Germany went out of the World Cup already in the round of 16.
Now the players’ girlfriends and wives are being blamed for the defeat.
– I don’t understand why they should be there in the first place, says Lothar Matthäus.
Former Germany captain Lothar Matthäus took part in the German Bild’s broadcast and discussed the fact that Germany made another World Cup fiasco. The trip ended against Paraguay after a penalty shootout which the South American team won 4–3.
Matthäus drew a parallel to the World Cup in 1994, when Germany went out in the quarter-finals against Bulgaria. He believes that the team was then distracted by having the players’ girlfriends and wives there and that is why they lost.
– There is a lot to process, both on and off the field. Wives, families—everyone was involved. There were many headlines, he says in Bild, reproduced by Daily Mail.
“Created irritation”
He believes that the same thing was behind the departure against Paraguay and that things that are not football-related take over the focus during the championship with the families in place.
– It started to be about who got to travel how and who got to live where. There was a lot of discussion within the team. It never became public, but I know it caused irritation. One player was upset with a teammate because his mother was allowed to fly with him, while another player’s wife and children were also allowed to come along, says Matthäus and continues:
– Everyone else had to travel by regular flight.
The former team captain believes that the families should not be flown in until later in the championship.
– Otherwise, the focus will not be on the WC, but on being on a family holiday.
