The man who sold the football

Munich Victory has many fathers, but defeat is an orphan – according to this motto, someone had to be found responsible for the latest fiasco in German football. It’s Oliver Bierhoff, 54, the controversial manager of the national team. After 18 years of service, he suddenly terminated his contract with the German Football Association (DFB), which ran until 2024.

While the world championship show financed by the gas sheikhs continues in Qatar, the work-up is ongoing in Germany. This mourning work has now been given a face: that of the polyglot, somewhat slippery organizer in the background.

The fact that the national team made a fool of themselves at the 2018 World Cup in Russia and at the 2022 Golf Championships with the preliminary round, and in between 2021 already got out of the round of 16 at the European Championships, is simply too much for a nation that between 2006 and 2016 passionately celebrated performances on the green lawn with open-air parties and little black, red and gold car flags.