The biggest problem is the ranks

football column

In his weekly column, fan researcher Harald Lang writes exclusively on Watson about the things currently driving football in Germany.

Fans know how the game goes: after the failure of the national team in the World Cup in Qatar, the German Football Association conducted a superficial investigation into the reasons and relied, in self-love style, on the football-obsessed public to calm it down. With a little cosmetic.

A task force made up of former footballing greats, Rudi Völler as the new sporting director, and the promise of being able to win fans back again through results should be the simple ingredients on the way to Euro 2024 in Germany.

However, the calculation was made without the fans. None of them are cheering right now, but many are whistling. After the 2-0 defeat against Colombia on Tuesday night, no one could ignore that. At home, at Schalke 04, in one of the most atmospheric football temples in the country. No sign of the house feature. on the contrary. The team is afraid.

EM 2024 is going to be a flop for everyone involved

First and foremost, players want to avoid making mistakes and this time preferred to go the supposedly safe route rather than play hard forward with the fans behind them. This is exactly what Captain Ilkay Gundogan sums up: “There’s a lot that comes together, but if you want to sum it up, it’s a lack of courage.”

Many experts’ impression: nothing works anymore, because the fans whistled at the team this time too. In the opinion of new sporting director Rudi Völler and other DFB bosses, they should do exactly the opposite and finally understand the great opportunity that emerging markets offer in their country.

But they don’t This is why Emerging Markets will not only be a failure for the German Football Association and passionate tournament director Philipp Lahm, but also for the sponsors and media partners involved. Championship without enthusiasm, without passion, and without a fabulous summer atmosphere.

Researcher admires Harald LangPhoto: University of Würzburg

Sports officials dive in and take their time, just as they have after bitter defeats in the last three major international tournaments since 2018. The next international isn’t due until September, and by then one of his PR consultants or staff will have come up with something conciliatory. .

Herein lies the problem: Upstairs in the DFB there is a lack of drive and willingness to take charge.

The German Football Association team has moved miles away from sporting values

If the DFB bosses are counting on home advantage and general footballing euphoria with the vision of Euro 2024, it would be advisable for them to finally start taking the fans and their interests seriously.

The apparent lack of courage and ideas of the DFB team is related to the lack of support from the spectators and fan base. This will not change the new coach or the expansion of the staff formed by Bernd Neuendorf and Hans-Joachim Watzke. Without the support and love of the fans, the team will continue to fall short and be afraid of making mistakes.

You can see real fans at the Veltins Arena when FC Schalke plays. Even if the team loses, and like last season, it must be relegated to the second division again.

A completely different philosophy applies to the national team: After July 13, 2014, with the World Cup title behind him, someone created a supposedly high-gloss product that in some parts departed from the honest values ​​of the sport. The hashtag #team was deactivated as a class a year ago. But the basic concept and arrogant self-image still characterize the actions of the team and those responsible for the DFB.

Exaggerated expectations for the DFB team

There is still very little room in this team’s milieu for criticism, relentless self-reflection, real characters, uncomfortable ID numbers, and closeness to the crowd. Instead, there’s the entirely commercialized national team fan club, animators who create a good vibe and atmosphere that might still convince one sponsor or another, but which fans can no longer identify with.

Why not finally change that? Why do you still rely on juvenile fans, even though you know full well that they only come and cheer when you win matches and titles.

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DFB supporters demand performance.Image: Imago Images/Sports Image Pack

That’s why the DFB mistook their coach for wanting to bring the fans back to the team through good results. It was clear that expectations would be unrealistically high and at the same time more and more disappointed from one international match to another.

I think the German Football Association should finally stop trying to focus primarily on the event crowd, and instead turn honestly and openly to those fans who really love football from the region to the Bundesliga. Go there and talk to the people at the base and gradually try to bring them back seriously and on an equal footing. aOtherwise, they will do nothing but whistle through the preliminary round in a year’s time.

In our latest study, in which we measured the country’s soccer mood, 4.5% of those surveyed predicted that the DFB team would reach the final in the European Championship and 10% of their opinion that Hanse’s sons would win the title. Pessimistic numbers will become historic after yesterday’s match, because they were collected before the final international stage. Our second study begins today and we ask: Will the DFB team qualify for the preliminary round next year?