Not everyone reacts enthusiastically to the appointment of the new DFB managing director Andreas Rettig. Bayern boss Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and RB supervisory board Oliver Mintzlaff are withdrawing from a task force. The DFB then rebuked Bayern and called for a coalition for football.
Recently in the “Süddeutsche Zeitung” we read about the end of the DFB era. Hansi Flick’s expulsion ended the “epoch of the southwest German ruling dynasty in the national team,” the newspaper wrote a few days later “Spiegel” announced the “Middle Rhine Era” after the appointment of 60-year-old Andreas Rettig as the new DFB managing director. Rettig and DFB President Bernd Neuendorf know each other from there. This turning point caused unrest at the weekend. The East and South felt uninformed about this.
Oliver Mintzlaff, the supervisory board of RB Leipzig, and Bayern boss Karl-Heinz Rummenigge withdrew from a task force that very few people knew had even made any decisions – and which no longer exists. On Monday, DFB President Bernd Neuendorf announced the dissolution of the task force, which had been on everyone’s lips for the last time the day before.
Rummenigge’s move was a high-profile step before the introduction of the new managing director Rettig – a combative character who was rarely in line with professional football, which screams for “money, money, money, no matter what the conditions” and yet comes from his center. Rettig has held a variety of positions in football for 40 years. He saw factory clubs and neighborhood clubs, he was in the DFL and in the third division. He knows football and knows what he has gotten himself into.
We are in a crisis,” said Rettig this Monday in Frankfurt: “The situation is as it appears. Economically challenging, sportingly difficult, but with bright spots.” For them Interim national coach Rudi Völler was the association’s biggest problem child last week with a 2-1 win over the national team.
Rummenigge’s brutal retreat
A ray of hope, but one that was almost forgotten after less than a week due to the withdrawal of Rummenigge and Mintzlaff and the search for a successor. The insulted Bayern boss in particular attracted attention. “I realized that I wasn’t necessarily FC Bayern’s preferred candidate,” said Rettig on Monday, who was clearly trying to find a balance. Even before the announcement, knowing about the strained relationship, he sought contact with Bayern grandees Uli Hoeneß and Karl-Heinz Rummenigge. But they weren’t available to him and apparently weren’t particularly interested in an exchange anyway. “I haven’t reached either of them. I spoke to Mr. Hoeneß on the voicemail and wrote a text message to Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and received no response.”
Rummenigge preferred to announce his withdrawal from the DFB task force on Sunday. He was not contacted in advance and was not included in the decision-making process. Multifunctional Oliver Mintzlaff, who also felt taken by surprise, also went with him. “We learned from the media about the installation of Andreas Rettig as Sports Director of the DFB, a very sensitive personality and a decision worth discussing. On this basis, trusting cooperation is not possible,” said Rummenigge in a hastily published statement. If Rettig did not start his term in office with a colossal lie (which cannot be assumed), Rummenigge would only have had to answer the phone or respond to a text message.
Neuendorf reprimands Rummenigge and Mintzlaff
In any case, the DFB may no longer see FC Bayern as the sole decision maker these days, but still sees it as the “most important club in the country”. A flattery from the new managing director, who has repeatedly campaigned for a coalition for German football, in which the professional sector should also take part. “We need the league as a whole,” said Rettig: “It’s about everyone getting along. We can’t lose any protagonists.” Not even FC Bayern Munich. “It’s no use dividing ourselves apart.”
DFB President Bernd Neuendorf was also clearly trying to de-escalate the situation. He even reached out to Rummenigge and agreed to remain in dialogue in the future. He has even already arranged a meeting with Oliver Mintzlaff. “I spoke to both of them on the phone for a long time. We certainly have a difference here, but we shouldn’t let any fronts arise out of it,” said the DFB president with the iconic glasses. “The task force was always only an advisory body and never had decision-making authority.” Especially not when appointing a managing director.
After the end of the “epoch of the southwest German ruling dynasty” and the beginning of the “Middle Rhine Era”, the DFB is now holding the great FC Bayern accountable like rarely before. Recognizing their importance for German football, the association deprives Bayern of their special position and subordinates them to the league. A remarkable development.
Herculean task for Rettig
The DFL has been advertising with the face of a Sauerlander for some time. Hans-Joachim Watzke has achieved astonishing levels of power in German football over the past few years. As the DFB vice-president responsible for the professional sector, he is Neuendorf’s contact person and approved Rettig’s decision – even though the BVB managing director has repeatedly represented opposing positions to Rettig in the past. “Nevertheless, we never lost the thread of conversation,” said Watzke in a press release. He was not to be found on the podium this Monday. Neither does Rudi Völler, who is supposed to drive the search for a new national coach.
A trimmed-down FC Bayern Munich, an association without a national coach, a new managing director who is already causing unrest with his appointment, but who is not afraid to call a crisis a crisis. Nevertheless, in September 2023 the DFB will actually spread something of a spirit of optimism, and not just through the Rettig personnel.
“We are always expected to have courage and courage. Andreas convinces with passion. For me, he represents a change of perspective that is wanted,” said Neuendorf. The crisis-plagued association finally wants to turn things around and no longer allow its conditions to be dictated from outside. This doesn’t have to go well. The coalition for German football is still as fragile as the traffic lights. But it is at least the beginning of a long road. Where the critics from the left-behind provinces are just lurking in the darkness for the next misstep. DFB President Neuendorf has increased his profile with his decision and DFB Managing Director Rettig faces a huge task.