German star sees no connection between football and Argentina’s game

Former Germany striker Rudi Voeller has been harshly critical of Argentina’s playing style, making it clear that he does not want a team that imitates the former world champions, despite their recent success.

Speaking at the international congress of the German Football Coaches Association, Völler directly rejected comparisons between Germany and Lionel Scaloni’s team, commenting that Argentina’s tactics were “not related to football.”

“I said that we need a better defensive game in Germany. Many people held up the Argentines as a model, and I thought that was a bad example. Suddenly the Argentines became the standard. The discussion seemed a bit hypocritical to me,” Völler was quoted as saying by TiCi Sports.

He added, “I don’t want a team that plays like Argentina. What they did had nothing to do with football. Yes, they are world champions and this time they are runners-up, but I honestly don’t understand the praise they are getting from so many people.”

Völler instead praised the defensive performances of Spain and England, arguing that they should have received more recognition.

‘Spain deserves praise, and the English also played a very good defensive game,’ he said.

They won their second World Cup title by defeating Spain 1-0 after extra time in the World Cup final, while Argentina finished as runners-up.

Highlighting Germany’s own shortcomings, Rudi Voller stressed the need for improvement in defense.

“Well, I didn’t say we don’t know how to defend. We can and must defend better—that’s a fact, and it starts up front or in midfield,” he said.

Völler has a long history with Argentina. He scored in West Germany’s 3-2 defeat to the Albiceleste in the 1986 World Cup final. He avenged that defeat by lifting the trophy four years later, beating Argentina 1-0.

The former striker was vocal in his criticism of Argentina even after their 2022 World Cup victory. Despite their title-winning campaign, he claimed, “Apart from Lionel Messi—who is extraordinary and who everyone wanted to see win the World Cup—no one should tell me that the Argentines are better than us.”