Status: 01/19/2023 8:53 p.m
Former team manager Rudi Völler succeeds Oliver Bierhoff as director of the German national soccer team.
The DFB announced this on Thursday evening (01/19/2023) after a recommendation from the task force with Hans-Joachim Watzke, Bernd Neuendorf, Oliver Kahn, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, Oliver Mintzlaff, Matthias Sammer and Völler himself. Now the responsible bodies of the German Football Association still have to agree.
The former world champion Völler, who actually retired from football in the summer of 2022, is to take over some of the tasks of the former DFB director Bierhoff. This had left the association after the World Cup preliminary round from the DFB selection at the end of last year in Qatar. According to reports, the DFB will spread the other Bierhoff areas over several shoulders.
Völler: “Gratitude, passion and great motivation”
“After many great years at Bayer 04 Leverkusen, I’m going back to where I was able to experience wonderful times as team boss. That’s why I’m approaching my new job with the national team with gratitude, passion and great motivation,” said Völler in the DFB announcement . “First of all, we have to lay the foundations for a successful home European Championship in 2024 that is supported by all of Germany. We have the players for it.”
Neuendorf: “Völler is one of the greatest in German football” – Flick: “The right cast”
Völler is to be presented at his new post this Friday, location: The DFB campus. DFB President Bernd Neuendorf and Vice President Hans-Joachim Watzke will also be there. “Rudi Völler is one of the greatest in German football,” emphasized Neuendorf in the statement. With him, they would have found the ideal cast for the next 20 months. “I’m very happy that Rudi Völler is ready to take on this challenging task. Because of his CV, his outstanding successes and his personality profile, he’s the ideal solution for the German Football Association,” said Watzke.
“Rudi is a constant in German football,” emphasized national coach Flick. “With his style and his successes, he has inspired the fans as a player, coach and manager. His experience with the national team and many years of work at Bayer Leverkusen make him the right person for the tasks ahead.” His coaching team and he would be looking forward to going to the European Championships at home next year.
World champion as a player, runner-up as a coach
For Völler, the focus is on the selection of national coach Hansi Flick. Völler left Bayer Leverkusen as managing director last summer. In 2000 he had already stepped in when the DFB was in dire need, even as team boss at the time. He led the DFB selection to the 2002 World Cup final, after the preliminary round at the 2004 European Championship it was over. For many German fans, the 1990 world champion, who can look back on an enormously successful playing career, is an idol.
Source: sportschau.de