Former Germany midfielder Dietmar Hamann admits surprise at omission of Leroy Sane

Former Germany international Dietmar Hamann admits he was surprised to see Leroy Sané omitted from the Germany squad for the forthcoming World Cup in Russia.

Winger Sané was named Young Player of the Year in the English Premier League last season as he played a key role in Manchester City's title-winning campaign.

That wasn't enough to convince Mannschaft boss Jogi Loew, who opted instead for Julian Brandt o Bayer Leverkusen.

Hamann spoke at the launch of RTÉ's World Cup coverage in Donnybrook on Wednesday, and revealed he was surprised – but not shocked – by the former Schalke man's omission.

He said: “I didn’t expect it, but he didn’t play well the last two games against Brazil and Austria.

“This can constrict a manager if he doesn’t think he can help the team, or if he is not in a position to help the team maybe in a year or two years then he leaves him out.

“I wouldn’t say it’s a shock but a lot of people were surprised.”

Marco Reus and Julian Brandt were selected ahead of Sané in the final squad, with Reus only been back in action following his latest serious injury, torn knee ligaments, since February.

Hamann reckons Reus was guaranteed a seat on the plane to Russia once fit, and it was down to Brandt and Sané for the last spot.

“Reus was always going if he was fit. The decision as a manager there was between Sané and Brandt.”



Hamann feels the winger is an important asset, and he would have sacrificed another player to get Sané to the World Cup.

“I would have taken both. I would have left Draxler or Goretzka behind, because Sané is one of few players with out in out pace and we lack that a little bit. For that reason I would have taken him.”

Hamann added: “He was outstanding last season but that just goes to show the manager is not interested.

“They have obviously watched him play for his club and that’s why he was picked in the first place, but in the two weeks they trained together and the games they played, he obviously wasn’t up to the standard asked of him, hence why he left him out.”

Manuel Neuer is another player who was on the injury list recently but has been drafted into the 23-man squad.

Neuer has only featured once in a friendly against Austria since September 2017 but Hamann acknowledges that he is Germany’s number one goalkeeper.



”If he’s fit, if he’s 100% or 95 or 98%, and he did well against Austria and he has been training for a few weeks now, you have got to play him.

“If you take him you have to play him. If you don’t think of playing him then don’t take him”,

Hamann added: “If he’s there, he is the best goalkeeper you have got and we are very fortunate we have a number two like [Marc-André] ter Stegen in the squad but if Neuer is there he has to play.

Hamann started as a pundit with RTE in 2010 and enjoyed it so much he's become a regular fixture on the channel's international and European club coverage.

“The guys asked me to come over and I did a few games here. At first it was a bit new obviously but I enjoyed it and the more comfortable you get the more you can enjoy and concentrate on enjoying it.

“It’s been great ever since, so I have got to say RTE has been great to me and I don’t want to miss a second of a game I covered for them.”

Hamann had very little TV work done before joining the punditry panel at the World Cup eight years ago but feels being around the older pundits has helped him a lot.

“I’ve got to say I learned an awful lot. When I first came over there was a press launch and they said to me: 'we want you to say as you see it and as it is, we are not going to fool the viewer.'

“That has always stuck in my mind. We tell people what we see and not what they want to hear and this is what I learned from the other guys, Johnny [Giles] or Eamon [Dunphy] or Liam [Brady].”