The end of the German national team at the World Cup in Qatar had several origins. One problem: The team is said not to have been a real unit, which apparently also goes hand in hand with internal allegations against Hansi Flick regarding the so-called Bayern block.

At a European or World Cup, teams that act as a unit and can rely on a good atmosphere within the team often stand out. That was also a strength that was regularly attributed to the German national team at the World Cup in Brazil. The Brazilians and the Dutch in particular are currently making such a closed impression.

Germany, on the other hand, is not. In the end, the team was not eliminated again in the preliminary round because certain players could not smell each other on the field. And yet it was apparently a factor that it crackled internally. According to Sportbild, there are also clear allegations against Hansi Flick in this regard.

Apparently, behind closed doors, he was accused of having a "special connection" to the Bayern block. The fact that Flick, shortly before he slipped into the position of national coach, spent a certain and also successful time with Leon Goretzka, Manuel Neuer and Co. on Säbener Straße is obviously not an automatic advantage.

It is also due to these internal allegations that he was unable to unite the entire team behind him, it is said.

The prominent example: Ilkay Gündogan's swap from the first to the second group game. The City star didn't have a bad game against Japan. After Goretzka came on for him, Germany lost a noticeable amount of structure - and finally conceded two more goals.

Goretzka then publicly expressed disappointment that he was not in the starting XI. That changed for the game against Spain, Gündogan moved up one position to ten.

Within the team, this change was criticized as a "change in harmony". In addition to Gündogan, who is certainly not primarily because of this, but should be thinking about retiring from the national team, this exchange caused surprise for Antonio Rüdiger and Marc-Andre ter Stegen in particular.

The fact that Kai Havertz also had to make room for Thomas Müller, although the latter showed anything but good form, should be given as another indication. Thilo Kehrer and Jonas Hofmann were also disappointed because they had hoped for more playing times.

A late appeal from a Bayern player, of which Sportbild speaks, that everyone should stick together and support each other, came too late. The team was not a unit. Instead, there were mutual reproaches and a lack of understanding for some personnel decisions.

This article was originally published on 90min.de as allegations against Flick: did the national coach cause a split in the national team? released.