Bierhoff spills the beans: Flick wanted to quit
After the 2022 World Cup disaster, Oliver Bierhoff has to resign from his post at the DFB. One person in particular has a problem with this: national coach Hansi Flick. He is threatening not to continue without his superior, Bierhoff explains in a podcast. However, he is still a little worried about the mood at the European Championship.
After the 2022 World Cup disaster in Qatar, national coach Hansi Flick allegedly wanted to threaten to resign out of anger at the departure of his confidant Oliver Bierhoff. Bierhoff, who had to give up his post as director of national teams at the time, reported this in the "Spielmacher" podcast.
Flick allegedly said to him: "Oliver, I'll fight it out, I'm saying this, I won't continue without you." Bierhoff, however, replied: "Hansi, it doesn't make sense, you have to carry on" - also with a view to the 2024 European Championship at home. Bierhoff admitted that he would not have been able to help Flick in his "weakened position" after the World Cup anyway.
"Hansi is a very clean character who is very loyal," Bierhoff said of the coach who was dismissed by the DFB in September. When Flick had given him the promise to take over as national coach as Joachim Löw's successor in 2021, he said: "Oliver, I'll do it - but you'll carry on? We'll do it together, you'll accompany me." Flick knew: "I could watch his back."
When Bierhoff had to leave after the unsuccessful World Cup, Flick let his anger show in a statement. "I really appreciated his statements, he was a bit of a conflict," said Bierhoff, "I saw it as a sign that he didn't agree with the situation. He wanted to make it clear what value I had for him and the DFB."
Bierhoff considers Flick's successor Julian Nagelsmann to be "absolutely" a good choice: "I would have hired him too." He laughingly put the chances of winning the European Championship title at "66 percent. I'm actually always a realist. But in soccer and with the national team, I'm an optimist." He has already bought two tickets for the opening match against Scotland in Munich on June 14: "I'm still a fan."
Bierhoff: "How much desire does Germany have?"
At the same time, he is worried about the mood in the country for the European Championship. There is unlikely to be any euphoria until then. "I'm more worried about: How much enthusiasm does Germany have? What will happen? I fear that due to the geopolitical situation in the world, with all its issues, there will be little euphoria until shortly before the European Championships," said Bierhoff.
"But once the ball starts rolling, the Germans will quickly become enthusiastic," said Bierhoff, who is banking on the German team's success. "I believe that a tournament like this can release energy. That things can develop within a team that are even more special at a European Championship on home soil. When you're far away from home, there's a greater risk of losing yourself. But in your own country, everyone pulls themselves together. The quality is there to go far in the tournament, to achieve everything." Bierhoff put the probability of Germany becoming European champions for the fourth time at "66 percent" despite their recent woeful performances.
The 55-year-old 1996 European champion is counting on the national team managing to arouse enthusiasm among the population at the tournament itself. "You have to give the fans hope and the belief that something can happen through such actions, through a great goal, through a good start, perhaps also through a first clear victory in the first game. Then this energy spreads. Then the joy comes. That is then also transferred to the team," said Bierhoff, whose contract with the DFB was terminated following the team's exit from the 2022 World Cup preliminary round. He has been advising the American football team of the New England Patriots from the NFL since October.
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Despite the challenging mood in the country leading up to the European Championship 2024, Bierhoff believes in the German team's potential to arouse enthusiasm and succeed, stating a probability of 66%. Hansi Flick had even said before his dismissal by the DFB that he would only continue as coach if Bierhoff remained with the team, expressing his confidence in Bierhoff's ability to support him. Furthermore, Bierhoff has no doubt in the skills of Julian Nagelsmann, Flick's successor, who he believes would have been an excellent choice as well.
Source: www.ntv.de
