"An embarrassment for us"

Heated exchange! Hoeneß attacks Klopp and the DFB

Uli Hoeneß (left) criticized Jürgen Klopp and the DFB.(Bild: Krone KREATIV/APA/AFP/Alexandra BEIER, APA/Getty Images via AFP/GETTY IMAGES/ALEXANDER HASSENSTEIN)

Following the disappointing World Cup, Uli Hoeneß settled scores with the German Football Association (DFB), prompting a sharp response. The Bayern honorary president warns against overly high expectations surrounding the new national team coach, Jürgen Klopp, criticizes Klopp’s advisor, Marc Kosicke, and calls for fundamental changes at the DFB. DFB Vice President Ralph-Uwe Schaffert responds forcefully.

Fundamentally, Hoeneß thinks highly of Klopp. “Personally, I consider Jürgen Klopp a very good coach—truly a very good coach,” the 74-year-old said in an interview with RTL/Sky. However, he isn’t impressed by the euphoria surrounding the former Liverpool coach.

“He’s already being given a status as if he could walk on water. He can’t change everything just by laying his hands on things,” Hoeneß warned. Klopp will work hard and bring about many changes, but he needs time to do so. “Above all, you shouldn’t believe that he’s the Messiah.”

“Friendly takeover” at the DFB?
What particularly irks Hoeneß is the role of Klopp’s longtime advisor, Marc Kosicke, who is set to serve as assistant coach for strategy, development, and innovation at the DFB. “What I don’t like about this whole situation is that his advisor, Marc Kosicke, was brought in as part of the deal. I don’t know exactly what he’s supposed to do there. I think that’s a problem,” criticized the longtime Bayern executive. Hoeneß went even further: “The whole thing strikes me as a ‘friendly takeover.’ Klopp and Co. have taken over the DFB, and I think that’s wrong.”

DFB Coach Jürgen Klopp(Bild: EPA/Hannes Albert)

The Bayern honorary president also believes the association’s structures need to be scrutinized. Above all, youth development must once again take center stage. Hoeneß welcomes the fact that World Cup champion Per Mertesacker, who headed Arsenal FC’s academy for years, is set to take on more responsibility in the future. “If he can’t do it, who else can?”

Hoeneß also calls for the national teams to be spun off from the federation and managed as a separate entity. “It can’t be right that state leaders should decide who becomes the national team coach. They don’t have a clue about it,” he thundered. Soccer has become so professional, he said, that even the key positions must be filled by professionals.

“An embarrassment for our country”
Hoeneß also had harsh words for the German national team following the 2026 World Cup. “I think our team’s performance was an absolute disaster. It was an embarrassment for our country.” However, he does not want to place the blame solely on the now-replaced head coach, Julian Nagelsmann. Although Germany no longer possesses the individual quality of earlier years, much more should have been possible. Hoeneß cited Argentina as a comparison: “They don’t have a good team, but they gave it their all like crazy. That’s what I missed from our team.”

Above all, a lack of well-rehearsed plays proved to be Germany’s downfall. “We didn’t have a well-coordinated team. Everything was all over the place; we kept trying something new. That’s the job of the preseason, not the World Cup.”

DFB Fires Back at Hoeneß
The statements did not go over well at all with the federation. DFB Vice President Ralph-Uwe Schaffert responded to a question from RTL with a sharp retort. “Uli Hoeneß’s recent comments on the hiring of Jürgen Klopp clearly show that Mr. Hoeneß is unfamiliar with both the structure and the decision-making processes of the DFB,” Schaffert explained. The national teams have been part of DFB GmbH & Co. KG for years. There, Managing Director of Sports Andreas Rettig—who will be succeeded by Per Mertesacker on January 1, 2027—and Rudi Völler are responsible for the men’s national team.

“These individuals certainly cannot be seriously accused of not being professionals in the soccer business,” Schaffert countered. The same applies to the supervisory board members Alexander Wehrle (VfB Stuttgart), Hans-Joachim Watzke (Borussia Dortmund), Oliver Leki (SC Freiburg), Oke Göttlich (FC St. Pauli), and Steffen Schneekloth (Holstein Kiel). “The suggestion that decisions are made by ‘regional princes’ therefore also misses the mark.”

“It wouldn’t hurt to educate oneself”
Schaffert also did not leave Hoeneß’s criticism of Kosicke unanswered. “Insofar as Mr. Hoeneß criticizes the signing of Marc Kosicke’s contract by citing his ownership stake in an agency, he seems to have overlooked the fact that Mr. Kosicke had already sold that stake. Kosicke’s appointment was carefully deliberated by the supervisory board and subsequently approved.”

He concluded with a jab at the Bayern boss: “Sometimes it wouldn’t hurt to familiarize oneself with the facts before commenting on an issue—whether critically or even disparagingly.” Hoeneß’s broadside against Klopp and the DFB has thus quickly turned into a fierce exchange of blows.