Hansi Flick heaps praise on aggressive leader Emre Can

Hansi Flick was full of praise of Emre Can after the Borussia Dortmund midfielder impressed during Germany’s 3-2 defeat to Belgium on Tuesday evening.

Germany were handed a bit of a reality check on Tuesday, as they suffered a 3-2 defeat at home to Belgium in a friendly match. Despite the result, Borussia Dortmund midfielder Emre Can put in an impactful performance and Hansi Flick spoke very highly of him after the game.

"“Can was the aggressive leader we needed. He won a lot of duels and shook the team up. That’s what we need as a team, to assert ourselves.”"

Germany could not have asked for a worse start to the game, as they fell two goals behind after just nine minutes. Hansi Flick reacted by making a double change in the 32nd minute, with Emre Can coming on for Florian Wirtz. The 29 year old helped his side regain control in midfield, and they came very close to pulling off what would have been a very impressive comeback in the end.

Can put in a combative display for his side and brought some much needed stability to the Germany midfield. He won the majority of his duels and also broke up a number of Belgium attacks.

His performance against Belgium was a lot like the performances we have seen from him in recent months for Borussia Dortmund. The defensive midfielder has established himself as one of BVB’s most important players since the turn of the year, with his displays being crucial to the team’s remarkable upturn in form and results.

Emre Can will be aiming to keep his form going this weekend as Borussia Dortmund take on Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga.