Enlarge image
Rudi Völler should lead the national team into the right waters until the home European Championship in 2024
Photo:
Sebastian Gollnow / dpa
In his new role as national team director at the German Football Association (DFB), Rudi Völler wants to involve the clubs in dealing with sporting deficits in particular.
"The DFB," Völler said in an interview with the "Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger" when he took up his post at the DFB, "is not to blame for everything."
The 62-year-old referred to the problems of the DFB-Elf, which came to light again after the preliminary round at the last World Cup tournament in Qatar.
"The clubs are also responsible for the fact that we are complaining about a lack of center forwards or currently have too few full-backs, because they help train the players," said Völler.
DFB youth academy vs. »nonconformist street footballer« type
As in the 2018 World Cup in Russia, Germany was eliminated in the group stage in Qatar.
At the EM 2021, a draw against Hungary only qualified for the round of 16 shortly before the end, in which you were eliminated by England.
After the World Cup in Qatar, Völler took over from Oliver Bierhoff.
In the future, the former attacker also hopes that the campus of the DFB junior academy will eliminate past mistakes.
»For decades we have trained not only good strikers but also wonderful defenders who have won duels and mastered the game of headers.
But today, even in the fourth division, it's all about how a central defender opens the game.
That's important, of course, but you also have to win duels.
The basics have to be right," said Völler, and wished for more players of the type of "non-conformist street footballer who isn't afraid of making mistakes."
Regardless of their obvious difficulties, the team of national coach Hansi Flick Völler does not have to shy away from comparisons with top nations such as world champions Argentina: "Apart from Lionel Messi, who is outstanding and who everyone has treated to this world title, nobody should tell me that the Argentines are better than us.
But they defended with incredible passion.«
With this logic, the 1990 World Champion sees the term "rescue mission" for his task as "a bit exaggerated".
“After all, we still have a good team,” said Völler.
Against the background of the aforementioned failures of the German team at the past three major events, however, the crowd favorite also describes the current phase as a "difficult time".
Völler demands loyalty from the clubs
All the more Völler, who has suspended his membership in the shareholders' committee of Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen for the duration of his DFB commitment, expects support from the clubs on the way to the European Championships at home next year.
According to the 1990 World Champion, the friendly international matches up to the start of the tournament should be viewed as “competitive games” by the clubs, despite other interests: “We all have to be loyal to one another and support one another.
But everyone must be aware that the national team is important.
Not only for the DFB, but also for the clubs.«
mfu/sid
