Former Germany captain Lothar Matthaus has claimed team disputes caused by players’ wives and girlfriends contributed to their shock World Cup exit.
Germany were beaten 4-3 on penalties by Paraguay in the last-32, after being held to a 1-1 draw in Boston.
Matthaus, who captained Germany to World Cup glory in 1990, drew the comparison to his experience four years later in the United States.
The BILD pundit claimed players in 1994 had been distracted by trying to have their families with them throughout the tournament, potentially contributing to their quarter-final loss to Bulgaria.
Matthaus suggested a similar situation had occurred with the current Germany squad, with travel arrangements having become an issue behind the scenes.
‘There were documentaries [made] about this topic in ’94 [and] I don’t think it was that different this time round,’ Matthaus said.
Former Germany captain Lothar Matthaus claimed players’ girlfriends and wives contributed to their shock World Cup exit – pictured: Kai and Sophia Havertz
Matthaus claimed disputes had emerged behind the scenes over the travel arrangements of family members – pictured: Manuel Neue’s wife Anika
Matthaus drew the comparison to issues his Germany squad suffered at the 1994 World Cup in the United States
‘There’s a lot to process, both on and off the pitch. Wives, families, everyone was involved. Lots of headlines.
‘I don’t know why you have to involve all the families right from the start.
‘Then it’s about travel options, about hotel bookings. That was all a topic within the team. It never appeared in the media, but I know it was a topic of discussion.
‘One player was angry with another because one player’s mother was allowed to fly along, while another’s wife and children were allowed to fly. The others had to take a commercial flight.’
Matthaus, who did not name anyone involved, suggested serious consideration needs to be made into the handling of families at future tournaments.
He suggested families should be flown out by the national team at the latter stages of tournaments when the team have enjoyed success, after claiming girlfriends and wives had treated this World Cup as ‘free family days’.
‘Ultimately, there was a lot of unrest, which didn’t come across,’ Matthaus said.
‘But despite all that, the focus simply wasn’t on this World Cup. It was always a free family day and another free family day.
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German media had questioned the presence of head coach Julian Nagelsman’s girlfriend Lena Wurzenberger around the camp
Wurzenberger, far left, had been seen watching training at Germany’s pre-World Cup training camp
‘They weren’t even in America for two weeks and already all their families were there again. They can fly in for the quarter-finals if the team has achieved something.’
Earlier in the tournament, Matthaus had suggested the presence of head coach Julian Nagelsmann’s girlfriend at the tournament had been far from ‘ideal’.
BILD had reported that Lena Wurzenberger, 34, had become a talking point having been a ‘constant presence’ around the camp.
The former journalist was first spotted at Germany’s pre-tournament camp in Frankfurt, when she was pictured watching training from a balcony along with a host of the players’ partners.
Wurzenberger was then seen watching Germany’s substitutes complete their warm down after their 7-1 win over Curacao in their opening match.
It was then reported that she accompanied Nagelsmann back to the team hotel, before the duo were seen cycling to training together the following morning.
‘There is naturally always that feeling that when the boss’s wife is in the room, you might not always be completely honest at the table when talking about the national coach,’ reporters had speculated.
‘She just shouldn’t appear in the pictures too often – that wouldn’t be ideal in my opinion,’ Matthaus, who won 150 caps for Germany, said at the time.
‘The players have days off and their families can come to the hotel. Lena (Wurzenberger) did that too. From my perspective, I think it’s perfectly normal.
‘Lena was able to come to the hotel just like the players’ girlfriends and wives. You can see the solidarity – but the rule shouldn’t apply to the coach. It has to happen during the time when players are seeing their families.’
Nagelsmann and Wurzenberger are reported to have started dating soon after he split from his ex-wife Verena, following 15 years together, in 2022.
At that point Nagelsmann was manager of German giants Bayern Munich – and his new love interest reported on the club for Bild.
Nagelsmann has come under fire following Germany’s exit, but has insisted he will not resign as head coach.
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