Football World Cup embarrassment
German football is “painted too much in black and white”, complains the DFB boss
Status: 09:27 | Reading time: 4 minutes
“There is great concern that the euphoria will subside” – fan frustration after Germany’s World Cup
The German national team said goodbye to the World Cup prematurely with a poor performance in the preliminary round final against South Korea. After the historic end, many fans of the DFB women are deeply frustrated.
The women’s World Cup in Australia fits into the gloomy picture of German football. The DFB President sees it a little differently. Tenor: The problem is not that big. The former league boss, on the other hand, makes a devastating verdict.
After the next big football disappointment, DFB President Bernd Neuendorf does not fear any negative mood for the European Championship at home in the coming year. “I think this anticipation will definitely come,” Neuendorf told ZDF. But the 62-year-old also said: “We need a sense of achievement, we need victories. But basically: You can see from various things that people are looking forward to this European Championship.”
In his assessment, Neuendorf referred to the many volunteers for the men’s home European Championship next year, the advance sale of tickets starting on October 3rd and the group draw in December for the tournament (June 14th to July 14th). “I am quite confident that we will create this euphoria that will come. It is also important that we perform well on the pitch and not only look at what events we have been able to bring about in connection with this European Championship, but that we also need sporting success, that is undisputed.”
In terms of perspective, Neuendorf said that too much “black and white” was painted in German football. The DFB President said “that we have had some success recently”. The football official listed the U17 European Championship titles for women and men as well as the runner-up European Championship for the U19 women. “We certainly have successes in the youth field.”
DFB President Bernd Neuendorf
Source: dpa/Carmen Jaspersen
But: “It is indeed the case with the senior national teams, in the U21s, we have now had failures.” After the men last year, the women also failed in the World Cup preliminary round. The men of national coach Hansi Flick have not been able to convince so far, even after the World Cup disaster in Qatar. “We are very committed to turning that around with Rudi Völler as far as the men’s senior national team is concerned,” said Neuendorf.
“On the other hand, we have seen a development”
However, he does not believe that women’s football in Germany will be damaged and thrown back after the World Cup bankruptcy. “I wouldn’t be so pessimistic. One thing is the performance of the national team, that’s very sad and very disappointing for all of us – that’s not our claim,” he said: “But on the other hand, we’ve seen a development that will continue.”
also read
Sustainable muscle building
After the thrilling runners-up European Championship in England last year, there were “significantly more” spectators at the Bundesliga games. You saw a sold-out cup final in Cologne. You have a lot of young women and girls who come to the clubs and want to play football there. “All of this triggered the European Championship last year. We have a really great concept here at the DFB, which we are promoting in the direction of women’s football,” said Neuendorf.
It is one of his priorities to advance women’s football, he said. “We’re on the right track there. That’s a damper we’re getting now. But in general, this development can no longer be stopped. “These are perspectives to lean on.”
Germany fails for the first time in the preliminary round
The German national team cannot get beyond a draw against outsiders South Korea and says goodbye to the World Cup. For the first time in history, the DFB women fail in the preliminary round.
After the first preliminary round of a German women’s national team at a World Cup, Neuendorf national coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg had expressed her confidence. He can say clearly, “We extended her contract just a few months ago after the extremely successful European Championship last year and have expressed the trust that she still enjoys,” he said after the bankruptcy against South Korea.
World Cup debacle Evidence of a bigger problem
For the time being, the embarrassment will result in travel chaos, the long flight home of the German footballers is a bit difficult. The 70-strong DFB entourage flies “gradually” from Sydney to Frankfurt, as the association said. According to dpa information, not all players and delegation members could be accommodated in one or two planes on the fly. Apparently, the DFB had counted on reaching the round of 16. The team of national coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg will fly this Friday from Brisbane, where the 1-1 draw against South Korea was not enough to progress, to Newcastle and from there drive back to the base camp in Wyong. This will be resolved in the next few days.
Here you will find content from Twitter
In order to display embedded content, your revocable consent to the transmission and processing of personal data is required, since the providers of the embedded content as third-party providers require this consent [In diesem Zusammenhang können auch Nutzungsprofile (u.a. auf Basis von Cookie-IDs) gebildet und angereichert werden, auch außerhalb des EWR]. By setting the switch to “on”, you agree to this (which can be revoked at any time). This also includes your consent to the transfer of certain personal data to third countries, including the USA, in accordance with Art. 49 (1) (a) GDPR. You can find more information about this. You can withdraw your consent at any time via the switch and via privacy at the bottom of the page.
The former league boss Donata Hopfen sees the World Cup debacle of the German soccer players as proof of a bigger problem. “German football has been left behind and urgently needs change – new ideas, openness to modern impulses and approaches. And yet the feeling is that things will continue as before,” wrote the former managing director of the German Football League on the social network “LinkedIn”.
“Hopefully those responsible in football Germany will wake up in their own country before the EM 2024, otherwise the hoped-for summer fairy tale will turn into a summer scare,” warned Hopfen in her contribution with a view to the upcoming European Men’s Championship in Germany. Donata Hopfen had to vacate the top position at the DFL at the end of 2022 after just one year. According to the league association, the reason for this was different ideas about the further strategic direction of the DFL company.
also read