Bierhoff seeks realism post World Cup victory

Germany team manager Oliver Bierhoff has delivered a warning to the current World Cup holders. "We cannot make the same mistake that was made after 1990," said Bierhoff speaking to Sky Sports at the international head coach congress in Wolfsburg on Monday.

Bierhoff was referring to Germany's triumph in Italy, 25 years ago. "We won the World Cup, East Germany opened, we got a lot of good players and Franz Beckenbauer said we would be invincible for years to come. We believed that for ten years long and then we woke up and realized many teams had surpassed us," said Bierhoff. For that very reason, Bierhoff was delighted that Germany's academy project was underway during this period of success.

Outside of the first team though, Germany has not enjoyed as much success. At the U20 World Cup, Germany was knocked out in quarterfinals. The U19s exited the European Championships in the first round, while the U21s fell at the semifinal hurdle in their edition of the same tournament. The last chance for a title this year lies with the U17s, who after losing in the European Championship final to France in May of this year, have the chance to go one better at the U17 World Cup in Chile later this year (October 17 - November 8).

More ruthless Germany ahead?

"Perhaps the pressure was a little too great," said Germany's Sporting Director Hansi Flick, who also labeled the criticism surrounding the poor performances of Germany's youth teams as typically German. "We were at all five UEFA and FIFA tournaments this year. That is a huge success," said Flick, who added they weren't happy with the performance and will analyze what went wrong.

"We want to encourage enjoyment. We want the players to measure themselves against the best and to think positively," said Flick, who added the key was to work on the technical-tactical stability and a cognitive mental stability. "When it comes to efficiency, there is work to be done."

Bierhoff also had his focus points, highlighting two aspects he felt were overused in recent years. "For one, the measures around team tactics. The individual and individual coaching was lost. Secondly, we put a lot of focus on fun and now we have a lot of footballers who perhaps lack sincerity because they are too playful." This is not something that will change over night, added Bierhoff, but would improve in the foreseeable future.

A number nine in his playing days, Bierhoff also believes the role of the classic striker will return. "Players who score goals will always be needed," said the former Germany striker. "Recently, we've focused on technical ability, on small and nimble players. That's why the classic striker role has been lost a bit. But I am convinced this development will return."

jh/asz (SID)