German football has ditched Oliver Bierhoff, but his long-term plans may still save it

The departing technical director began rebuilding German football long before the 2022 World Cup and his new plans may yet fix a broken system.

German football descended into full-blown crisis mode this week when the DFB (German FA) announced that they had parted ways with technical director Oliver Bierhoff. Having worked in one capacity or another with the German national team since 2004, the 54-year-old former pro departs German football after 18 years. If fans and critics alike demanded a blood sacrifice, someone of Bierhoff’s stature may quench that thirst. 

It’s unsure whether Bierhoff will be the only head to depart via the chopping board at the DFB or DFL (German league association), as internal and external factors squeeze both associations for answers after a second, successive failure at a World Cup. But, while it would never fly in the hot-headed flux of fans demanding answers in the immediate term, it is worth pointing out that German football has already plotted a new course for its future and begun laying the foundations for producing very different types of footballers in the coming years.