Trouble in paradise?
The German national team has a reputation for running smoothly on every level. From top to bottom, the players, coaches and fans are all on the same wavelength. They’re a well-oiled machine, hence the nickname Die Meinschaft (the machine, in German).
However, today there were some mechanical errors in that machine, as Joshua Kimmich and Antonio Rüdiger came to blows after a late challenge during a training session and had to be separated by assistant coach Miroslav Klose, report German newspaper Bild.
Kimmich is Germany’s rising star and has been touted as a long-term successor to Philipp Lahm, while Rüdiger will be back up to Mats Hummels at this summer’s World Cup.
Julian Draxler also took a blow to the head while going up for an aerial challenge. He dropped to the floor and was dazed to a period and had to have an ice pack applied to his head before he could continue.
Germany go into this World Cup as one of the favourites, and will be hoping to retain the trophy for the first time in their history.
But if they are to hit the ground running in Russia, they might want to save this aggression for the competitive matches.
