Bierhoff: “The players know they will not have a vacation”

The director of the German Football Federation (DFB), Oliver Bierhoff, stressed this Sunday that sees no alternative to supply the controversial restart of the national team after the forced pause due to the coronavirus crisis. “There are many contractual obligations to the partners,” Bierhoff replied in relation to the match schedule published by UEFA.

The German team led by Joachim Löw will play against Spain on September 3 and three days later they will play the new League of Nations in Switzerland.

The Bayern Munich coach, Hansi Flick, and the president of the board of directors of the champion of the Bundesliga, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, They stated that scheduling with Champions League matches until August 23 is very problematic and they consider that later the players will need a vacation.

In principle, Bierhoff agrees with Flick and Rummenigge. “The tension will be very high, we are all aware of this,” said the director of the DFB on the 'Doppelpass' program on the Sport1 radio station.

“But we also must and want to play matches,” said Bierhoff, stressing that the young national team needs to continue developing with a view to the Euro Cup, which has been postponed to the summer of 2021. “The players are aware that they will not have a summer vacation and probably neither a winter vacation. In addition there are also economic limitations, “he stressed.

Likewise, He explained that at the moment he does not see alternatives for the three dates of October and November, whichThey include two more games in the Nations League and friendlies. “In theory you have to play them because the friendlies have also been sold to UEFA,” said the former German player. The DFB raises around ten million euros on television from an international match. The 'Mannschaft' is the main source of income for the German Football Federation.

In another vein, Bierhoff said that at the moment he sees no possibility of a return of former world champions Thomas Müller, Mats Hummels and Jérôme Boateng to the German team. soccer. “I am delighted that they are playing so well,” he said.

The manager assured that Löw's decision to dispense with his old pillars in the selection after the failed 2018 World Cup and the unsatisfactory restart was not easy. In his opinion, the coach deliberately wanted to set an example for young players. “I don't think Jogi (Löw) will change his mind tomorrow,” he reflected.

During the interview on 'Doppelpass', the director of national teams stressed that as a coach many times it is not only necessary to gather the best players in view of the general constellation, but also the “most important for the team”. And the development of the young DFB team has shown that this “has paid off,” he added.

Bierhoff confirmed that at the 2018 World Cup in Russia there was a conflict between young people who had previously successfully played the Confederations Cup and a series of players who have long established themselves in the national team. “Then we became aware that space had to be made. But this is not achieved if you keep filling it with these same personalities over and over again,” he said.

However, dispensing with Müller, Boateng and Hummels is not definitive. “We should have said it better,” Bierhoff admitted, adding that it will depend on the situation next summer.