MUNICH (GERMANY), Aug. 21 (dpa/EP) –
Former German football legend Lothar Matthäus has a clear favourite for the post of new captain of the German men’s national team and has proposed Joshua Kimmich in a statement to the dpa news agency.
“There’s a lot to be said for Joshua Kimmich,” said Matthäus. “I’m a huge fan of his. He can play at world class level in two positions. He leads the game, hits the nail on the head, is very intelligent and knows how to read the game,” added the now Sky commentator.
Following the retirement of Ilkay Gündogan, Germany need a new captain. Matthäus is also clear about who should be the vice-captain: “I see Jonathan Tah as his deputy. He also takes responsibility, as he has shown for years at Leverkusen,” emphasised the 63-year-old former international.
“The fact that he held back the whole time in his transfer plan with Bayern Munich shows how mature he is,” he said of the lengthy process of negotiations leading up to his departure from his current club, Bayer Leverkusen.
Regardless, the former captain of Germany when they won the World Cup in 1990 added that it remains to be seen how and if former captain Manuel Neuer, 38, will continue and under what conditions.
Stefan Effenberg, a former international teammate of Matthäus, is also expecting a clear announcement from Neuer: “He must not declare that he wants to ‘take a break’ for the time being. No. He must say unequivocally: ‘I will continue’ or ‘I will retire’,” Effenberg demanded in a column published in the ‘T-Online’ newspaper.
“Leave now and come back in 2025, 2026? That makes no sense, it would rather damage his public image,” Effenberg explained. After all, he is followed by Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen, 32, “who could easily play three more tournaments as number one. At some point, the door has to be opened for ter Stegen to become a starter,” he claimed.
Like Matthäus, Effenberg is leaning towards Kimmich as captain of Die Mannschaft. “With his experience and character, he has everything. He has already experienced a lot, both at Bayern and with the national team, great successes and bitter defeats. That is part of the ability to lead and help the younger players,” he said.
Matthäus also praised former captain Gündogan after his retirement from the national team: “He has done a very good job, he leaves with his head held high.” “He made a decision that I can understand. He is a young father and perhaps now he wants to concentrate more on his work at the club and on his family,” he added about the still FC Barcelona player.