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Schweinsteiger believes that the focus on playing possession-based, intricate football led to a shift away from the traditional German style of play.
Former German midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger has placed partial blame on Manchester City's treble-winning manager Pep Guardiola for the recent decline of the Germany national team.
Schweinsteiger attributed the loss of traditional German football values to Guardiola's coaching style during his time at Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga.
Schweinsteiger, who played under Guardiola for two seasons, expressed his concerns about the impact of Guardiola's philosophy on German football.
He stated, "When Pep Guardiola joined Bayern, when he came to the country, everyone believed we have to play this kind of football, like short passes and everything.”
“We were kind of losing our values."
During Guardiola's tenure at Bayern Munich, the team enjoyed significant success, clinching three Bundesliga titles.
However, their Champions League campaign ended in disappointment with three consecutive semi-final exits.
Schweinsteiger believes that the focus on playing possession-based, intricate football led to a shift away from the traditional German style of play.
The former German international expressed his belief that Germany's strength as a fighting team had diminished over the past decade.
While they won the World Cup in 2014 and reached the semi-finals of the Euro in 2016, the team has encountered difficulties since then.
Schweinsteiger suggested that the emphasis on playing attractive football and intricate passing had overshadowed the country's renowned fighting spirit.
"I think most of the other countries were looking at Germany as a fighter, we can run until the end and everything,” he stated.
“The strengths got lost through the last seven, eight years. We were more focused on playing the ball nicely to each other. That's one of the reasons," Schweinsteiger explained.
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