Antonio Rudiger says he “nearly got into a fistfight” with a Germany teammate during a training session just days before hosts Germany kick off their Euro 2024 match against Scotland.
Rudiger is expected to start in defence for Julian Nagelsmann’s side but he has always had a bit of a temper and his fiery nature was on full display in training on Monday.
“Just blow the whistle!”
Build Reports suggest the Real Madrid star was a direct opponent for Niklas Flukrug, who Rudiger faced off against. Champions League Final The former Chelsea man “kept beating” the striker during a crossing drill in last weekend’s game against Borussia Dortmund.
After a particularly “tough duel,” Flukluk dropped to the ground and shouted at coach Mads Buttgereit: “Blow the whistle!”
According to reports, Flukrug approached Rudiger and the two shoved and nearly came to blows before assistant coach Sandro Wagner had to intervene and separate the two.
Shortly after the brawl ended, Rüdiger derisively applauded striker Fürkrug as he “stomped past”.
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“Run with a personal trainer”
Wagner had to calm Rudiger down but the centre-back “didn’t go with the team after that” and instead went for a run with a personal trainer.
However, the report adds that Flukrug and Rudiger usually get on very well, with Flukrug recently naming the Madrid star as one of his closest mates in the squad.
Flukrug later posted a paid photo on Instagram with the caption: “Dropping into Euroweek,” to which Rudiger replied: “Roooooooooow” along with a heart emoji.
Ahead of Germany’s opening Euros match against Scotland, Fluckkrug reflected on their 2-1 friendly win over Greece.
He said: “The lessons learned against Greece will be useful against Scotland and I am interested to see how the coaching staff prepare us for the match.”
“I watched the Scotland game and they played differently than I expected. They press very high. When we play them there will be times when they will defend deeper.
“They will try to get us into shooting situations as quickly as possible so it’s important for us to counter that and not let them show any dynamism. We will be preparing intensively this week. It’s important not only to prepare for our opponent but also to keep our energy levels high and improve ourselves.”
Germany will face Hungary in their second group match before finishing off with a game against Switzerland.
