The new DFB managing director Andreas Rettig reacted calmly to criticism, particularly from Karl-Heinz Rummenigge.
“I realized that I wasn’t necessarily FC Bayern’s preferred candidate,” said Rettig during his presentation to the German Football Association. “I know the strained relationship. We’ll need FC Bayern, it’s the most important club. It’s no use if we split up here.”
Before announcing his new position on Friday morning, he tried to contact “Mr Hoeneß and Mr Rummenigge”. It remains an attempt.
Rummenigge criticizes DFB decision
Rummenigge, a member of the supervisory board at Bayern, and Oliver Mintzlaff, chairman of the supervisory board of RB Leipzig, announced their resignation from the DFB task force on Sunday. The task force was not involved in important DFB decisions and in some cases was not even informed, criticized Rummenigge and explicitly named Rettig’s personnel.
DFB President Bernd Neuendorf emphasized on Monday that the task force never had the authority to make decisions, but was convened as an advisory body. He spoke to Mintzlaff and Rummenigge on the phone after their explanation. “The DFB is not a club,” said Neuendorf. “There was not once a desire in this committee to talk about the sports management.”
Völler is looking for national coach
Meanwhile, Rudi Völler has his hat on in the search for a new national coach. Neuendorf made that clear. Rettig also sees Völler as “in the lead” when it comes to the succession plan for Hansi Flick, as he emphasized.
“It’s about the content-related assessment of professional competence, in that respect he is superior to me, he was a world champion,” said Rettig about DFB sports director Völler, who reports to him via the organizational chart. “Modern management is not defined by hierarchy structures. It is always a competition for the best ideas in order to achieve the best solution,” Rettig made it clear; it is not about “who has more asterisks on their lapels.”