"It will backfire at some point" - Matthäus takes on Hummels

Record national player Lothar Matthäus suspects a problem at Borussia Dortmund in Mats Hummels' public criticism of his teammates. "What would slowly but surely get on my nerves as a Borussia Dortmund player is the constant criticism from Mats Hummels," wrote the 61-year-old in his column on Sky.

He likes and respects the man and player Mats Hummels very much, "but standing up week after week or dropping social media posts and constantly criticizing teammates eventually backfires".

After the 2-0 defeat at Bundesliga leaders Union Berlin last Sunday, Hummels publicly criticized his 20-year-old team-mate Karim Adeyemi for initiating the second goal with a failed back-heel trick. "Sometimes the simple 20-meter back pass is the best solution, even if it doesn't come up on social media afterwards," Hummels said. Although he did not explicitly name his teammate, there was no doubt about the addressee of his sentences.

"That won't go down well in the dressing room, because the team-mates will then also ask themselves whether Mats delivers top performances week after week or whether he makes a mistake every now and then," speculated Matthäus: "I think that the coach or maybe a Matthias Sammer (BVB advisor, ed.) should take Hummels aside to talk to him about it.”

Of course, the 2014 world champion can and must "put his finger in the wound now and then and address things clearly in public," emphasized the former Bayern professional: "But not after every game I feel."

Football is a team sport, "and if someone constantly dares to address the mistakes of the others, then it's anything but beneficial."