by Oliver Trust
BERLIN, Sept 12 (Xinhua) -- The list of candidates to take over as Germany head coach might have become slightly smaller, after Jurgen Klopp, Lothar Matthaus and Matthias Sammer called off their interest in the vacancy.
But the German football association still seems to be able to choose from a wide range of prominent names as successor to Hansi Flick, who was sacked on Sunday following a series of poor results, and with nine months to go until UEFA Euro 2024 begins in Germany.
2014 World Cup winners Bastian Schweinsteiger and Philipp Lahm have thrown their weight behind Dutch icon and former Bayern Munich coach Louis van Gaal, while association president Bernd Neuendorf spoke of an ongoing process with "us looking for a coach with assertiveness".
While 72-year-old Van Gaal seems to meet the official's claims, German media seem to favor 36-year-old Julian Nagelsmann.
Rumors about the former Bayern Munich coach were fueled after Bayern board member Uli Hoeness said the club would not jeopardize a possible deal by demanding a compensation payment. Despite being fired in March, 36-year-old Nagelsmann still retains a contract with Bayern.
Next to Van Gaal and Nagelsmann, Felix Magath, Oliver Glasner and Stefan Kuntz are mentioned as possible candidates.
Appointing the Netherlands' Van Gaal or Austria's Glasner would see Germany managed by a foreign national for the first time in the association's history.
Regardless of who follows in Flick's footsteps, a sense of optimism seems to have returned to Germany, who managed a 2-1 friendly win over France on Tuesday evening under the tutelage of interim coach Rudi Voller, with Thomas Muller and Leroy Sane on the scoresheet for Die Mannschaft.
A new coach is expected to be in place by October 9, when the four-time World Cup winners take off for an overseas tour with friendlies against the United States and Mexico. ■
