IT IS not often Germany are looking over at an England camp with a tinge of jealousy.
Four semi-final and two final appearances at the last seven major tournaments – including lifting the World Cup in 2014 – will tell you that.
But in recent years there is one area, or perhaps one person, who has left the usually gold-tinted Germans green with envy: Harry Kane.
Former Germany and Bayern Munich striker Sandro Wagner explains: “We don’t have a No.9 like Harry Kane. We have Timo Werner, and other fast players. They are different players. That is the problem.
“In the next years we need to find someone to manage that.”
Gone are the days of top goalscorer Miroslav Klose, Jurgen Klinsmann and Gerd Muller firing Germany to final after final and trophy after trophy.
That challenge currently lies with Chelsea’s Werner – a player who is expected to have a similar impact that Kane has when he dons a Three Lions shirt, or any shirt for that matter.
But Werner has instead been singled out for criticism over his lack of ruthlessness in front of goal last season – a trait German fans will simply never accept.
Wagner, who saw Werner up close in national team squads before his retirement in 2018, is far more sympathetic to his current struggles.
He said: “Even in Germany he got criticised. Since he has turned professional he got criticised and it was not always easy for him.
“I played alongside him in the national team and he is a very good person. Not someone who speaks a lot or makes a lot of loud words in the media. He is very quiet.
“And on the field you see that he is not someone who would suit playing for Bayern. A team that has 90 per cent of the ball.
“That is not the best system for him, and that’s why he sometimes struggles in the national team.
“You saw with Chelsea in the Champions League final he is a very good player when the team plays deeper and hits on the counter attack.
“He needs space in behind the defence and when he doesn’t have space he has problems.
“He has had an okay season though, and many players who move to the Premier League have problems. It is a good education for him and he will be a better striker for it.”
Wagner believes Germany’s lack of options up top stems from an ineffective youth system, something the 33-year-old is passionate about as he steps into management, ending a career that included two Bundesliga titles and one Confederations Cup.
After rejecting several offers to become an assistant coach in the Bundesliga, Wagner is taking his licences while in charge of SpVgg Unterhaching’s U19s, and is also spending this summer as an expert pundit and co-commentator on ZDF for the Euros.
It is because of this that he has been dubbed the 'new Jurgen Klopp'.
Wagner said: “I have had very good offers in Germany and a lot of conversations with many clubs but I think this is a good opportunity to work at a smaller club where I have to do everything.
“I want to be the complete coach with all the faces of my sport and of a person who can manage 20 to 30 people and that’s why I want to learn every single step.
“I am very hungry to have a good career.”
Asked what has gone wrong with the youth systems in Germany, Wagner explained: “We have too many people who are deciding how the youth play who have never played before.
“And they only train the youth team so they can fast track themselves into being a Bundesliga manager. They want to develop themselves and not the players.
“We have plans to change it and we want to develop players like Phil Foden, who at 13 was maybe not too strong and won’t win games but you see him become faster and stronger.
“You have to be able to see the future.”
Wagner’s admiration for English football continues when discussing his coaching idols, which include compatriots Klopp and Thomas Tuchel as well as Brendan Rodgers, and plans to one day join them in the Premier League.
What is it about Leicester boss Rodgers?: “Nobody counts on him to produce big things. He is an underrated manager and a classy man whop plays very good football.
“As a person, he does not act. If I can feel it when I am thousands of kilometres away from him, then his team will feel that every day every hour.”
And when asked about his own philosophy, he continued: “The first thing I want is winners. Every training session is a competition. We have to learn to win every day.
“The big players I played with like Frank Ribery and Michael Ballack. They are winners.”
This current German side arguably have lacked those sorts of winners since their disastrous group stage exit at the 2018 World Cup – a tournament Wagner was not picked for.
But Wagner is confident his beloved country – who take on reigning world champions France in their group opener on Tuesday – have the squad to return to the glory days.
He said: “Russia was a very bad hour for German football, how we presented our football culture.
“We have to make a good mentality from the first minute, even starting against the likes of France. We are Germany and we have to be ready to play football our way.
“We have Thomas Muller and Mats Hummels back. We have the best keeper in Manuel Neuer. We have good defenders in Niklas Sule and Antonio Rudiger.
“In midfield we have Joshua Kimmich, Leon Goretzka, Toni Kroos and Ilkay Gundogan. We also have Serge Gnabry, Leroy Sane, Kai Havertz and Werner up front.
“I don’t know if France or England’s squad is that much better? The only target for this summer then is to win, nothing else.”
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