Bus instead of plane: The national soccer team's return trip on the road to the World Cup qualifier against Liechtenstein in St. Gallen on Thursday (8.45 p.m. in the FAZ live ticker for World Cup qualifications and on RTL) is a reaction by the DFB to the controversial short-haul charter flight from Stuttgart to an international match in Basel a year ago. “Technically, Hansi Flick would also have liked to be able to fly. But it was also clear that, after the experience of Basel and the responsibility we have, we would travel the 240 kilometers by bus, ”said DFB Director Oliver Bierhoff on Wednesday before leaving Swabia for the venue in Switzerland.
A year ago, the DFB-Elf flew to the Nations League game against Switzerland from Stuttgart to Basel. That was 180 kilometers as the crow flies. There had been massive criticism of the German Football Association with allegations of environmental pollution. "It is a reaction to Basel", Bierhoff confirmed now.
Flick explained why he would have considered a flight to make sense. "We have a game every three days," he said, looking at the tight schedule with the games against Liechtenstein, Armenia and Iceland. Regeneration is very important there. Therefore, contrary to the original plan, the DFB convoy will now stay in St. Gallen on Thursday and not return to Stuttgart at night. That will only happen on Friday after the regeneration training, "with the small lunch package", as Flick jokingly added. He reckons with three hours of driving time, if the traffic is good.
"We will always have to strike the balance between professionalism and optimal preparation and of course other values and criteria that we want to meet," emphasized the former national player Bierhoff, who commented on the bus trip: "For me, it's nice too, you sit down in, don't have to change. The only dilemma, it's an uncomfortable route. "National player Joshua Kimmich commented on the bus trip:" Easy, we can do it. "
On Sunday in Stuttgart (8.45 p.m. in the FAZ live ticker for the World Cup qualification and on RTL) the next game in the World Cup qualification against Armenia is scheduled in front of 18,000 spectators. Next Tuesday, the DFB entourage will travel to the last station in Reykjavik, where the first three international matches against Iceland under national coach Flick will be ended one day later (8.45 p.m. in the FAZ live ticker for World Cup qualifications and on RTL). Of course there will be a flight to Iceland.