'Of course, the goal in the final against the Czechs was indescribable but, as far as the match itself is concerned, the success over England in the semi-final of the European championship in 1996 cannot be outdone. The atmosphere was unique', said Bierhoff who once played in Italy and acts as manager of the DFB-team since summer 2004 very successfully.

The DFB-president Dr. Theo Zwanziger considers Bierhoff as 'stroke of luck for the German football', and national coach Joachim Löw adds: 'It was a very important decision to take him on. The national team is not only a team but also a company which needs to be managed.' Bierhoff, who was appointed to the managing board of the German Football Association (DFB) past year, together with sporting director Matthias Sammer, acts as link between the team, the coaches and the association. Furthermore, Bierhoff who speaks Italian and English fluently, is maintaining the contacts to the sponsors and is godfather to the fan club of the national team.

Bierhoff started his professional career in Bayer Uerdingen. Further stages were the Hamburger SV, Borussia Mönchengladbach, Austria Salzburg, Ascoli Calcio, Udinese Calcio, AC Mailand and AS Monaco, before ending his active football career in 2003 at Chievo Verona. In 1998, the former skipper, who also successfully finished his studies at the distance teaching university in Hagen as graduate in business studies, was awarded footballer of the year in Germany. One year later, he won the 'scudetto', the Italian championship, with the AC Mailand. In the German national team, the present manager played exactly 70 matches between 1996 and 2002 and scored 37 goals.