Hummels: "Not Going to The Euro is Bitter"
Mats Hummels, central defender for Borussia Dortmund, has confessed that, for him, "not going to the Euro is bitter," as he considers himself "one of the five best defenders in Germany."
In an interview with Sport Bild, the defender stated that the notification that he would not attend the tournament to be organized by Germany was "brief and disappointing." "It didn't even last two minutes. I just had to go to training. In moments like this, I don't need a long conversation or a big explanation. That was enough for me," he said.
When asked about the justification given by Julian Nagelsmann, the coach of the "Mannschaft," Hummels said he understood it "correctly," since, according to him, the coach "was also concerned about other things besides accepting a wildcard role" and that "it was more about age-related issues," referring to the 35-year-old defender.
The Borussia player also revealed to Sport Bild that back in March, he had assured Nagelsmann of his "willingness to sit on the bench as the fifth central defender in the European Championship," implying that it would not be a problem for the team.
"I can understand the idea of a group growing since March when Germany defeated France and the Netherlands. If I had the form I had before the nomination in March, I could have been there and now also be part of the European Championship team," he maintained.
Hummels concluded the interview by stating that, for a coach, in a call-up "it's never about nominating the 26 best players," since "the goal of a tournament is always for the players who don't play a minute to be very happy to be there," and that if he were a coach, "he would do the same."
