. If Germany cannot right its ship, it will not be the fault of the players, but of the organization's leadership.
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