In the crisis, the DFB appoints a five-person expert council
DFB President Bernd Neuendorf
Those: dpa/Federico Gambarini
After the premature end of the World Cup, DFB President Bernd Neuendorf announced that the debacle would be dealt with in depth. In the analysis, which is supposed to cover the development of football since 2018, the association is now getting advice from five prominent experts.
KIt’s been almost a week and a half since he was standing at Doha airport. Surrounded by around 50 media representatives, Bernd Neuendorf gave a brief insight into his mood regarding the elimination of the German national soccer team at the World Cup in Qatar. The President of the German Football Association (DFB) announced a crisis meeting and also let it be known that there would be no “continuation” like after the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
The meeting that Neuendorf spoke of has long taken place. After the meeting between Neuendorf, Hans-Joachim Watzke, Vice-President of the DFB, and national coach Hansi Flick in a Frankfurt hotel, it was clear that Flick would fulfill his contract and lead the team to the home European Championship in 2024 – but before that Oliver Bierhoff had , the DFB director, resigned from his post. Bierhoff, who started out as team manager in 2004, was the focus of criticism after the third disappointing tournament.
On Tuesday, eleven days after returning from Qatar, Neuendorf will publicly comment on the World Cup debacle for the first time. A decision on who should inherit Bierhoff as DFB director is not expected at the press conference in the Frankfurt association campus. It has been heard that the DFB not only wants to take its time with the search, but also first of all wants to see what exactly is necessary to change certain things in German football and improve them. It’s about structures, it’s about posts.
Most recently, Hans-Joachim Watzke, who is also the head of the supervisory board of the German Football League (DFB), suggested that structures and job descriptions should first be specified. The managing director of Borussia Dortmund had offered the help of leading figures from the Bundesliga clubs and former executives from the league, if the DFB wanted it.
According to information from “Bild”, Oliver Kahn, CEO of FC Bayern, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, former CEO of Munich, Rudi Völler, long-time managing director of Bayer Leverkusen, Matthias Sammer, European champion of 1996, former BVB coach and former DFB sports director and Oliver Mintzlaff, the former managing director of RB Leipzig, switched to the Red Bull Group a few weeks ago, have declared their willingness to support the DFB. It should be about constructive cooperation.
