"More humility and less importance"

The former president of the DFB sees the German Football Association as a trend for self-glorification, the search for scapegoats must stop, Zwanziger said in an interview with the German news agency. ] German football discusses leadership, organization and staff. How do you see the work of the leadership of the so-called New DFB?

Theo Zwanziger: This claim, which has been made for two years to be the "New" DFB, is completely exaggerated and consciously distinguishes former employees and executives, as well as their work. You do not do it in a sports federation engaged in the idea of ​​fair play. Because you must always think of those who have already held responsibilities in this badociation. They feel completely marginalized with such methods. If I only think of Horst R. Schmidt, who has been working for the DFB since 1972 and who has done great things during this period. Without him, the badociation would not be what it is today. This is what the current secretary general has to accomplish.

Did DFB boss Reinhard Grindel and his secretary general Friedrich Curtius have to make a radical new start after the 2006 World Cup? , Enlighten yes, but it could also make the audit committee quick and efficient. There are very good and experienced lawyers from outside who have called back. The commission at Freshfields has on the whole given an excessively excessive dimension, both in substance and in financial terms.

Franz Beckenbauer has no place in the DFB family. A mistake?

Twenty: Yes, in my opinion a very big mistake and I am glad that Franz Beckenbauer is again appreciated by the public. In 2002, Franz made his fortune a payment of ten million Swiss francs to the then Vice President of FIFA, Mohammad bin Hamman. An amount reimbursed by FIFA in April. The DFB managed to cross its gigantic recognition model with dense smoked candles from Freshfields on everything, so that all sorts of speculations and doubts were conceivable. Subsequently, they congratulated themselves for this report, which should have cost seven million euros, even. You had scapegoats, but no results. The representation of Franz Beckenbauer in this process is not refuted to this day.

The DFB said that the 2006 World Cup scandal with the Freshfields report ended. Zwanziger: That's it, but I do not want to comment on it for the moment.

At the moment, the debate on the finals of the World Cup in Russia is superimposed on everything. The life of the national team is criticized. Does the DFB have adequate structures to manage the crisis?

Twenty: I believe that the structure that the DFB experienced in 2001 is also appropriate for the current situation. Preserving the unity of football, developing amateur football and helping small clubs, while ensuring the league's responsible self-organization via the DFL, was yesterday and remains valid today. tomorrow and tomorrow. The national team is of course a remarkable product in this context, which needs a certain independence, but also the proximity of all football.

Did the DFB leadership proclaim the complicit renewal of the current situation? Zwanziger: There is always a mandate for modernization and change in the aforementioned framework. But what has become of the great reformers in the "new DFB" because better? The national team has retired in the preliminary round of the World Cup, our women are no longer successful. The promotion of young talents has stagnated, said under-21 coach Stefan Kuntz. Regarding the social side, volunteering, integration and many other things, the new structure made nothing visible. What has become better except that a lot of money spent in RP, consultants and new employees and hundreds of millions have been diverted from the basic contract of non-profit amateur football into the paid football ?

Sporty speaks Joachim Loew of some "self-importance".

20s: This critical questioning would also be good for the new DFB cadres and maybe there are really some presidents of national badociations, who help here by critical public problems. I do not want to be a jack of all trades, but for me German football and the DFB are still too close to my heart. I am therefore reluctant: a little more humility and a little less self-reflection would be good for the new DFB at all levels

How are national badociations required here?

Zwanziger: I just wish the presidents of the National Associations are more aware of the state of mind and the interest of the 26,000 clubs and confident and publicly represented at the DFB office , instead of always being silenced. If everyone notices that there are conflicts, the press releases for the harmony do not help either.

The DFB [Zwinkiger] poses a problem of concrete leadership: when the presidium and state badociations are ready, not only the national coach and his team. Even by questioning your own actions over the last few years and drawing conclusions in terms of content, we have no problem with leadership. The leaders of the badociation also felt like a world champion and therefore unbadailable. It's apparently finished.

Is it smart enough to let coach Joachim Löw and team manager Oliver Bierhoff to face the disaster of the World Cup?

Zwanziger: I think so. The national coach is one of the best in the world, he has now recorded nearly 14 years of great success for German football. He was the first at the time of the defeat, which was also self-critical. I'm sure he'll get the team back on track with the necessary changes. Let me say that we will see a completely different German team in the match against the new world champion France in September and that we have reasons to celebrate.

What do you expect from this World Cup report?

Twenty: What do you need? huge reports? I hope Freshfields has yet to be badigned. Joachim Loew said it all. We were a bit confident. We were sure it would work. They underestimated what the other teams did and what was not as good with us as we always believed. I've always thought, when it comes to that, we're already here. We overestimated the team because it is in success, not deep enough in it. But that is why German football is not over. On the contrary, it's a change, we have very good young players, completely different from the situation of 2004, the Löw found at this time.

Also criticized is the extension of the contract with Löw shortly before the World Cup. Was it a mistake?

Twenty: I do not know an error. The extension was certainly not requested by Löw because he still had a contract until 2020. Here, in my opinion, only the interest of the President was decisive, shortly before the Bundestag delegates announce a supposedly big success. The origins are under discussion. The new DFB wants to be particularly transparent, maybe even we can talk about it occasionally.

So acting people should have a new chance?

Twenty: If one behaves as one might expect, with a sense of balance of work and without scapegoats, do not drift like a boat in a storm, why not? Maybe you need some friction.

The twenties: The German Football Federation (DFB), with Matthias Sammer, created in 2006 a sports director who could have been a substitute at the same time. It was good that two strong personalities shaped the competitive sport of the DFB. Personalities profiled for the national team on the one hand and the promotion of young talents on the other hand. Since Horst Hrubesch, who has worked with great success for many years for the DFB in many sports fields, has probably already announced the end of his work, his succession will be a central issue. But it is not my job to give advice.

In the headlines, Georg Behlau also recruited an operational company employee because of his behavior after the match in Sweden and also because of alleged violations of compliance. How do you evaluate this case?

Zwanziger: I already have the impression that the behavior of Georg Behlau shows a bit far, which has kept him confident with this DFB. But I also regret that we have made a kind of example of it, and that the big workmen, who have fallen in the highest steps, do not fulfill their duty of solicitude. There is still a scapegoat. Instead of solving the problem through the human resources department and then announcing the decision, the individual issues are more or less exposed to the media. This is not a good sign for the internal composition of such an important badociation. I know Georg Behlau well. This is a hardworking and honest person who has done a lot for the development of the national team office. Now he made a mistake under strong emotional pressure and showed a gesture that can be described as rowdy, but that's why Behlau, as I know him, is not a shrewd one .

Mesut Özil, How do you evaluate his resignation?

Zwanziger: I am deeply saddened by the decision made by Mesut Özil. When it comes to conflict, you have to try very quickly to resolve these conflicts through conversations. The DFB did not arrive before the World Cup for whatever reason, and now the process is back. Due to communication errors, something happened that must never happen to migrants: they must never feel like second-clbad Germans. If this impression occurs, you must take countermeasures. I know enough Reinhard Grindel and Oliver Bierhoff to say that I can not imagine that they would consciously provoke such a situation. I say it like that, I think it would not have happened to Harald Stenger (former DFB spokesman)

What debates do you remember about Özil 's time in the national team?

Twenty: I can remember the discussion well, because Joachim Loew convinced him to come into the German national team: only performance matters. There were always concerns of the Turkish environment: If you decided to play for Germany, imagine nothing – you are still a second clbad Turkish and German. You must be calm and sensitive to conflicts that can never be completely avoided. I do not blame, either in one way or the other, but I remember all the time of a qualification in Berlin against Turkey. In the match, Mesut Özil scored two goals for Germany and was pitilessly nabbed by around 30,000 Turkish migrants. He suffered a lot for his decision

Do you fear damages for the DFB integration work and also on the social level?

Twenty: In this work, the DFB plays an important role, it is a very durable and intensive work with the question: How can we live together in Germany? The national team must defend diversity and defend against any type of racism. This is our social and cultural aspiration, which we, as a doctrine of history, must compel. I am sure that the direction of the DFB, the direction of the sport and the team see the same thing. The resignation of Mesut Özil is a serious setback for the efforts of integration in our country beyond football. He was an excellent model for young players from Turkish immigration, also in the performance structures of German football.

Were the photos of Özil and Gündogan also related to the 2024 European Championship nomination? Twenty: This has certainly not been helpful. This has also called into question the political level in Turkey, which is closely linked to football.

Is the DFB currently in the constitution for a successful European Championship nomination? [Zwangsiger]: It would be very, very good if it was possible to get this tournament. It would also be a good goal for the national coach in developing the team, though this should not happen at the next European Championship in two years time. There is a lot of work behind the scenes, which is not easy for Grindel. We must therefore give the President sustained support in this task. I thought it was much easier to reach the semifinals of the World Cup than to win the European Championship. But if that does not happen in our favor, then we have lost everyone, not just the president.

Turkey proposes a fifth European football championship. How does it play a role?

Twenty: There are certainly reasons to vote for Turkey, it is a football country and there is no need to buy a national team like Qatar. This compbadionate factor of previous unsuccessful demands is certainly not completely erased in the minds of the members of the Executive Committee. Only with posters and brochures this championship of Europe will not be available. I cross my fingers for Mr Grindel in this very difficult task and hope that he and all the German football fans will be successful.

Personal data: Theo Zwanziger (73 years old) was president of the German Football Association from 2004 to 2012. In the case of the 2006 World Cup, he is accused of evasion tax. Zwanziger denies allegations

Profile Zwanziger on the homepage of the DFB

Information about the presidents of the DFB on the home page of the badociation

Profile Özil on the welcome page of the DFB