Alexander Borodyuk about the departure of the Germans: “We should have thought more about football”

Since the 1988 Olympic champion and 1994 World Cup participant played in the Bundesliga for eight years, it was logical to start with the failure of the Bundestim.

– The World Championship at the stage of group tournaments lost Germany, Belgium, Denmark, Uruguay, Serbia… I suppose you are especially sad about the Germans?

– They should be sad about themselves. We should have thought more about football itself, focused on what we came for. And the change of generations did not justify itself, after more than four years, again an inglorious result.

– I ask, knowing that you were repeatedly invited to Gelsenkirchen for all kinds of celebrations. That time of the game for Schalke (124 matches, 41 goals) cannot be erased from memory, can it?

– Of course not. It’s nice that they don’t forget me either. Just now, on November 30, we congratulated you on your birthday. The top management of the club sent a telegram-postcard on the occasion. But 30 years have passed! Always respect those who at a certain time benefited the team and left their mark on the club. Therefore, they congratulate and invite. Previously, he went to solemn matches, so we, the legends of the club, received 60 thousand each.

– Then who, if not you, should be asked how the German football community reacted to the second consecutive Bundestim embarrassment?

– Now the press is harshly criticizing them for these performances, logistics, improper preparation. So this is not just my opinion. You have to understand that the teams are evened out and you need to keep your eyes open with everyone. What is needed for success? The first is functional training, the second is the goal, the third is your own professionalism. I did not see any of this among the Germans.

How can they move on now?

– They know how. There is a system from a children’s school to the Bundesliga, laid down for many generations to come. You just need to remember it, analyze everything, and what they will do. The European Championship is already in a year and a half and, let me remind you, it will be held in Germany. They will change something quickly, there is no escape.

– With Flick, or without?

What about Flik? He is quite a decent specialist, but today he does not have in any line those who were with his predecessors. Take the attack, because the Germans today simply do not have a center forward of the level of Gerd Müller, Fischer, Rummennig, Völler or Klinsmann. There are no such people as Matthäus, Hessler, Möller in the central link. And in defense there is no Reuther, Kohler, Sammer, Brehme. When I played in the Bundesliga, all the German teams also played there, no one left for other championships. This, of course, went to the benefit of the national team.

– If we put Germany in the top of the main losers of the tournament in the first place, who will follow her in terms of unfulfilled hopes?

– Belgium. They talked about the “golden” generation, but in Moscow it turned out to be “bronze”. Nothing happened here at all.

– Who, on the contrary, surprised with a plus sign?

– Japanese and Koreans. Powerful football is shown, and the organization is up to the mark. And what dedication, they fight on every part of the field until the last minute. In general, football in Asia has grown a lot over the years. See how Iran and Saudi Arabia have added.

– After the failure in group tournaments, the coaches of the national teams of Mexico, Belgium, and even Ghana and Iran, who showed themselves very well, immediately resigned. Why do our coaches never leave of their own accord?

– Many have submitted applications themselves, here you are wrong. In any field of activity, everything determines the result, and especially in football.

– How do you like the first playoff games? How are they different from group ones?

– The price of a mistake, of course, increases, so football will be more careful. An important role will be played by the level of individual performers, some individual moves. And defense is paramount. Football is known to be a game of mistakes. Whoever allows them less, who better shows moral and volitional qualities in a specific two hours or more, will succeed. Nothing new here.

– Is this a hidden hint to the prospects of Japan and Korea, which will play on Monday against Croatia and Brazil, respectively?

– From the point of view of dedication, there are no questions for them. But in terms of skill and speed of thinking, it is still difficult to compete with those. In addition, look at what athletes are assembled in the French, it will be difficult for Japanese techies to win on their standards. And the Brazilians today are not just another “golden generation”, but discipline and order, which never happened.

– Is it possible to assume that the limit on the sensation has exhausted itself?

– Hardly. There are bound to be surprises.

Did you take a break after leaving Torpedo?

– The point is small – to find your team, which wants to find its coach.