Germany prepares to reform after defeat in World Cup 2022
According to Blick (Switzerland), the DFB has scheduled a crisis meeting on the morning of December 7 at its headquarters in Frankfurt. Besides head coach Hansi Flick, Technical Director in charge of Bierhoff team, the meeting also included two top leaders of the federation - Chairman Bernd Neuendorf and Vice President Hans-Joachim Watzke.
"I expect them to give their initial technical reports at this meeting, as well as their analysis of the sporting aspect from the 2022 World Cup and the way to Euro 24," Neuendorf said after the home team. Returned from Qatar on 4/12. The Chairman of the DFB also refused to guarantee jobs for both Flick and Bierhoff
However, without waiting for the meeting to take place, at the end of December 5, Bierhoff announced his resignation as team director. The former striker, who won Euro 1996 with Germany, took on the role of national team manager from 2004 to 2017, before being concretized with the position of Technical Director from 2018.
Bierhoff still has a contract until 2024, but his resignation yesterday is expected to help the DFB speed up the process of reforming the team. According to Sky Sports Germany, DFB vice president, Hans-Joachim Watzke - who is also the CEO of Dortmund club, is one of two candidates to succeed Bierhoff. Former Bayern CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge is the other candidate, if he's interested.
The defeat in Qatar extended Germany's poor results in recent major tournaments. Before that, they were also eliminated from the 2018 World Cup in Russia, lost to England in the 1/8 round of Euro 2021, could not enter the UEFA Nations League championship round in both 2019 and 2021.
According to 1990 World Cup-winning Germany captain Lothar Matthaus, Bierhoff is responsible for these poor results. The once famous Libero said: "Germany has had a very bad year. Bierhoff has a responsibility, and we also have to question his role," Matthaus said.
Flick took over as Germany coach last summer, and although he helped the team win like a bamboo in the World Cup qualifiers, he seemed to run out of power when he reached the finals. Philipp Lahm - captain of the 2014 World Cup winning generation - questioned the use of Flicks in Qatar when writing in RND: "It is important to define a defensive framework before the tournament and then use it. But Flick has not doing so".
Some players will also be considered for their roles in the German national team. According to Matthaus, Antonio Rudiger is the only German defensive player to play well at Qatar 2022. "Except for Rudiger, the German defense has problems everywhere. The left-back position is especially disappointing. You can't rely on Niklas Sule and also Mario Gotze," he said, and expects the 19-year-old duo Florian Wirtz and Jamal Musiala to shine at Euro 2024 at home.
According to Kicker, Thomas Muller and Ilkay Gundogan are likely to announce their farewell to the team in the near future. The newspaper also does not want Manuel Neuer to continue to be the default number one goalkeeper, with opportunities that could be given to younger goalkeepers like Marc-Andre ter Stegen or Alexander Nubel.
Like four years ago, Germany returned home right after the World Cup group stage. The 4-2 victory over Costa Rica was not enough for Flick's teachers and students to correct their mistakes after losing 1-2 days to Japan. Germany finished the group stage in third place with four points, equal to second place Spain, but lost on goal difference (+1 vs +6).
In Qatar, besides the performance on the field, Germany also caused controversy about the side story when the whole team covered their mouths when taking a group photo before the Japan match to protest FIFA's decision to sanction the teams if they use it. OneLove captain band. Germany was one of seven teams, including England, Spain and Wales, that planned to captain OneLove against homophobia, but were forced to abandon the plan when FIFA warned it would yellow card penalty.
According to Bild, Neuer and Leon Goretzka responded to this act of gagging. Then, Joshua Kimmich responded and made the German team take a controversial photo. According to Arsene Wenger, former Arsenal manager and now FIFA's Director of Football Development, these unprofessional actions contributed to Germany's elimination from the group stage.
