Fifteen years ago, German football reached a nadir when, despite being heavily fancied to win the tournament, they were knocked out of Euro 2000 at the group stage without winning a single game. A year later, they suffered further embarrassment as England beat them 5-1 in Munich in World Cup qualifying.
The DFB took steps to rectify that situation, and the fruits of their long term planning were reaped last year when the Germans won the 2014 World Cup.
Of course, it was not all smooth sailing. Jurgen Klinsmann, now hailed for his role in the transformation of German football, was one game away from the sack before the 2006 World Cup, with the national body ready to abandon the “revolution” midway and go back to the old tried and tested, but a 4-1 win over the United States kept him in the job- his Mark Robins moment, one could say.
The book says that while the Bundesliga is not the biggest footballing league in Europe, it is certainly the most balanced, and therein lies the secret of their success.
Author Lee Price, who has also authored a book describing how he switched allegiances from Man Utd to Dagenham and Redbrige (how I turned my back on the Premier League), lists out the key factors for the success of the Bundesliga- the 50+1 rule in German football, which ensures that fans always keep control of their club, modest ticket pricing (you could get ten of Bayern’s cheapest season tickets of the price of Arsenal’s cheapest one!), heavy investments in their youth training system, while ensuring at the same time that students’ normal education does not suffer, and the emphasis placed on keeping clubs debt free.
It also contains the views of Michael Ballack, one of the few players to transcend both eras. Ballack and Sebastian Diesler were the only youngsters in Germany’s Euro 2000 squad. Ten years later at the World Cup, the likes of Ozil, Muller, Neuer, Boateng and Khedira were all below 25 in Die Mannschaft’s youthful squad.
The book is a nice, crisp read at around 180 pages, has been published by Bennion Kearny, and is available to purchase from Amazon UK for £9.99 (paperback)