New boss: vague prospect of a new start at the DFB – but the string puller remains

WIf the DFB were a television series, it would have little prospect of high ratings: Actions that were far too exaggerated and artificial, plus violent intrigues between the protagonists in the leadership circle and constant changes of position in the executive committee – all of this would be dismissed by critics as a little credible plot and probably more likely instead recommend the struggle for power and influence depicted in “House of Cards” on a continuous loop. Unfortunately, the DFB is not a series, but the largest football association in the world and as such has been searching for years for an urgently needed image boost and an end to home-made quarrels.

Anyone who had hoped for a late turn for the better in the 122-year history of the German Football Association before the election of the 14th president recently faced renewed disappointment: the most recent phase was also characterized by a strange mudslinging at the top of the Association with 7.16 million members.

At this point, just a small selection of verbal insults that have dominated the public debate this week: There was talk of a “cracked fungus”, a “soccer mafia”, a “suicide mission” or “malicious spread untruths”. When the 262 delegates voted in Bonn on Friday morning, it seems that the only choice left was between plague and cholera.

Different candidates

But it may also be a good sign that, given the half-life of the past DFB bosses, two people have found themselves who want to lead this association into a better future: Bernd Neuendorf and Peter Peters are standing for election, with the career changer Neuendorf the far better chances are attributed. The former SPD State Secretary in the Family Ministry of North Rhine-Westphalia knows that the majority of the 21 state associations are behind him and at least stands for the vague prospect of a real new beginning.

Peters, on the other hand, is considered a candidate for the 36 professional clubs, but has not exactly acquired the best reputation as CFO at the struggling second division club FC Schalke 04 and in his function as DFB vice president. At Schalke, he was responsible for the controversial Gazprom deal and vehemently defended it in 2008 during the Caucasus War and in 2014 after the Russian annexation of Crimea. In the DFB he was part of a more than unfortunate management body for years.

In his public appearances, Peters, 59, made it clear “that he has no moral sports-political compass and that he has no ability for self-reflection,” said Andreas Rettig in the “Frankfurter Rundschau”. That “someone who has been more or less involved in all DFB decisions since 2007 is now acting as if he had nothing to do with it and now wants to stand for a new start as a presidential candidate – with all due respect: I can only shake my head at that.” , said the former managing director of the German Football League (DFL).

Neuendorf, 60, on the other hand, according to many experts, still has a completely unused official career. He has only been president of the Mittelrhein Association since 2019, and now he is aiming for the highest office, which has recently developed into a real ejection seat: the three DFB presidents since Theo Zwanziger left office had been in office for just nine years. “In the DFB, people have been thinking about themselves for far too long, we’re putting football back in focus,” says Neuendorf about his ambitions and those of his team, which also includes Célia Sasic. The ex-national player is to take over the newly created position of Vice President Diversity and Diversity.

Whoever the election will fall on Friday – one of the crucial questions in the struggle for credibility and lost credit at the grassroots will be how the new boss at the top will work with someone who has survived every crisis in the DFB unscathed: Rainer A cook. The head of the Bavarian Association and the South German Regional Association will probably be on board again as Vice President of the newly elected body.

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DFB – Fritz Keller exclusively

The three ex-presidents Fritz Keller, Reinhard Grindel and Theo Zwanziger recommended that the delegates end “the Koch system” – and Keller even described his former colleague as a “crack”. But the warning should go unheeded. Koch is considered to be well connected and a shrewd string puller in the background. He confidently countered the accusation of the resigned trio in the best official speech: “These are general, defamatory statements without any facts and any substance. For a long time I have been targeted with maliciously spread falsehoods.”

“Home of Soccer Mafia”

Koch, who has led the DFB interimly with Peters since Keller’s departure in May 2021, has to put up with the accusation that he was always among those responsible during the association’s biggest crisis. At the weekend, unknown persons daubed graffiti on the association’s headquarters in Frankfurt/Main: “Home of the football mafia” and “Koch raus” were clearly visible next to the DFB logo. Apparently, this is not just the opinion of a few radicals, but is now a widespread consensus among many German football fans.

Because within the DFB the possibly “bought” 2006 World Cup has still not been clarified, and proceedings are pending on suspicion of breach of trust and tax evasion of income from perimeter advertising and taxation of donations from sponsor Adidas. So you have to bring a certain masochism with you if you want to take over this association at this time. “I think the image effect is devastating,” said Holger Stahlknecht on “Deutschlandfunk”. “It’s almost like a suicide mission when you apply for this office,” said the President of the Saxony-Anhalt Football Association.

As a sign of departure, the inclined viewer might have wished for a woman at the top. But the alliance “Football can do more” led by former HSV board member Katja Kraus did not even put up a candidate in the run-up to the election – apparently due to the complete lack of a chance among the delegates.

Together with the co-initiators, the national goalkeeper Almuth Schult and the former top referee Bibiana Steinhaus-Webb, Kraus now wants to found at least one non-profit limited company to push diversity issues and strengthen the role of women in football.