DFB director Rudi Völler says Argentina is only better than Germany because of Lionel Messi

The DFB decided that enough was enough and brought in fresh faces, one of which is former Bayer Leverkusen player Rudi Völler who is now the director of the DFB. Rudi has a feisty side which showed itself when the 62-year-old flat out rejected the idea of Argentina being better than Germany, disproven only by Lionel Messi.

“Apart from Messi, who is of course outstanding, nobody can tell me that Argentina are better than us,” Völler declared to KSTA (as captured by Twitter account @iMiaSanMia). “But they defended with incredible passion. They defended in an impressive way and that’s what made them world champions.”

Photo by Marcelo Endelli/Getty Images

One of Germany’s nagging problems is the lack of players being developed to become starting caliber ones, with Völler talking about the defense. Germany’s back-line bar Real Madrid center-back Antonio Rüdiger has been appalling which was evident at the World Cup. Völler pointed out that CBs who are great at build-up should do the trick.

“For decades we developed not only good strikers but also wonderful defenders who won tackles and mastered heading. But today for a CB, even in 4th division, it’s all about build-up. That’s important, of course, but you also have to win tackles. The basics must be there.”

Rudi also spoke of the mentality of the players; he said that former Bayern Munich coach Hansi Flick’s men must give it their all regardless of whether the game is a competitive one or not. He also called out for proactive measures when it comes to solving issues within the team. “The national team is the most important team we have. The players have to act in every friendly game as if it were a qualifier,” the ex-AS Roma player stated. “Of course, the clubs have other interests. I know that because I come from club football. But we have to find solutions if there are any issues.”