Opinions remain divided over Leroy Sané’s selection for the DFB squad.
Former international Markus Babbel cannot understand the decision to call up Leroy Sané to the German national team squad for the upcoming friendlies against Switzerland (27 March) and Ghana (30 March).
For the 1996 European champion, Sane’s form fluctuates too much. Babbel’s former teammate Mario Basler recently criticised the winger’s selection and even called him a “second-division player”.
Speaking to ran, Babbel said: “That phrasing is obviously too polemical, but on the substance of the matter I agree with him one hundred per cent. I struggle with players where I don’t know what I’m getting. For me, there’s simply far too great a discrepancy between top performances and then back to amateur level.”
"Everyone is always talking about Leroy Sané’s potential, but what good is that potential to me if I can’t call on it?" asked Babbel, adding: "After all, he’s no longer a regular starter at Galatasaray either."
Dietmar Hamann: Sané’s nomination is “incomprehensible”
In fact, Sane was on the bench for both of the Turkish champions’ Champions League round of 16 matches against Liverpool FC. Whilst he did not feature at all in the first leg (1–0), he was at least given 45 minutes of playing time in the second leg (0–4). In the Süper Lig, he recently served a one-match suspension during Galatasaray’s 3–0 win over Başakşehir.
By contrast, the long-serving Bayern Munich professional made a brilliant impression in his most recent appearances for the national team: in the crucial 6-0 victory in the final World Cup qualifier in mid-November, he put on a dazzling display and contributed three goals and assists (two goals, one assist). Prior to that, he had also set up a goal in the 2-0 win in Luxembourg.
Dietmar Hamann, another former DFB player, cannot understand why Sané has been selected. “I’m very surprised by this,” Hamann said on Sky a few days ago: “We have El Mala, we have Adeyemi, we have Beier. I think they’d all deserve it more than Leroy Sané. It’s incomprehensible to me.”
With the World Cup this summer in mind, Sane is competing for the right-wing attacking position with his former club-mate Serge Gnabry. The 30-year-old has played 72 international matches to date, scoring 16 goals and providing 10 assists.
Leroy Sané's performance statistics for Galatasaray this season
| Missions | 35 |
| Appearances lasting over 90 minutes | 21 |
| Goals | 6 |
| Assists | 8 |
| Yellow cards | 1 |
| Red cards | 1 |