Michael Ballack lambasts Germany’s World Cup effort, calls for change

It is not just Germany’s fans who are irate over the team’s quick exit from the World Cup in Qatar.

Even the German national team’s distinguished alumni are angry about the squad’s underwhelming and lackluster effort during the group stage of the World Cup — including former Bayern Munich player Michael Ballack.

“This is what happens when there’s no self-criticism. We shouldn’t make the same mistake again as in 2018, when the president just said after the elimination: The DFB and the coaching staff will now analyze it - and then Jogi stayed in the end,” Ballack said during an appearance on Magenta TV (as captured by @iMiaSanMia). “Every position at the DFB should be questioned, including the coach. You don’t get very far with this kind of football. We see it in the teams that are less talented than us but give us problems.”

There will definitely be a close look into what happened in Qatar. Whether that amounts to any type of significant change, however, remains to be seen.