Status: 05.12.2022 23:01
The German Football Association and director Oliver Bierhoff are going their separate ways after 18 years: the contract was terminated four days after the World Cup preliminary round in Qatar. “I’m paving the way for setting new directions,” said Bierhoff.
After the national soccer team was eliminated from the preliminary round at the World Cup in Qatar, Oliver Bierhoff took the consequences. The 54-year-old is leaving the German Football Association after 18 years. Both parties agreed to terminate the contract, which runs until 2024.
“I take responsibility for that”
“I’m paving the way for a new course,” Bierhoff said in a statement: “Some decisions that we were convinced of have not turned out to be the right ones. No one regrets that more than I do. I take responsibility for that.”
Immediately after the end of the World Cup, Bierhoff declared that he now wanted to head for the 2024 home European Championship as the next big goal. “I wish the DFB, its many committed employees, all the associations and clubs, institutions and initiatives gathered under its roof and our national teams every success in their important tasks,” said the former professional.
Effects on Flick as national coach unclear
The DFB committees will now discuss who will be Bierhoff’s successor. It was initially unclear whether the resignation will also have an impact on Hansi Flick’s future as national coach.
Bierhoff came to the DFB in 2004, in a role that the association had never seen before. As team manager, he played a key role in the 2006 World Cup in Germany two years later, alongside national coach Jürgen Klinsmann. The spirit of optimism culminated in winning the World Cup in Brazil in 2014.