Mainz boss Heidel on the DFB crisis: Are foreign coaches the solution?
Christian Heidel
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After the second World Cup preliminary round in a row, the DFB has to initiate changes. Mainz boss Christian Heidel believes that the association should start with training coaches.
After the second World Cup preliminary round in a row, the DFB has to initiate changes. Mainz boss Christian Heidel believes that the association should start with training coaches.
Heidel emphasized to the picturenewspaper that the DFB had a great chance to rebuild two years before the European Championships at home. Those responsible would have to admit that “decisive mistakes have happened” since the 2014 World Cup triumph. “We should stop believing that we do everything well,” said the zero-five sports director.
In order to get back on the road to success, the DFB has to think outside the box. In concrete terms, Heidel means that Germany should reposition itself in coach training and get impulses from abroad. “Tactically, we’re not the absolute best in the world, so we should take a look abroad to see how things work there,” he suggested. “I’ve been saying for a long time that we should invest in trainer training, that something has to change there. So why not get trainers from abroad for this?”
The 59-year-old regards the fact that the national team is automatically qualified for the home European Championship and can now prepare for the tournament for two years without direct sporting pressure as a major trump card.
“In order to build a top team, we would have to risk missing a tournament,” he explained. “We’re automatically qualified for 2024, so we only have friendlies and time to rebuild.”
However, the public must also play along in this process and “allow the team to lose sometimes without immediately questioning the coach. The team does not have to be top in February 2023, but in the summer of 2024,” says Heidel.
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This article was originally published on 90min.de as Mainz boss Heidel on the DFB crisis: Are foreign coaches the solution? released.