Right after Germany ended its way to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar already in the group stage, after only managing to beat the weak Costa Rica and actually being kicked out of the World Cup by Japan, former star and professional manager Oliver Bierhoff made it clear that he has no intention of leaving the German association and the national team. This evening (Monday) the announcement of the termination of his position was officially issued – according to him by mutual consent, according to the German media it is his dismissal.
“After 18 years in various positions in the German association, I resigned from my position in the national team and in the academy. This was done in agreement with the president of the association and I am now embarking on a new path. It was intense, exciting and I learned a lot. We had great successes, we faced crises and my job was to take care of the joint work and I want To thank everyone who supported me and helped me. I’m proud of what we achieved together and it was a privilege for me to be a part of it,” Bierhoff said and clarified that he resigned, contrary to the early publications of his announcement.
Bierhoff joined the Mannschaft team as early as 2004 and was one of the people responsible for the German team reaching the semi-finals of the World Cup in 2006 and 2010 and of course winning in 2014, but the recent failures led to the decision to end the contract itself – just two years before Germany will host the European Championship and accordingly also Two years before his contract was supposed to end.
As you know, Germany was eliminated from the World Cup for the second time in a row already in the group stage. In the last month, it lost 2:1 to Japan, finished 1:1 against Spain and although it beat Costa Rica 2:4 in the final round, it was eliminated due to its shaky goal difference compared to that of Spain. The criticism against Bierhoff was particularly harsh and he was in the spotlight even more than the coach Hanzi Flick, who was only appointed last year. Therefore, Flick, who was Joachim Lev’s assistant during Germany’s golden years from 2006 to 2014, should remain the coach at least until Euro 2024.
Bierhoff as a player was one of the stars of the Mannschaft that won the European Championship in 1996 – he was actually its big hero when he scored a brace in the final match against the Czech Republic, including a golden goal that decided the match in the 95th minute. The turnaround in Germany as a professional manager in 2004 began with the bringing in of coach Jürgen Klinsmann and then the appointment of Joachim Lev, who held the position for 15 years.