Bierhoff: German Soccer Federation Lagging Behind

Germany's national team brought an attacking style back to the game and restored the country's faith in their national team, but Germany is in danger of internationally falling further behind in other aspects of the game, sports director Oliver Bierhoff said.

The German Soccer Federation (DFB) has to institute a series of changes if wants Germany to remain competitive, he told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung on Saturday.

"There is no databank, there is no performance center, there are no methods for measuring how a player has developed between the ages of 15 and 20," Bierhoff said, adding that Germany's youth national teams need to be better integrated into the federation.

"We want to make a stronger connection between the other national teams that has not really existed over the past two years," he said.

Changes started under Klinsmann

Coach Joachim Löw also called for improvements, especially on the coaching of young players.

"The national team has pointed the way tactically and from the playing side," he said. "These things now have to be unified right across all the youth team levels."

Löw also wants to see the international scouting system strengthened. Whereas the German team has one chief scout, other nations had teams of experts observing international developments, he said.

Löw may be able to send his thanks to his Jürgen Klinsmann for insisting on changes to the DFB's video systems, though it could be some time before he is actually able to take advantage of them.

An initial meeting between national team and DFB officials on what the system should track is scheduled for this month. Löw said he his hoping the meeting will signal the continuation of a shift in German soccer.

"I think it would be a mistake to turn everything back," he said. "We should be investing instead. We want to be at the top over the mid and long-term."