It’s been a difficult couple of months for the German Football Federation following their shocking group-stage exit from this summer’s World Cup. The rift between Mesut Özil and the DFB in the fallout of the World Cup was a culmination of controversial topics surrounding Die Mannschaft, which left many fans and pundits questioning whether Joachim Low and members of the DFB should step down from their respective roles.
The DFB held a “crisis meeting” in Frankfurt this past Tuesday where members of the DFB, DFL, and representatives from some of the Bundesliga clubs met to discuss Germany’s World Cup, improving cooperation between clubs and the National Team, and the German bid for Euro 2024.
Per SportBild, the summit lasted for approximately three hours. Everyone was in general agreement that Joachim Löw is still the right man to manage Die Mannschaft. Speaking to the press after the summit’s conclusion, DFL President Reinhard Rauball affirmed that everyone involved in the meetings expressed full confidence for both Löw and (team manager) Oliver Bierhoff:
All participants in the session today, also the representatives from the Bundesliga, expressed their confidence today in Jogi Löw and Oliver Bierhoff.
More specifically, Rauball commented on how well Löw and Bierhoff presented their full analysis of Die Mannschaft’s World Cup debacle in Russia, which received a positive reception from everyone involved in the summit:
We discussed matters very openly. Joachim Löw and Oliver Bierhoff made very clear presentations, which was viewed very positively by all participants on account of their openness. There was a very intense discussion thereafter, in which subjects such as the training of coaches and communication with one another were discussed. I think that we have made a very good start. And we will continue to do so in this form in the foreseeable future, so as to flesh it out even more so.
Das Reboot 2.0
When Reinhard Grindel (DFB President) spoke to the media after the summit, he emphasized the solidarity between the DFB and the Bundesliga that was struck during all of the deliberations in the three hours:
The DFB and the Bundesliga are on the same side. We began today with an intense exchange of opinions. And this will be continued in various formats and in an exchange with persons of responsibility in the world of sports, so that we have a more vigorous exchange than was the case in the past. In the past, the DFL and DFB were not as close together as they are now. Everyone emphasized that. And we have to continue down this path, because it is in both of our interest that we have a strong national team. Today was a good day.
(And the DFB didn’t even have to use its AK.)
Additionally, both Rauball and Grindel stressed that the DFB also needs to put more focus on coaching education, especially within some of the youth levels of the National Team. Just as they’d done back in the early 2000’s after Germany’s failure in Euro 2000, dubbed Das Reboot, Grindell and Rauball want more emphasis to be placed on the country’s youth academies, to help promote a stronger future at the senior level:
Grindell:
It’s correct that we are particularly busy with the question of the training of coaches, as well as with exchange between DFB officials for youth teams with those who are responsible for the academies in the Bundesliga, so that we will have the same success in the future that we had with the European title for the U21, and also in other youth teams.
Rauball:
If we look at the U15, U17, and U19, I have to say that we are worried about our youth players. The U21 team is great, but we have to look into the future to the next major events in 2020, 2022, and 2024; that’s why that was a subject of discussion today.