The surprise: Loew drops injured Reus

Marco Reus (Dortmund), Sebastian Rudy (Hoffenheim), Julian Brandt and Karim Bellarabi (both Leverkusen) did not survive Joachim Loew’s cut. “These decisions hurt me too”, Loew said after his selection. But the German national coach nominated Bastian Schweinsteiger and Mats Hummels, despite injuries, for the 23-player squad for the 2016 European Championship.

Ascona. It was raining cats and dogs when the profoundly unhappy birthday boy Marco Reus and his fellow sufferers Sebastian Rudy, Karim Bellarabi and Julian Brandt left the team hotel at Ascona. The weather in the Ticino, with low clouds and downpours, corresponded with the mood. “Arrivederci” said the employees of hotel Giardino at the departure. The four players had been informed, first in one-to-one interviews and later in the presence of the entire squad, that they will not participate at the 2016 European Championship. “These decisions hurt me too”, said national coach Joachim Loew, adding: “It is a particularly bitter decision for Marco Reus. But he has massive health problems. He can only run straight. Otherwise he would have been an enormous asset for our EURO squad”, was how the 56-year-old described the biggest surprise in his cut. Health did not play a major role for Bastian Schweinsteiger and Mats Hummels. Loew retained both injured players in his now 23-player squad.

Schweinsteiger and Hummels were important pillars during the World Cup triumph in Brazil. Reus had already missed the 2014 World Cup, due to an injury suffered in the friendly against Armenia (6-1) the day before the departure to Rio de Janeiro. Two years ago it was a ruptured tendon in the ankle joint that stopped the quick midfielder. He had been included in the 2010 World Cup squad but then missed his international debut against Malta (6-0) in Aachen due to an injury. Now he is plagued by consistent adductor problems with a tendency to inflame. Last week Loew’s assistant Andreas Koepke had announced Reus would break off training as a “preventive measure” due to a slight strain.

Reus had steadily built up his fitness in Dortmund in order to be truly fit for the DFB Cup final at the end of the season. But the German Football Association’s (DFB) medical staff were conscious of the possibility he could be their constant patient for the entire duration of the European Championship (June 10-July 10). The longed-for OK from physicians Hans-Wilhelm Müller-Wohlfahrt and Josef Schmitt failed to materialise. Reus’s 27th birthday could hardly have been more bitter. It probably was the hardest of many deep hits for Reus, who despite his exceptional performance is still missing a title in now four finals during his career.

Prior to the 2014 World Cup: Changes still possible

“It always hurts when you have to tell four players they are going home. It’s no easy situation for the team-mates either”, said deputy captain Sami Khedira. The mood in the team was indeed somewhat gloomy. But other old hands were allowed to stay. “The doctors have confirmed that Bastian Schweinsteiger and Mats Hummels will be fit for the tournament”, Loew reasoned when explaining the nomination of the slightly worse-for-wear veterans. Captain Schweinsteiger can allegedly return to team training. Hummels will take longer, possibly not until moving to the European Championship base at Evian next Tuesday.

As with Reus, an injury was one of the reasons for Bellarabi being omitted. He suffered a strain during the training match against the German U20 juniors last Thursday. The Leverkusen player, and Hoffenheim’s Sebastian Rudy, have each played ten of the total 18 international matches since the 2014 World Cup finals. Rudy was even in the squad of all ten European qualifiers, and cashed a 200,000 Euros bonus along with Jerome Boateng, Lukas Podolski and Mario Goetze. But it wasn’t enough for the 26-year-old to succeed Philipp Lahm in right defence in France. Rudy plays in a different position for his club. Loew ultimately selected relatively easy nominees for the cut, with none holding strong preferences. Now Emre Can of Liverpool FC can become the first choice for the right defence – or Loew can resort to Shkodran Mustafi or Benedikt Hoewedes.

Besides a muscle injury Bellarabi also suffered from the increased competition. Leroy Sané, the shooting star of the season from Schalke, can fill the right wing position with ease. That’s also Julian Brandt’s role, whose ousting Loew had hinted at in the past few days. It was bad luck for the young Leverkusen player that he could not shine during the “water-polo” match against Slovakia because of the difficult conditions. Loew left Julian Weigl (Dortmund) and Joshua Kimmich (FC Bayern) in his squad after their debuts against Slovakia. The youngsters should bring carefreeness and pace into the training sessions and thus push the experienced players if they show signs of taking matters too easily.

The squad of the 23 players, whom the German Football Association (DFB) had to name to the European Football Association (UEFA) by 23:59hrs CEST on Tuesday, is not yet final. Should one or several players get injured during the friendly against Hungary at Gelsenkirchen on Saturday, changes would still be possible. The DFB physicians would have to attest that the players are not fit to play. Two years ago Mustafi was the lucky guy to benefit from that regulation. Loew dropped him from his tentative squad but then Reus got injured and the defender succeeded – and even played in Brazil.

The squad

(source: www.dfb.de)

Goalkeeper

Defence

Midfield

Attack