Chukwuemeka’s language and Ragnick’s dig at Dortmund

Until the international break, Carney Chukwuemeka’s name was not in the spotlight of the media. The Borussia Dortmund forward is not a regular in his new club (moved from Chelsea on a permanent basis) and in fact hasn’t had a full 90-minutes game in his career yet, but when it was announced that he switched alliances and decided to play for Austria instead of England, the lights were suddenly on him. He played every game of England's Under 19 Euros title victory in 2022, including scoring the second goal in the Young Lions' 3-1 extra time victory over Israel in the final but on Friday, he was in Austria’s team which thrashed Ghana in a friendly match and even scored a goal in a 5-1 win. But that was not the end as his manager made some interesting comments after the game.

Black Stars demolished! Ghana suffers heavy defeat in Austria

Former Manchester United interim Ralf Rangnick appeared to made a subtle dig at Borussia Dortmund, Chukwuemeka’s club. Even thou he was born in Vienna, the young forward moved to England at early age and is still struggling with German language.

"We need to keep things in perspective. If we were to start teaching German to players who play in Germany, it would be like trying to convince players to eat properly through our nutritionists, when they're eating junk food at home. This must be in the interest of the respective clubs. They need to ensure that German lessons are held regularly. It's not so easy for boys like him. English is spoken everywhere, they're understood everywhere, and Carney gets along just fine with English in our group, of course. But I was a bit surprised that Dortmund hasn't even tried to give him German lessons yet” said Rangnick.

Nigeria no, England no, Austria yes

The Austrian managed wanted to ensure that his words were not meant to be criticism, but gave an example with his former clubs, RB Leipzig and TSG Hoffenheim.

"There, German lessons were mandatory three times a week. If someone didn't show up, it was as if they had missed training without an excuse. But every club has to do it the way they see fit. We have no problem with it. We have a small dictionary with the most important vocabulary that I, that we, use. Therefore, there certainly won't be any communication problems for us" he said.

According to the reports from Germany, Borussia’s executives were not happy with Rangnick’s remarks. As Kicker wrote, a BVB integration manager is currently working on-site in Brazil and Ecuador with the two South Americans, Kaua Prates and Justin Lerma, who will be joining Dortmund in June, and he is already giving them German lessons and other support. Integration is generally more difficult with English-speaking players because, as with most clubs, much of the communication in the locker room and daily life is conducted in English. For the time being, physiotherapist Peter Geigle will be available to interpret for Chukwuemeka, who has been in Germany since February 2025, during meetings with the Austrian national team.