National team
Matthäus and Magath surprised by Rettig’s appointment to the DFB
Andreas Rettig is the new sports director at the DFB. photo
© Christian Charisius/dpa
This Monday the new DFB managing director Andreas Rettig will present himself at a press conference. His appointment comes as a surprise to Lothar Matthäus and Felix Magath.
Record national player Lothar Matthäus and master coach Felix Magath did not expect Andreas Rettig to be appointed as the new sports director at the German Football Association.
“That happened from one second to the next,” said Matthäus on the pay TV channel Sky. Magath (70), who was discussed by some experts as a possible new national coach, said that, as with all surprising decisions, there was opportunity and risk.
Rettig (60) will speak at a press conference today in Frankfurt/Main together with DFB President Bernd Neuendorf. “It surprised me so much because you drive in a completely different direction, a completely different one,” said Matthäus.
Rummenigge and Mintzlaff resign from the task force
Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and Oliver Mintzlaff had previously announced their withdrawal from the DFB task force. Rummenigge justified this, among other things, by saying that there had previously been no information about Rettig’s appointment, which was announced on Friday. Matthäus called it unwise that not all those responsible were informed and called the withdrawal understandable.
Following reports about his replacement as Turkish national coach, Stefan Kuntz (60) is once again coming into focus as a possible successor to Hansi Flick. The 1996 European champion led the German youth team to the European Championship title twice. “U21 is not the senior national team. As coaches, there are others who have more experience than Stefan Kuntz,” said Matthäus (62).
Like Magath, he sees Rudi Völler as the perfect solution until the home European Championships in 2024. After stepping in for the released Flick in the 2-1 win over France, the 63-year-old made it clear several times that he only saw his return as DFB team boss as a one-time thing.