Oliver Bierhoff is a very busy man. He is a husband and author and his day job as Germany's national team sporting director is by no means a relaxing occupation. Nonetheless, Bierhoff recently accepted the further responsibility of project leader for the DFB Academy. The partnership has been set to last until 2020, for now.
The DFB Academy and Bierhoff already have a history. Back in 2009 Bierhoff took the initiative and convinced the German Football Association of the need to bundle their resources at the top of the organisation, in order to maintain a long-term consistency. "Frankfurt would be an ideal location. I see it as a centre of excellence, a headquarters for professionals, youth teams, referees, scouts and managers," Bierhoff explained five years ago.
Today, DFB General Secretary Sandrock praised Bierhoff as the "father of the project" due to his adamant support right from the start. DFB President Wolfgang Niersbach is convinced that Bierhoff is the right man for the Academy job. "The DFB will continue to do everything within its power to provide Germany's best football players with the best conditions," Niersbach explained on Friday. "The DFB Academy will work from the same principle and it's a great advantage for us to have someone like Oliver Bierhoff in charge. His economic background, his organisational talent and his experience with the DFB and the people in charge make him a perfect match. Oliver has already created lasting structures in our national team and he will also become the Academy's architect."
Oliver Bierhoff: "I deeply support this project"
The Academy will bring several advantages, such as direct communication, exchange of knowledge and the combining of expertise on all levels. The DFB Academy will not only offer coaching education, referees will also be taught in Frankfurt in the near future, as well as research projects and qualifications for Bundesliga managers, courses for national teams prior to away games and scouting. Frankfurt and its citizens will also benefit in many ways. The DFB and its Academy are important for the city's image and a new park will be constructed alongside the Academy.
Bierhoff will not only be in charge of the construction of the Academy, but also for its commissioning. A task which he approaches with lots of enthusiasm: "I deeply support this project," he said. "The entire football family is behind this. I'm really looking forward to it and I'm proud that the DFB has given me the responsibility for this project. It's a challenging task for me and I have plenty of respect for it. It's a massive project and we need all the resources and the knowhow of the DFB. The working collaboration with Helmut Sandrock and Hansi Flick in recent months on this project has already been excellent."
Bierhoff acknowledges his busy schedule, but doesn’t regard it as a problem. And he will certainly not start to neglect his duties as sporting director of Germany's national team. "I will of course continue to give my full dedication and commitment towards my function as the national team sporting director," confirms Bierhoff. "We have an excellent team behind the actual team, where everyone is an expert in their field of knowledge." The same is intended for the new project, the DFB Academy.