Following the departure of Stefan Kuntz, the DFB is looking for a new U-21 national coach. For this reason, the situation will be analysed and discussed today in Frankfurt – with the national coach at the table.
On Monday evening, Oliver Bierhoff celebrated the 25th anniversary with the 1996 European champions in the Europapark Rust. On Tuesday, the director of national teams is expected in Frankfurt by national coach Hansi Flick and his team. Originally, the agenda included preparations for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Romania on 8 October in Hamburg and against North Macedonia three days later in Skopje. After the departure of Stefan Kuntz to the Turkish federation, however, the appointment of a new U-21 head coach has moved to the top of the agenda.
To this end, Bierhoff wants to hold exploratory talks with Joti Chatzialexiou, the sporting director of the national teams, Meikel Schönweitz, the head coach of the U-21 national teams, and Flick, with the national coach playing a decisive role. Flick had also insisted on this when he was hired, Bierhoff revealed.
“Just from a purely contractual point of view, Hansi has a say in it. “
OLIVER BIERHOFF
“The coordination with Hansi is an absolute necessity. From a purely contractual point of view, Hansi has a say in the matter. He sits at the table,” Bierhoff stressed in a small circle, adding: “For the criteria in team management, the connection with Hansi and the A-team is of course important. After all, we don’t want to have two worlds, but a continuity. “
Time is pressing, with the European Championship qualifiers against Israel and Hungary on the agenda in just over two weeks. The team is “not aiming for an interim solution”, stressed Bierhoff, who is initially open to all sides. “We’ll put everything on the table, including external options, of course. But we also want to show internally that we believe in our coaches,” he explained. A transfer of Marcus Sorg is out of the question; he is to remain on the coaching staff of the senior national team.
Klose “a great boy “
An obvious external solution would be Miroslav Klose. Bierhoff is impressed with the World Cup winner and young coach’s career so far, saying he is “a great kid”. However, Bierhoff also pointed out that Klose had recently stated clearly in an interview with kicker that he was currently aiming for daily work on the pitch and therefore a job in club football. This would contradict a job in the association.