Rudi Völler will remain DFB sports director beyond the home tournament in the summer. The association extended the contract shortly before his 64th birthday until the end of the 2026 World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico, as the DFB announced on Monday.
“In the past 14 months of my work, I have noticed that the responsible task at the DFB has grown more and more close to my heart every day,” said Völler, according to the statement. “What initially perhaps started out of a feeling of obligation towards Germany, the association and the national team has long since developed into a personal concern.”
“Rudi Völler, with all his experience, is an important contact and advisor for me and also for the coaches and players,” said DFB President Bernd Neuendorf. “He has a positive influence on the national team. (…) After recent difficult years, there is a lot of enthusiasm for the national team again. In addition to the excellent work of Julian Nagelsmann and his team, this is also a credit to Rudi Völler.”
Nagelsmann avoids commitment to the DFB
On the day Völler’s contract was extended, national coach Julian Nagelsmann made cautious comments about his personal future with the national team. There was “nothing new to report,” said the 36-year-old on the sidelines of a European Championship workshop for national coaches in Düsseldorf: “I think I spoke about it very transparently. Nothing has changed after today.”
Nagelsmann did not want to say anything more about the content of his contract extension. “Rudi has to make decisions for himself in his life, I don’t dictate anything to him, and he doesn’t do exactly the same to me either,” said the national coach: “Everyone can express their wishes and exchange their opinions, that’s what we did too . I’m happy for the DFB, I’m happy for German football. We’ll see everything else in the next few weeks.”
Successor to Oliver Bierhoff
Völler has been DFB sports director since February 1, 2023. After the preliminary round exit at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, the DFB separated from national team director Oliver Bierhoff and initially founded a task force that included Völler, among others. He was then appointed director of the men’s national team as a sort of emergency solution.
Völler was first sports director and then sports managing director at Bayer Leverkusen for many years. He left the management in mid-2022. After parting ways with Hansi Flick, he once again looked after the DFB team as interim team boss in the 2-1 international match against France.
