This year’s World Cup was held far away. But you were there. You were loud. And you were ready for more.

Unfortunately, we were far from our goals on the pitch. We failed to show what this team is truly capable of. As a result, we deservedly exited the tournament far too early.

We wanted to walk this journey together with you and make Germany proud. But this year, as a team, we simply weren’t able to do that. It hurts. It hurts us just as much as it hurts so many others.

We accept the criticism of our performances. It is justified and part of sports. But hate has no place in football. We will not tolerate racism or any other form of discrimination. Football stands for community and unity, not division.

Football stands for community and unity, not division. To everyone who supported us: thank you for being there. Thank you for your incredible support. We will come back stronger – with you by our side.

The sentiment is nice, but it is not as if this is a new problem. 2018 marked the start of a decline, which has not exactly slowed down much. Clearly, the organization and team are at a crossroads.

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