ARD experts partly criticized: What doesn't work with Wellmer and Schweinsteiger

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Temperatures of more than 30 degrees early Saturday evening in Munich, plus a game with six goals. ARD expert Bastian Schweinsteiger should not only have worked up a sweat because of the heat and the turbulent course of the game in the 4-2 victory of the German team against Portugal.

Because the ex-national player was in constant use. Before kick-off, during the game, at half-time and after the final whistle, Schweinsteiger had to analyse, assess, comment and conduct interviews. He sometimes did well, but some things went wrong - especially in interaction with presenter Jessy Wellmer.

Almuth Schult, Kevin-Prince Boateng and Stefan Kuntz were again in action in the studio. We took a very close look at the appearances of the ARD experts.

The experts before the game

Can football experts actually do without white sneakers with suit trousers? Apparently not. Stefan Kuntz and Kevin-Prince Boateng also rely on the shoe trend that has been determining the expert look throughout the European Championship.

However, Almuth Schult left the sports shoes in the closet on Saturday and opted for gray shoes with heels. Otherwise, the goalkeeper from VfL Wolfsburg and the DFB-Frauen, who had recently caused a stir in the studio with a flash of laughter, presented herself as sovereign as she is used to from her last appearances. Well prepared, with tactical knowledge and clear analyses. Boateng again unpacked some loose sayings, Kuntz brought in his expertise as a trainer.

However, the good-humoured panel of experts moderated by Alexander Bommes was not allowed to contribute very much to the game of the German team. Because even during the preliminary reporting, the duo Jessy Wellmer and Bastian Schweinsteiger, who had recently been heavily criticized, took over and interviewed national coach Joachim Löw in detail.

Wellmer asked most of the questions, Schweinsteiger analyzed the tactics and received encouragement from Löw. This should have been good for the 36-year-old, after all he had recently been publicly criticized by his long-time team-mate Mats Hummels for his explanations of his own goal against France.

The experts during the game

In the German game against France, ZDF relied on the duo of Bela Rethy and Sandro Wagner. On ARD, Gerd Gottlob commented alone, Schweinsteiger was briefly switched on once in each half.

However, that went horribly wrong in the first half after Ronaldo's opening goal. Gottlob spoke to Schweinsteiger, followed by 35 seconds of agonizing silence. Then suddenly Schweinsteiger could be heard, but his analysis was not particularly revealing. Carry on, don't be intimidated, watch out for counterattacks, Schweinsteiger demanded before Gottlob cut him off and interrupted him.

Schweinsteiger did not explain why the DFB team conceded the goal and who had made mistakes, or these explanations probably fell victim to the sound problems. Even if its integration worked better in the second half, the ZDF model with Sandro Wagner as a real co-commentator is the more convincing solution.

The ARD experts at halftime

The half-time analysis was relatively short, as ARD used the early kick-off time before 8 p.m. for two extensive advertising blocks. There was no switch to the studio for the panel of experts, instead Wellmer and Schweinsteiger had to work again, who were hardly given any breaks on this hot evening in Munich. Schweinsteiger analyzed the goals well, even if he has a certain tendency to use football-typical phrases.

Germany - Portugal: The experts after the game

Again it was Wellmer and Schweinsteiger who greeted the spectators after the final whistle and again interviewed national coach Löw. There were also some inconsistencies. Wellmer asked Löw about players who had sustained injuries and laughed out loud several times, although the topic is not particularly funny. Löw and Schweinsteiger smiled tormented, but in the moment of victory it was easy to get over it.

When Schweinsteiger analyzed Thomas Müller's routes a little later, Wellmer cut him off. "That's a great analysis, haha," the presenter rejoiced, which apart from her no one - and certainly not Schweinsteiger - found funny.

When the "Tagesschau" was returned to the studio, Stefan Kuntz also reprimanded the duo for the interview with Jogi Löw before kick-off. "I didn't like the way they approached him in the pre-game interview," Kuntz said, to much applause from the crowd.

The saying of the evening

"I'll throw my dream team in the bin" - Kevin-Prince Boateng had wished for a different line-up before the game. After the game he was self-critical with the usual clear words.

Conclusion on the Germany game

Gerhard Delling and Günther Netzer once demonstrated how the interaction between a TV journalist and a football expert can work perfectly. Jessy Wellmer and Bastian Schweinsteiger are far from that. If Schweinsteiger can talk about football and analyze it or tell anecdotes from his extraordinary career, it works wonderfully.

However, Wellmer often does not give him the right keywords for this, the TV journalist tries to be funny instead, which Schweinsteiger does not meet. Perhaps the 2014 world champion would actually have been in better hands as a co-commentator alongside Gerd Gottlob.

Also read: ARD apologizes for emotional EM reporter Bartels