BERLIN (AP) — German soccer faces a day of decisions amid questions about the future of national team coach Hansi Flick and league chief executive Donata Hopfen.
The German soccer federation met on Wednesday to discuss the consequences of the World Cup in Germany. departure and simmers issues of discontent between Bundesliga clubs and second division teams.
Federation president Bernd Neuendorf will meet German soccer league vice president Hans-Joachim Watzke to discuss the future of German soccer after three consecutive disappointing performances in major tournaments.
Germany’s leadership is under pressure to make a notable improvement before the country hosts Euro 2024.
The federation also needs a replacement for Oliver Bierhoff, who ended an 18-year term on Monday. when he agreed to resign as general manager of the German national soccer teams and academy.
Bierhoff is the first casualty of Germany’s World Cup group stage elimination in Qatar, the team’s second straight embarrassing failure. in the biggest soccer tournament. Germany was also knocked out of the same stage at the 2018 World Cup as the defending champion.
Hertha Berlin general manager Fredi Bobic is an informed candidate to replace Bierhoff, though he said on Wednesday he was “very comfortable at Hertha.” However, Bobic, who has a contract until 2024 with the Berlin club, was not ruled out.
Flick’s future as Germany coach remains uncertain amid doubts over his team’s selection and tactics against group rivals Japan, Spain and Costa Rica in Qatar. Mistakes on defense, where Flick couldn’t establish himself in his favorite four defenses, and his inability to seize opportunities cost Germany a place in the knockout round.
Germany’s record with Flick was also poor before the tournament. The former Bayern Munich manager replaced Joachim Löw last year after Germany’s elimination in the second round of Euro 2024 and has a contract until Euro 2024.
Flick appeared to criticize the federation over Bierhoff’s departure on Tuesday, saying he and his coaching staff “have a hard time imagining how the gap left by Oliver’s departure can be closed.”
The German soccer league was due to meet separately later on Wednesday, when confirmation of Hopfen’s departure was expected after less than a year in charge.
Hopfen replaced Christian Seifert in January as the first female chief executive of Germany’s top two soccer divisions, but has struggled to impose her vision or resolve long-standing questions about issues like the league’s 50+1 rule limiting the role of outside investors. , marketing at home and abroad, and the sale of media rights.
Hopfen’s contract runs through 2024. When asked in October how much support he was receiving from league members, he told Kicker magazine, “There’s always room for more.”
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