Sammer Critiques Bierhoff: Leadership Issues in German Football

Matthias Sammer has launched a sharp counter-attack on Oliver Bierhoff in the ongoing debate over leadership and personalities in the German national team, accusing the long-time DFB manager of helping create exactly the problem he now laments.

Bierhoff had recently told kicker that the current Germany side lacked experienced leaders and “outstanding personalities with great individual strengths”. For Sammer, that criticism rings hollow.

Speaking on Sky, the 1996 European champion pointed straight back at Bierhoff’s own tenure. “It wasn't long ago that he was also saying we need flat hierarchies in Germany,” Sammer remarked, clearly unimpressed by the change of tune.

Sammer stressed that he has always believed in a mix of “leaders, team players and individualists” in any successful squad. The idea that everyone should be treated identically, he argued, has directly contributed to the current void of strong characters.

“If you want to treat them all the same, in the dressing room, on the pitch, then we shouldn't be complaining today or saying we are missing a few characters,” he said.

Bierhoff, who steered the national team setup from 2004 to 2022, cannot simply step aside from responsibility now, Sammer insisted. “As the man in charge from 2004 to 2022, Bierhoff must be held accountable for that to some extent,” he said.

Sammer recalled his own early days inside the DFB. “I came into the association in 2006 and in 2007 I asked myself the question: something isn't right here. Just that, not right or wrong. And then people asked me, why? I say, we're all the same.”

He painted a vivid contrast between the atmosphere he found and what he believes elite sport demands.

“They're all lovely and nice and that's great, but we're not at a pony farm here. This is elite sport, things get rough at times. It has to kick off in training sometimes, it has to kick off in the dressing room sometimes.”

For Sammer, the concept of flat hierarchies in top-level football has been disastrous. He called the talk of levelling out structures in elite teams “one of the biggest mistakes” ever made and summed it up bluntly: “It's a catastrophe.”

“Mega guy” Klopp electrifies Germany’s newcomers

While the debate over leadership rumbles on, Jürgen Klopp has wasted no time putting his stamp on the new-look Germany camp – and the fresh faces are already captivated.

“You feel like you'd walk through fire for him,” said Philipp Treu at the DFB base in Herzogenaurach. The Freiburg defender described the new national coach simply as “a mega guy”.

Klopp has opened the door wide for debutants ahead of Thursday’s Nations League opener in the Netherlands (8.45pm). Alongside Treu, Bambase Conte, Yannik Engelhardt, Max Rosenfelder, Hennes Behrens and Younes Ebnoutalib are all in camp as the DFB works with partner adidas.

Ebnoutalib spelled out the core demand Klopp has made of his players. “That we represent the German national team with pride,” the Frankfurt man said before Tuesday afternoon’s session. “That we step up, that even when things aren't going well, we give everything.”

The winger had a choice to make. He could have opted for Morocco at international level. He did not hesitate once Klopp entered the picture. “When Klopp calls, you have to go. He is one of the best coaches in the world, there is definitely positive energy.”

Rosenfelder, also from Freiburg, echoed that sense of aura around the new boss. Klopp brings “a lot of charisma”, the centre-back said. “Of course you have huge respect, but in conversations he is very nice, very likeable and makes you feel involved.”

For now, Rosenfelder is in sponge mode. In his first days with the DFB squad he wants to “take in everything. I'm just really up for it.”

On the right side of defence, Treu sees an opening and intends to attack it. “I want to show who I am,” he said, naming Philipp Lahm as his role model. “You can always rely on me,” Treu promised. If the chance comes, he wants to “leave my heart on the pitch and always give it everything.”

Sammer backs Klopp – with a warning

The criticism of Bierhoff did not stop Sammer from expressing real optimism about Klopp’s impact on the national team. Quite the opposite. He believes the 57-year-old has arrived with a clear blueprint.

“I recognise that he has an absolute plan. You can always discuss his way of organising things, but it follows a plan,” Sammer said on “Sammer & Basile – der Hagedorn-Talk” on Sky.

His biggest hope is that Klopp’s Germany will restore something the country has been missing. “That this team gives us back an identity that we urgently need,” Sammer said.

After the World Cup debacle and the end of Julian Nagelsmann’s tenure, Klopp has taken over a side badly in need of direction. On Tuesday he leads his first full training session in Herzogenaurach. On Thursday night in Amsterdam, he steps out for the first time as Germany head coach against the Netherlands.

The excitement around him is enormous. Sammer feels it too – but he moved quickly to cool talk of instant salvation.

“He can't work miracles, rather it is always about making it understandable too – through his personality and his experience as a coach – that this may also need a bit of time,” he cautioned.

Klopp’s energy is already radiating through the camp. “He seems euphoric – already – and that affects the people and the team too,” Sammer noted. Then came the sober reminder that will hang over the coming months.

“At some point, euphoria alone won't get you anywhere.”