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For the first time, a DFB coach could not come from Germany. Some names are already being traded, others would cause a real surprise.
Frankfurt – At the DFB headquarters in Frankfurt am Main, both heads and all telephone wires are currently running hot. The association is feverishly looking for a new coach for the men’s national team after Hansi Flick was fired and Rudi Völler wants to leave his successful short comeback on the sidelines as such. There are some suitable coaches and those without a club – and this will probably be the case given the tight DFB coffers – but not all of them have German citizenship.
DFB President Neuendorf: “No door closed” – Will van Gaal go through?
So for the first time a foreign coach for the men’s national soccer team? No problem for DFB President Bernd Neuendorf, who emphasized before the successful test against France that the association would not prohibit itself from thinking about this. “We are not ruling out any option at the moment, whether a German or foreign coach. We don’t slam any doors. We expressly allow this option.”
Specifically in this interview situation in the ARD Neuendorf was raised Louis van Gaal addressed, whose name appeared in all the media almost at the same time as Flick’s dismissal. There is no shortage of prominent advocates for the friendly party beast. For TV expert Bastian Schweinsteiger, the Dutchman is the dream solution for the DFB coaching position and Philipp Lahm, Schweinsteiger’s World Cup colleague from 2014, still thinks highly of the former coach of FC Bayern Munich. And the most important thing is that van Gaal himself seems to be keen on the job. Opposite the Bild he said, “a promising country still has a chance to convince me!” So it’s quite possible that a Dutchman will soon be calling the shots at the DFB – in German, of course.
DFB President Bernd Neuendorf does not want to rule out the possibility that a coach without a German passport will soon be sitting on the DFB bench. © IMAGO/Sebastian Räppold/Matthias Koch
Two successful Frenchmen are available on the coaching market
The German is also powerful Arsène Wenger. The 73-year-old Frenchman was on the sidelines at Arsenal for almost 22 years and also looked after a number of German national players. These include world champions Per Mertesacker, Lukas Podolski and Mesut Özil. With Serge Gnabry, Wenger already had a current Gunners international under his wing. However, the Frenchman, who currently works as Director of Development at FIFA, has not yet coached a national team and there have been no rumors of a commitment to the DFB yet. Wenger is therefore likely to be a rather unrealistic alternative.
In addition to the purely sporting tasks, one of the national coaches’ tasks is also to satisfy the egos of various world stars, or those who consider themselves to be such. Something Zinedine Zidane succeeded brilliantly during his time as coach at Real Madrid. With the Madrid star ensemble, Zidane won the Champions League three times in a row and was named World Club Coach of the Year twice, among other things. Despite these and many other successes, a job at the DFB is more than unlikely because the Frenchman speaks neither German nor English.
Flick’s predecessor: These are all German national football coaches
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Candidates from Austria for the DFB?
Two Austrians have less success than Zidane, but have solid language skills. One of them is Oliver Glasner, who entered Frankfurt Eintracht’s history books forever by winning the Europa League. The 49-year-old is currently without a club after leaving the SGE, but is said to be in the inner circle for the vacant coaching position at Olympique Lyon. Or the DFB? For Glasner, who can work successfully for a relatively short period of time, but often has problems meeting all of a team’s needs over a longer period of time, the nine-month assignment leading up to the European Championships could be quite attractive.
The second Austrian in the league is Ralph Hasenhüttl, who most recently managed the then Premier League club Southampton FC for over 173 games. His vita reads like a constant rise and could reach its peak with a commitment as a DFB coach. In 2016, Hasenhüttl moved to RB Leipzig via SpVgg Unterhaching, VfR Aalen and FC Ingolstadt, where he was active in the Bundesliga for almost two years. He was then allowed to prove himself in England, where he kept the Saints in the top flight four times in a row before he was released in November 2022. However, it is doubtful whether Hasenhüttl’s previous career meets the demands of Völler and the DFB commission.
Oliver Glasner, Louis van Gaal and Zinedine Zidane. What they all have in common is that they do not have German citizenship and could potentially end up in the DFB coach’s chair. © IMAGO / HJS ; IMAGO / Ulmer/Team photo and IMAGO / PanoramiC
National team coach: The list of well-known coaches is long
In addition to the trainers already listed, there are currently a number of well-known names available on the trainer market, some of whom have already demonstrated some success. But it seems unlikely that the commission around Völler, Neuendorf and Hans-Joachim Watzke will deal with names like Frank Lampard, Graham Potter, Antonio Conte, Sam Allardyce or even André Villas-Boas.
Don’t forget that the DFB’s exclusionary bans on thinking include foreign coaches in the considerations, but German trainers are not excluded. In addition to van Gaal and Glasner, Julian Nagelsmann, who is said to have already been contacted, is considered the favorite for the position to be filled. (sh)
2023-09-17 03:26:00
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