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The ‘holiday feeling’ atmosphere at Germany’s ‘secluded’ resort in Qatar, with WAGs ‘taking selfies by the pool while players babysat’ has reportedly been cited as one of the reasons behind his failure in the World Cup.
Germany suffered back-to-back group stage exits at the World Cup, following their miserable performance in Russia in 2018 with another troubling group stage exiting at the hands of Japan and Spain.
image report that during a two-hour crisis meeting – DFB President Bernd Neuendorf and Vice President Hans-Joachim Watzke among the attendees – to unpack what went wrong in Qatar, the behavior of friends and family at the team hotel came up, with players on the squad. uncomfortable with the ‘holiday feeling’ at camp.
The behavior of the WAGs (Christian Gunter’s wife Kati (left) and David Raum’s girlfriend Eva Katharina (right) were in Qatar) at the team hotel reportedly caused problems
Germany stayed at the Zulal Wellness Resort in the northern Al Shamal region of Qatar
Manager Hansi Flick is said to have dismissed the concerns, but his bosses “were stunned”
After the return draw against Spain, it was reported that the players from Germany invited their wives and girlfriends to stay at the luxurious resort hotel before the final round matchup with Costa Rica.
The WAGs were allowed to stay for two nights before leaving the secluded Wellness Resort, Bild reported.
Several of the players’ couples were in the stands of the 1-1 draw against Spain at Al Bayt Stadium, including Sophia Weber, Kai Havertz’s girlfriend, and goalkeeper Kevin Trapp’s fiancée, Izabel Goulart.
But now it appears that the WAGs’ visit caused friction between German FA staff, top management and some players.
Germany stayed at the Zulal Wellness Resort, a three-hour round trip from the capital Doha
This photo highlights the remote location of the Germany base compared to the other 31 teams.
For the manager Hansi Flick, he ‘does not accept’ that the family stays and the isolated base is to blame.
But German soccer higher-ups were reportedly as baffled by events off the pitch as they were on it.
Germany chose to stay at the Zulal Wellness Resort in northern Qatar, one of the furthest accommodations from the center of Doha.
It’s a 70-acre, 120-room, five-star resort stretching all the way to the Arabian Gulf, where rooms can cost up to £1,400 a night.
The distance from Doha, more than 111 kilometers, brought its own problems beyond the selfies between the poolside WAGS.
Luise Neck (left), girlfriend of Julian Brandt, and Ariadna Hafez (centre), girlfriend of Thilo Kehrer, pictured in the stands as the WAGs sat together during matches to cheer on Germany.
At the start of the tournament, FIFA fined the German Football Federation after it failed to submit a player to attend the press conference prior to their World Cup match with Spain.
A player is required to be sent to every press conference the day before his match to answer questions along with his coach.
However, Germany boss Flick arrived at the main press center in Doha alone, except for some German FA officials accompanying him, prompting FIFA to launch an investigation into the matter.
Flick’s explanation for traveling alone from his base camp in northern Qatar was the fact that he did not want a key player subjected to an unnecessary three-hour round trip.
“It’s very important that they put their energy into training,” Flick said.
The FA confirmed on Wednesday that Flick will remain as the national team’s head coach until Euro 2024, a tournament to be played in Germany.
Germany fell in the group stage after failing to recover from the defeat to Japan
Neuendorf said: ‘We are all convinced that Euro 2024 in our own country represents a great opportunity for football in Germany.
‘Our goal is to make this tournament a sporting success. We have full confidence in Hansi Flick that he will master this challenge together with his team.”
Flick added: ‘My coaching team and I are optimistic about the European Championship in our own country.
‘We as a team can achieve much more than what we showed in Qatar. We have lost a great opportunity there. We will learn our lessons from that.’