DFB Managing Director Rettig: Big cleanup

bSome languages ​​might interpret this sentence differently: “There is no danger of anything falling into ruins and ashes.” what the DFB had in the recent past, the idea was to add: this has been done for a long time.

But that’s not what Rettig meant. He wanted to answer a question that was aimed at his desire for opinions and communication as an old traveler in the football industry, saying that something new had just been created at the DFB: a campus in which the 60-year-old footballer was presented on Monday in as the new sports director and in which he had also spent the night before – cost-neutral, as he noted, because he “could not preach water and drink wine.”

This says little about the conditions under which Rettig holds his position, which according to the organizational structure should be primarily administrative, while decisions on sporting direction at the level of the newly appointed director should be subordinate to him: Rudi Völler as a man of the men’s national team, Hannes Wolf as a specialist in young talent, training and development, and has yet to fill a vacancy in the women’s national team.

“He’s taller than me”

What does this mean in concrete terms when it comes to the most exciting issue of the future today – the choice of a new national team coach? Firstly: that Rettig will remain aloof from the decision-making process, since Völler is “in the lead”, and not only in the organizational chart, but also in the level of specialists, “in this he surpasses me.” ” In general, Rettig raved about Völler as if he were a “role model” for German football, which had nothing to do with him wanting to keep him in office longer and in the dignity of national coach – but definitely wanted to keep him. served as sports director.

And secondly: as soon as the candidate discussions, which according to President Bernd Neuendorf have begun at the DFB, move on to the contract, Rettig will of course be involved – as the one who signs the document. But Rettig said he “couldn’t imagine” that he would ultimately fail because of finances rather than the most important job German football has to offer. Wait and see if the other party feels the same way.

Until the press conference got to this point on Monday, Rettig had been busy not with demolition work, but with all kinds of cleanup work. This became necessary after Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and Oliver Mintzlaff noisily quit the German football working group on Sunday, and this had to be understood not only as a reaction to a lack of information flow, but also to a lack of trust in Rettig as a person.

President Neuendorf first tried to clarify that the task force created in December and now buried after the double resignation was an advisory body that was not involved in reorganizing Oliver Bierhoff’s former line of business. This is technically correct, but still led to the (stylistic) question of whether the DFB should have informed two such heavyweights in the league in advance.

The way Rettig reported the failed attempt to make contact on Friday morning didn’t sound like the sender was extremely urgent, but it didn’t look like the recipient was jumping for joy either: “I spoke to Mr. Hoeneß on the mailbox and texted Karl “Heinz Rummenigge, I didn’t receive an answer.”

Not only overcoming the radio silence, but also the underlying fears towards him in some parts of the league establishment will be Rettig’s priority, even if his appointment was unanimous on Friday with a contract until December 31, 2026 and therefore also confirmed by league officials. he emphasized. They included another Alpha official, Hans-Joachim Watzke, who is not exactly known to be a friend of Rettig. After a personal conversation, he also gave his blessing.

Rettig said he wanted to approach everyone “openly” – and conversely, “everyone who wishes well for German football should get along.” Whether this succeeds will be important, not least for Neuendorf, who is also taking personal risks with Rettig. “To me, this represents the change in perspective that we want,” the president said. His player scored at least with a shot towards Munich. In his message, Rummenigge mentioned the spirit and influence of the 2000 task force – Rettig now recalled with a smile how he said that at that time he was given responsibility for the (later so successful) reform of the productivity centers; In fact, Rettig is considered to have an exceptional track record in the field of teaching.

He emphasized the fact that in other respects he is also a grassroots man for whom values ​​are more than just something monetary with a policy proposal: “We must see that we not only reach wallets, but also evil tongues one might say that this is a deliberate borrowing of the rhetoric of Oliver Bierhoff, but Rettig, of course, will deny this. But what could be said without contradiction was that his cleanup work, despite the serious situation, was carried out with humor.