Karim Adeyemi was surprisingly left out of Jürgen Klopp’s Germany squad, and one ex-Klopp player thinks he knows why. Former goalkeeper Roman Weidenfeller, who played most of his career with Borussia Dortmund, gave his take on the TV show Sky Triple – Der Hagedorn-Fußballtalk.
“Karim reacted too late when it came to tracking back to defend. And that is something Jürgen Klopp really doesn’t like,” the former goalkeeper said.
Adeyemi was criticized for his lack of defensive workrate against Greece, in a shock
1-0 defeat at home for the Germans.
“With Jürgen, you always have full freedom to attack, but you have to be willing to track back to defend,” Weidenfeller explained. The goalkeeper spent seven seasons under Klopp’s orders at Borussia Dortmund, in addition to winning the FIFA World Cup as a substitute for Germany.
“I think it’s those little details that end up bothering Jürgen, which might explain why he wasn’t called up. Perhaps it’s a bit of a wake-up call.”
Adeyemi has also received reduced playing time since making the move to FC Barcelona last summer.
TV pundit Dietmar Hamann disagreed with Klopp’s decision to leave the winger out.
“The situation with Adeyemi surprises me. I would have liked for him to be included. There aren’t many players with that kind of speed,” he said.
