Germany striker Niclas Fullkrug has expressed his belief that the retirement of several experienced players could be a positive for the national team. The departure of 2014 World Cup winners Manuel Neuer, Thomas Muller, and Toni Kroos, along with captain Ilkay Gundogan, has marked a new chapter for German football.
With Joshua Kimmich taking over as captain, Fullkrug, at 31, is now one of the more experienced members of the squad. He sees this lack of experience as a potential advantage, as the younger players will be more eager to prove themselves and achieve success.
“We’ve lost players with an incredible amount of experience and success. As Jo (Kimmich) said yesterday, we’ve got no more world champions in the team. “Of course it’s a disadvantage, but we want to turn it into an advantage. We want to be a troupe which may be inexperienced but we’re hungry, greedy for success,” said Fullkrug.
He emphasized that a team that hasn’t won anything “wants success just a bit more than a group that has had it.” Fullkrug also acknowledged the significant impact of Muller’s absence, both on and off the field.
“When he walks into the room he has a real presence. Since he left, of course, it’s been a bit quieter,” Fullkrug said with a smile. “But we still miss him.”
Fullkrug himself is a key player for Germany, having scored 13 goals in 21 appearances. He joined West Ham United from Borussia Dortmund in the summer, but is yet to score or assist in four games for his new club. He attributes this to needing more time to adjust to the Premier League, which he describes as “more physical and dynamic, but less tactical” than the Bundesliga.
As Germany prepares for their match against Hungary in Duesseldorf on Saturday, Fullkrug and his teammates will be looking to embrace this new era and prove that they can achieve success without their former veterans.
