Despite the great political and emotional significance of the national football team’s anniversary match, Rudi Völler expects a serious European Championship test against Ukraine.
“It will not be a friendly game,” said the DFB sporting director. “It’s a normal international match, provided that it’s the 1000th international match for us. They will give everything and so will we,” assured Völler before the game on Monday (6 p.m. / ZDF) in Bremen’s Weser Stadium against the Russian one aggressive war-torn country.
Neuendorf emphasizes special importance
DFB President Bernd Neuendorf had previously emphasized the special importance of the game and, in addition to the peace symbol in view of the opponent, also explained the international return to Bremen after more than eleven years. Because of the legal dispute between the Hanseatic city and the German Football League over the assumption of police costs, the DFB had not awarded any games there for several years. Now a sign should be set in the direction of EM.
“The DFB must not sit back as an association,” said Neuendorf. “Exactly one year before the start of the European Championship, we want to attract fans and get them enthusiastic about the tournament,” emphasized the 61-year-old. The DFB should not “ban” the football-mad region. The legal differences with Bremen politics remained unaffected, said Neuendorf.
After the socio-political quarrels surrounding the Qatar World Cup, the DFB had assured that they wanted to stay away from such topics with a view to the home EM. National coach Hansi Flick should be able to concentrate on preparing his team again. Therefore, the award to Bremen and the selection of the opponent Ukraine had surprised just for the anniversary game. Neuendorf spoke of a “statement” to play against Ukraine. “We play more with Ukraine than against Ukraine,” he said, describing the symbolic power.
