Sports
‘Belief Has Returned To Germany Ahead Euro 2024’
Germany have regained their self-confidence after a 2-0 win against France last week, three months before hosting Euro 2024, World Cup winner Philipp Lahm told Tidesports source in an interview.
Lahm, who is tournament director for Euro 2024, said the promising performance brought back euphoria in our country because the “German national team played football well and played football passionately”.
In Qatar in 2022, Germany reached a new low when they were eliminated at the group stage of a World Cup for the second time in a row.
Hansi Flick became the first Germany coach in history to be sacked and was replaced by Julian Nagelsmann in September.
In Lyon on Saturday, Nagelsmann appeared to be finally moulding a new, young team, less than three months from the opening match of the tournament against Scotland on June 14.
“(Germany) performed completely differently” against France, Lahm said of the victory that came thanks to a first international goal from Bayer Leverkusen’s Florian Wirtz and a Kai Havertz strike.
“We had an established midfield and of course very, very young, dynamic, attacking players. And of course that brings self-confidence.
“But we can only know for sure over a longer period of time.”
Lahm played every minute in Germany’s run to the semi-finals as hosts of the 2006 World Cup before captaining the side to victory in Brazil eight years later.
As captain of the last world-beating German team, Lahm understands how complex the process of developing a top team can be — and that talent may not be enough.
“Super-talented players like Jamal Musiala and Florian Wirtz are still relatively young, but have a lot of experience,” he said.
“They certainly have the talent to raise the German national team to another level, but it’s important everything fits together, that the pieces of the puzzle fit together — and that was certainly the case in 2014.
“Everyone identified with their role and made their skills available to the team.”
Saturday’s victory against France even overshadowed the controversy surrounding the DFB’s decision to ditch long-time kit maker Adidas in favour of Nike, ending a 70-year collaboration with the German sports brand.
“I made 113 international appearances for Germany in Adidas, I played at Bayern Munich in Adidas, I only know the national team in Adidas,” Lahm said.
“When I watched Germany play on TV as a child, it was in Adidas.”
Lahm admitted the move was “a change for us in Germany”, but said: “There must have been serious reasons to change.”
Despite the hope fuelled by Germany’s defeat of France on Saturday, Lahm still named the French, spearheaded by Kylian Mbappe, as tournament favourites.
“They have 40 players who are very, very talented. They have a balanced squad,” he said.
“They can always bring players off the bench who would normally be good enough to play from the start.
“But the important thing is that you have a team on the field.”
While predicting a “big football nation” will win, Lahm said he hoped “perhaps there will be a surprise, that a smaller nation will go far in the tournament and will celebrate together with their fans.”
“But as for winning the title? I’m pretty sure it will be a football nation and one of the favourites, one who has won in the past few years.”
The Euro 2024 hosts hope to channel the spirit of the 2006 World Cup which still holds a defining place in the collective German consciousness.
Known as the “summer fairytale”, it was the moment where a unified and modern Germany showcased itself on the world stage.
Just 18 years ago, the tournament seems from a different time, with this year’s event held in a time of global conflicts and uncertainty.
Late in 2023, Germany’s Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) warned the danger of a terror attack was higher than it has been for a long time.
The attack on a concert in Moscow last Friday by militants linked to the Islamic State group which killed 137 people has prompted new security fears in Germany. Neighbouring France has already raised its security alert to its highest level.
Lahm acknowledged the challenges, but said he hoped the tournament could play a unifying role as the World Cup had done in 2006.
“Safety is the highest priority, right from the start until the end of the tournament,” Lahm said.
“It’s a tournament in challenging times, but I still believe it’s important that we keep coming together.
“In Europe, we always come together to strengthen ourselves, to strengthen our democracy.
“Everyone is warmly welcomed to Germany, especially at this time, when there are many challenges all over the world. (It is important) that people can come together again and celebrate together again.”
Senegal goalkeeper Edouard Mendy has said that criticism that he and other players chased money by moving to Saudi Arabia is wide of the mark.
The 33-year-old left Chelsea for Al-Ahli in a £16m ($21.4m) deal in 2023, and in May the Africa Cup of Nations winner helped his Saudi club win the Asian Champions League, making him one of the few players to win both that competition and its European equivalent.
But, like many others, Mendy has been criticised for playing for money rather than prestige in the lucrative Saudi Pro League.
When asked about such criticism, Mendy told a Tidesports source, “Al-Ahli’s project came along and they made me feel I had a big role to play.
“Two years later, we won the Champions League for the first time in the club’s history. So yes, that validates my choice. And I hope the coming years will validate it even more.”
He added: “Some people will quickly jump to conclusions and say the only reason is money. From the start, I always said that when I left Chelsea, I knew I was joining another team where I could win everything , which was no longer the case at Chelsea.”
The Blues have since won the Conference League, Europe’s third-tier club competition, under the ownership of Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital.
But it comes after the regime’s trophyless first two years, a period which has frustrated some supporters after the success enjoyed under Roman Abramovich’s stewardship in the previous 19 years.
Mendy has also been celebrating what he describes as a historical win with Senegal against England at Nottingham Forest’s City Ground, but days earlier he had been in Dakar delivering a different kind of win.
He is the sponsor of Yakaar, a school in Keur Massar, which seeks to improve funding and access to digital learning tools for local children from underprivileged backgrounds.
Famously, as Mendy grew up in France, he was unemployed, aged 22, while struggling to find a club, with members of his family still living on the outskirts of Dakar.
That is why Yakaar, a word meaning “hope”, was chosen, a word Mendy has carried with him in his career.
“Hope is what kept me going. When I was without a club, it was the hope of getting that first professional contract.
“Then the hope of playing for the national team. The hope of making my family proud by doing the job I had always dreamed of.
“Indeed, hope is the best word to describe my career.”
Mendy was also asked whether the responsibility of being an African goalkeeper had weighed heavily on him.
“Of course. When I was in England, there weren’t many African goalkeepers in top clubs,” he admitted.
“Whether nationally or internationally, I had that responsibility. It’s the same for other African goalkeepers like Andre Onana [Manchester United] or Yassine Bounou (Al-Hilal).”
The entire refereeing committee has been fired by the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), with structural reforms soon set to follow.
According to sources, the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) has dismissed the entire refereeing committee in response to mounting pressure from clubs demanding structural reform. A major shake-up aimed at modernising Spanish refereeing from top to bottom has now been set in motion.
Head of the Technical Committee of Referees (CTA), Luis Medina Cantalejo and Head of VAR, Carlos Clos Gomez, have been removed from their positions. They are joined by several senior officials, including Antonio Rubinos Perez and three vice presidents, who are also stepping down. A new leadership model will be introduced, led by a CEO and a sporting director, aiming to overhaul how refereeing is managed covering assessments, promotions, and daily operations. While the leadership changes are sweeping, the current pool of referees in La Liga and the second tier will remain, ensuring continuity on the field during the transition.
Cristiano Ronaldo has signed a new two-year contract with Al-Nassr that means he will stay with the Saudi Pro League club until beyond his 42nd birthday.
The Portugal captain, 40, joined the Riyadh-based team in December 2022 after leaving Manchester United in acrimonious circumstances, having criticised the club and said he had no respect for manager Erik ten Hag.
Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr deal had been due to expire at the end of June and there was speculation he could leave, but that has now been quashed.
In a post on X, Ronaldo wrote: “A new chapter begins. Same passion, same dream. Let’s make history together.”
Although Al-Nassr have not added to their nine domestic titles during Ronaldo’s time at the club, they have benefited from a flood of goals from the five-time Ballon d’Or winner.
Ronaldo scored 35 times in 41 matches across all competitions last term and was the league’s top scorer for a second consecutive season.
He has managed 99 goals in appearances overall for Al-Nassr and is well on his way to reaching 1,000 senior goals in his career, with a current tally of 938 for club and country.
Having helped Portugal win the Uefa Nations League a little over two weeks ago, the former Manchester United, Real Madrid, Sporting and Juventus forward will almost certainly now be targeting a sixth World Cup appearance next summer.
Only a month ago, Ronaldo posted on social media to say “the chapter is over”.
That came after the Saudi Pro League wrapped up with Al-Nassr finishing third and trophyless once again.
The comment fuelled rumours that Ronaldo was ready to leave the league where he reportedly became the best-paid player in football history with an annual salary of £177m when he joined.
Fifa president Gianni Infantino raised the prospect of Ronaldo joining a team involved in the Club World Cup after Al-Nassr failed to qualify for the extended tournament which is being held in the United States.
Ronaldo said he had received offers from participating teams but had turned them down.
The decision to stay until at least 2027, which is certain to be highly lucrative, appears to rule out any future prospect of Ronaldo returning to play at the highest level in Europe.