Hansi Flick sat alone at the top table of press conference room one, a visible demonstration of an isolated Germany manager under pressure. The reason for his solo appearance may result in a fine from Fifa, but will be worth every Swiss franc should it help the four-time world champions pull away from a humiliating early exit.
Things are done differently in Qatar, as you may have heard, and media duties are no exception. A manager plus a player must appear at a press conference the day before a game – only at this World Cup that does not take place at the stadium or a team training ground, but at Fifa’s main media centre in Doha. For Germany, that involves a 210km round trip from their Al Shamal training base on the northern tip of Qatar. For Flick, who knows defeat to an in-form Spain on Sunday will spell almost certain elimination from the tournament, that is no way to prepare for the most loaded assignment of his international reign. So he showed up alone.
