Enzo Fernandez is the epitome of the type of footballer Germany must look to produce, according to RB Leipzig sporting director Max Eberl.
Benfica midfielder Fernandez had an outstanding World Cup for Argentina and has since been linked with a host of major European clubs, prompting speculation of a move in the January transfer window.
The 21-year-old was an all-action figure in the team that carried off the trophy, and Eberl said Fernandez and Rodrigo de Paul were players whose industry caught the eye.
Eberl, previously sporting director at Borussia Monchengladbach for 14 years, is considered one of German football's smartest thinkers.
He wants to see leaders produced and believes that character trait can be as significant as skill.
"We should have this heart for the cause more into focus again. We have recently moved away a bit from the German virtues such as robustness and assertiveness," Eberl said.
In an interview with Kicker magazine, Eberl spoke of the players who are approaching the end of their international careers.
With Germany hosting Euro 2024, this is a moment where the pressure is on to deliver a winning team, and the World Cup group-stage exit suggests coach Hansi Flick is a long way off establishing such a group.
Eberl said: "I think we have outstanding football players in Germany, but we also know that we will lose very important players like Manuel Neuer, Thomas Muller and Ilkay Gundogan.
"We need players like Enzo Fernandez or Rodrigo de Paul with the Argentines. Good footballers who act with total dedication and the ability to work as part of a team. We've lost a bit of that greed to win every single duel."
Among players from teams who reached the World Cup knockout stage and contested at least 60 duels, only Croatia's Mateo Kovacic in the select group of 16 bettered Fernandez's 59 per cent success rate (40 of 68 duels won).
Germany goalkeeper Neuer broke his leg in a skiing accident after the World Cup and will be sidelined for the rest of the season. He is 36, while his Bayern Munich team-mate Muller is 33 and Manchester City midfielder Gundogan is 32. They are in the twilight of their international careers, and the new generation has yet to show it can deliver the success Germany expects.
Eberl added: "Time is clearly against us, because we will only see in the next 10 to 15 years what we have missed.
"We have to get more boys into football again. And one question would be: does it make sense to have youth academies up to under-eight or should we leave the boys in their clubs and start with the junior academies later?"
Monza 0-1 Milan: Reijnders header seals Serie A win
Milan managed a 1-0 win at Monza thanks to a first-half header from Tijjani Reijnders on Saturday.
Midfielder Reijnders scored two minutes before half-time in the Serie A contest when he nodded home after Alvaro Morata's header was blocked.
Monza had wasted some decent openings before Milan went ahead, with Mike Maignan making a fine save to deny Pedro Pereira while Dany Mota had a goal disallowed.
Reijnders almost made it 2-0 after the break, but his deflected effort was kept out by Stefano Turati.
Monza goalkeeper Turati made another stop later on, this time to deny Rafael Leao, who scuffed his finish at the end of a mazy run.
Milan, who had 18 shots and accumulated 2.5 expected goals (xG), were not made to pay for that profligacy, though, as they got back on track after their defeat to Napoli, though the Rossoneri sit seventh, eight behind the Serie A leaders.
Data Debrief: Reijnders on a roll
After netting twice against Club Brugge in the Champions League, Reijnders, who did not play against Napoli on Tuesday, has now scored in two matches in a row for Milan for the first time.
It was the Dutch international's first league goal of the season, and capped a fine performance in which he also played two key passes and completed 44 of his 46 passes, with a team-leading 14 of those played in the final third.
Rodgers delighted as Celtic rout Aberdeen in semi-final
Celtic booked their place in the Scottish League Cup final after hammering Aberdeen 6-0 at Hampden Park on Saturday.
The 21-time winners of the tournament were inspired by a Daizen Maeda hat-trick in a near-perfect performance against the Scottish Premiership's second-placed side.
Manager Brendan Rodgers was delighted with the result and performance from his side.
"It was a testament to our players and the demands they have. They play every week in big games. We have to manage this group through every game," he told Premier Sports.
"It was up to us to decide the game and the players did that. They were brilliant today. We were more aggressive in the second half.
"Aberdeen have had an excellent season, they will continue to work well I'm sure."
The result was Aberdeen's first defeat in 17 matches in all competitions this season, with a 2-2 draw at Celtic Park last month the only time they had previously failed to win.
Cameron Carter-Vickers got the scoring under way with a header 29 minutes in, before the brilliant Maeda sat down goalkeeper Dimitar Mitov to set up Kyogo Furuhashi for a second three minutes later.
Maeda then got in on the act himself on 40 minutes before the game briefly descended into farce on the stroke of half-time, with Rodgers shown a yellow card for kicking away a ball that had gone out before slipping over.
"To be fair, I was raging because we had given the ball away," he said.
"I have my moments, like every manager. It was just the game, even though we were comfortable at 3-0.
"It was a deserved yellow card. The speed of the ball [was the issue]. I just wanted to keep the tempo of the game."
Celtic and Maeda picked up where they left off in the second half to make it 4-0 in the 50th minute before Nicolas Kuhn hammered in a fifth on the hour.
The rout was complete when Maeda wrapped up his hat-trick as he finished off a flowing attacking move with five minutes to go.
After the match, Rodgers continued to be effusive about his team, who will face either Rangers or Motherwell in the final.
"An outstanding team performance. You come up against a team that has been so, so good. We knew it would be a challenge," he told BBC Scotland.
"We had to bring our A-game and the players did that, in particular during the second half.
"We were ruthless. We worked the ball really well to create the space and made good runs.
"It's a beautiful pitch here at Hampden. It's perfect for the football we want to play."
Borussia Dortmund 2-1 RB Leipzig: Sahin picks up much-needed comeback win
Borussia Dortmund fought back to beat RB Leipzig 2-1 and claim a morale-boosting Bundesliga win for under-pressure boss Nuri Sahin.
Dortmund bounced back from a three-game losing streak in all competitions despite having nine players missing for Saturday's clash at Signal Iduna Park.
Leipzig took the lead when Benjamin Sesko lashed home from a tight angle in the 27th minute, though Dortmund had spurned several gilt-edged chances by that stage.
Dortmund responded within three minutes, though, with Maximilian Beier pouncing onto a loose ball to prod in.
The turnaround was completed when Serhou Guirassy headed in from close range in the 65th minute.
While Leipzig suffered their first league defeat of the campaign, Dortmund sit fifth.
Data Debrief: Sahin's home fortress
Dortmund's troubles this season, at least domestically, have come mainly on the road, but they have been excellent at home and this win continued that form.
Sahin has won each of his first five Bundesliga home games in charge of Dortmund, a feat previously only achieved by Marco Rose (seven wins), who of course was in the opposite dugout on Saturday.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
