Rudi Völler’s discomfort was clear to see early on Monday evening in the belly of the Dortmund football stadium. Not that Völler isn’t used to having eyes and cameras directed at him. Not that he isn’t used to answering questions. But the damned situation in which the German national team finds itself is troubling the 63-year-old. He who, as an early retiree, suddenly climbs a career ladder that he actually doesn’t want to climb. And who finds himself in a position that he hadn’t even thought about in his nightmare until recently.
Tobias Rabe
Editor in charge of Sport Online.
After the World Cup in Qatar was ruined, Völler suddenly became sports director at the German Football Association (DFB) after handing over his front-line duties at Bayer Leverkusen. Lift spirits internally and externally, make a bit of the good old days tangible, push the team back in the right direction. That was the plan that, as we now know, failed resoundingly. National coach Hansi Flick had to leave on Sunday, and suddenly Völler is his successor, at least on an interim basis.
This Tuesday (9 p.m. in the FAZ live ticker for DFB international matches and on ARD) in the duel with France in Dortmund, he is responsible for Hannes Wolf and Sandro Wagner. After that, Völler would love to make room again as quickly as possible. “For me, this is a one-off thing,” he claimed when asked at the press conference in Dortmund on Monday evening about the possibility that the search for a new national coach would not be as successful as planned as quickly as planned. It wouldn’t be the first failed plan at the DFB.
“With body and soul”
After the separation from Flick, which was unavoidable after last Saturday’s 4-1 defeat against Japan, he felt “it was his duty to help out in a game like this”. He is aware of the situation. “I still don’t like it now.” His main task is to quickly find a trainer in order to ignite a “certain euphoria”. “Of course this is only possible with results, but with a new national coach it is absolutely possible.” His conclusion: “It is important that we find a coach who puts his heart and soul into it.”
There isn’t much time to look for a successor for Flick, but there are a lot of key questions. Völler must now answer this question with those responsible at the German Football Association, in particular with President Bernd Neuendorf and Vice President Hans-Joachim Watzke. It’s about the profile of the new trainer. It’s about the length of the contract. And it’s about money. The empty market and the association’s empty coffers are an extremely unfavorable combination.
Sandro Wagner, Rudi Völler and Hannes Wolf (from left) are responsible for the DFB team against France. : Image: dpa
Names like Julian Nagelsmann, Matthias Sammer and Stefan Kuntz are circulating. It is conceivable that if the search is not successfully completed by the time of the two international matches in the USA in mid-October, Völler himself will also be involved, even if he doesn’t want it. But what happens if, contrary to expectations, the game and result against France are good?
One of them canceled on his own initiative on Monday. Ralf Rangnick, Austria’s national coach, answered the ORF’s question as to whether he would be available to answer an inquiry from Germany: “No.” There was no rejection from another old acquaintance. The Dutchman Louis van Gaal doesn’t think he has much of a chance. “I am honored to be named as one of the candidates. But no foreigner has ever been chosen for the position of national coach in Germany,” van Gaal told Sky television.
“I am capable”
Felix Magath sees himself as a suitable candidate and is confident of the task. The German Football Association now needs a coach who is able to rebuild the “completely unsettled national team,” the 70-year-old told NDR. “And I think that I (…) am able to lift up unsettled teams and give them so much confidence that they were able to perform very well again,” said the former Bayern Munich player -Trainer.
