Rummenigge tees off on the 'amateurs' at the DFB
July 20, 2018
Germany head coach Joachim Löw told reporters outside of the German football association (DFB) headquarters in Frankfurt on Friday that he had presented the executive board with a "detailed analysis" of why the national team failed to advance past the group stage in Russia. However, following two days of talks with senior officials including Oliver Bierhoff, the general manager of the national team, Löw declined to provide any details of their talks or his analysis. He said his next move would be to speak to each of the national team players individually, before making any possible decisions on personnel changes.
At just about the same time as Löw was speaking to reporters in Frankfurt, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge (pictured above, right) held a scrum of his own in Munich. Speaking at an event to honor former coach Jupp Heynckes (above, left), the Bayern Munich chairman took the opportunity to lambaste almost everything about the DFB – except its decision to stick with Löw as Germany coach.
A bunch of 'amateurs'
"For me, there has been a lack of clear professionalism in efforts to manage a crisis situation," Rumminigge said. "At the same time, I'm not surprised given that the DFB is filled with amateurs.
"They demonstrated this again yesterday when they invited in all of the bosses of the regional (football) associations and — apparently using a lot of valium — managed to calm then down for now," he added.
He was referring a meeting on Thursday, after which the DFB issued a statement saying all of the regional bosses supported its current course of action.
Özil criticism 'over the top'
Specifically he criticized the DFB over its handling of the controversy after national team players Mesut Özil and Ilkay Gündogan met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan shortly before the World Cup.
In the immediate aftermath of the tournament, both Bierhoff and DFB President Reinhard Grindel came under fire when they seemed to blame Özil for Germany's failure in Russia, although they later clarified their words.
"It obviously was not handled well, but to now portray Mesut Özil as the sole scapegoat? Sorry, I think that's excessive," Rummenigge said.
Philipp Lahm to the rescue?
He also offered a solution to what he perceives as the DFB's amateurism, suggesting that it hire the retired Bayern player who captained Germany to the 2014 World Cup title.
"I think Philipp Lahm and his agent Roman Grill are the perfect fit for the DFB because Philipp has the quality to possibly work for an association," Rummenigge said. A position like vice president would allow Lahm "to give the board a bit more professionalism."
As for Löw, Rummenigge said he he deserved to remain in his post after having done an "outstanding" job over a period of 12 years.
pfd/msh (dpa, AFP)