After dismissing coach Hansi Flick, the hosts of Euro 2024 in Germany have turned to Rudi Voeller to get the squad back on track before Tuesday’s friendly match against France.
After his team lost 4-1 to Japan in Wolfsburg on Saturday, Flick was fired, becoming the first German coach in history. This setback was the latest in a string of defeats for Flick’s team, which also includes a group-stage departure from the World Cup in Qatar last year.
For the friendly matchup in Dortmund against eventual World Cup champions France, the German Football Association (DFB) has resorted to 1990 World Cup winner Voeller.
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While restoring pride and stability to the floundering team will be Voeller’s top priority, his larger goal is to turn things around in time for the home European Championship the following year.
After Germany’s catastrophic group stage elimination from Euro 2000, Voeller, who served as the DFB’s sporting director and was a member of the Flick setup, was also hired on an interim basis.
At the 2002 World Cup, he led the team all the way to the final until Brazil defeated them 2-0, but 63-year-old Voeller claimed on Sunday that he would not be in charge for very long this time.
“The most urgent task is to hire a national coach who will quickly get the team back on track and prepare us for the big European Championships next year,” Voeller said.
He said the sacking was “not an easy moment for me… I joined in February to support Hansi Flick so that he could be successful.”
“I firmly believed that as a national coach he could manage to get our team back on track.”
Hannes Wolf, the manager of the Under-20s, and Sandro Wagner, a former Bayern striker, will be Voeller’s assistants.
There have been a number of contenders named to fill the role permanently, but the front-runner is thought to be Julian Nagelsmann, who took over for Flick at Bayern Munich before being fired in March.
Matthias Sammer, who won the Bundesliga as Borussia Dortmund coach in 2002, and Oliver Glasner, who led Eintracht Frankfurt to their first European championship in 40 years, have both been suggested.
Voeller will need to begin by establishing some defensive solidity for the struggling team.
Germany has lost all five of its games while allowing 13 goals.
France will be salivating at the space Germany provided Japan on Saturday, led by a front line that may comprise the attacking potency of Kylian Mbappe, Antoine Griezmann, Randal Kolo Muani, Marcus Thuram, and Kingsley Coman.
Contrary to Germany, Didier Deschamps’ team is soaring, having won five straight Euro 2024 qualification games without giving up a goal.