This is definitely how you can start the European Championship year. From the kick-off, the German national team players only needed eight seconds to get the ball into the French goal. A well-rehearsed variation, initiated by Mads Buttgereit, the set piece coach, carried out by new boss Toni Kroos and Florian Wirtz, who put the ball under the crossbar. The fastest goal in DFB history and the start to the surprisingly confident 2-0 win against the European Championship favorites.
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But the DFB had already gone on the offensive before kick-off. On Saturday, its president Bernd Neuendorf defended himself against criticism from several politicians about having the national team equipped by the US company Nike from 2027 and no longer by the German institution Adidas. “The conclusion of the contract shows that German football enjoys a high reputation, especially internationally,” he told ZEIT ONLINE on the phone. “We should actually be congratulated.”
The excitement over the change seemed to have taken on the proportions of a minor state affair. Economics Minister Robert Habeck would have “wanted more local patriotism”, Health Minister Karl Lauterbach wrote on
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Neuendorf said in an interview with ZDF on Saturday evening that he was “a little bit stunned” by the political statements. The DFB will not apologize for accepting the better offer. “It’s about not damaging the association, and we would certainly have done that if we hadn’t accepted this offer.” The criticism from politicians was expressed “without knowledge” of the facts and background. Nike’s offering was “far above” those of its competitors. Nike should be loud Handelsblatt pay more than 100 million per year, more than double what Adidas has previously paid.
The statements made by some politicians were quite easily exposed as populist and uninformed. The fact that Markus Söder speaks like this as the Bavarian Prime Minister, in whose state Adidas has its headquarters, could be understood as his job. Boris Rhein became confused, Hesse’s Prime Minister said: “The world champion wears Adidas and not some American fantasy brand.” On the one hand, it’s true that world champion Argentina actually wears Adidas. On the other hand, dismissing the world’s largest sporting goods company as a fantasy brand shows that Rhein doesn’t wear Air Jordans in his free time.
The statement by Economics Minister Robert Habeck seems to have really disturbed the DFB leaders. Neuendorf, who was previously active in state politics, told ZDF that the comments were strange “especially coming from him.” “This is about competition, this is about a market economy.”
Stephan Grunwald, the treasurer of the DFB, had already spoken in an interview on Friday Capital criticized the minister. “If we had given the offer to Adidas as it was on the table and justified this with arguments such as the long partnership, trust and loyalty, then I would probably have had the public prosecutor’s office in the house today,” said Grunwald. You shouldn’t place a third party in a worse position than an existing partner, even if you’ve been in a relationship with them for a long time. And it would also make a difference in terms of the tax authorities if one were to voluntarily forego revenue and pay less taxes. “I also expect a Federal Economics Minister to know something like that,” said Grunwald.
The DFB President said on ZDF that he would be “happy to speak” with the Federal Minister of Economics. Or Robert Habeck talks to Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz. He was asked about the Nike deal on the sidelines of the EU summit. Instead of criticizing him, he said the wisest of all football sentences: “The most important thing is that goals are scored.” The German players listened to their chancellor after eight seconds.
This is definitely how you can start the European Championship year. From the kick-off, the German national team players only needed eight seconds to get the ball into the French goal. A well-rehearsed variation, initiated by Mads Buttgereit, the set piece coach, carried out by new boss Toni Kroos and Florian Wirtz, who put the ball under the crossbar. The fastest goal in DFB history and the start to the surprisingly confident 2-0 win against the European Championship favorites.
But the DFB had already gone on the offensive before kick-off. On Saturday, its president Bernd Neuendorf defended himself against criticism from several politicians about having the national team equipped by the US company Nike from 2027 and no longer by the German institution Adidas. “The conclusion of the contract shows that German football enjoys a high reputation, especially internationally,” he told ZEIT ONLINE on the phone. “We should actually be congratulated.”
