According to his own statement, Oliver Bierhoff has long since gotten over his retirement as director of the German Football Association (DFB). “I’m doing well,” said the 55-year-old in an interview with “Welt am Sonntag”: “After 35 years of being dominated by football, I enjoyed the freedom.”
Bierhoff, who now works as a consultant for the American football team New England Patriots, is still a little disappointed with how his farewell went after the German national team’s elimination in the preliminary round at the World Cup in Qatar. “There were many things and people’s behavior that I don’t agree with even today,” admitted the 1996 European champion: “But I know the business and don’t take the whole thing personally.”
Often a buffer at the DFB
Even before the World Cup, he knew that he would receive a lot of criticism. “I was always aware of my role – often as a buffer stop – and ultimately looked at it soberly: I always wanted to take responsibility, design projects and drive developments forward – then I also have to take responsibility for the overall result.”
After the early knockout with the DFB team in Qatar, Bierhoff reported that he not only felt anger and disappointment, but above all bewilderment. “It’s unbelievable that we weren’t successful despite a certain level of quality.”
This development has still not been stopped, said the former striker. He said that many players would “lose themselves and become too preoccupied with themselves from the moment things get difficult in a game or mistakes happen”: “There is a lack of a clear leadership hierarchy here.”
