https://www.newindianexpress.com/sport/other/2026/Jul/02/hope-to-consistently-throw-around-87m-rohit-yadav-on-cwg-asiad-aspirationsCHENNAI: When Paraguayan defender Jose Canale slotted the winning penalty against Germany on Tuesday, June 30, it sent shockwaves across the world. The fact that Germany lost a penalty shootout in the World Cup for the first time was hard to fathom.
But for Die Mannschaft, it marked yet another early exit in the global showpiece. While they made it out of the group for the first time since winning the title in 2014, they could not progress further than the last 16. This campaign also marks another failed project, as head coach Julian Nagelsmann and sporting director Andreas Rettig have resigned from their respective roles.
The national federation, it seems, is at a crossroads, again. And it has seen nothing short of criticism. In a post on LinkedIn, Former Germany No 1 Oliver Kahn contended that the problems do not finish with the coaches, but go deep. Apart from questioning the players’ mentality in a high pressure situation like the penalty shootouts, the former goalkeeping great felt that grassroots in the country have failed to show the worth of being exceptional players. “A strong organization is not recognized by the fact that it is successful once, but by the fact that it produces exceptional performance time and time again. There, responsibility is not left to chance. There it is practiced, exemplified and made a habit.
“We admire top performance, but we are less and less willing to accept the price it demands. We want world class without maximum pressure if possible. Extraordinary results without sacrificing if possible. However, this does not create top performance,” he wrote.
While former Manchester United academy product and Zee5 expert Ashley Westwood echoes similar concerns, his primary argument is based on the strength of the country’s top-flight league – the Bundesliga. “ I just think the league is strong, but it's not strong right the way through every team. But it's tough because the best players want to go to the highest finance leagues and get the highest amount of money. So it's hard to retain your best players in your league when they have aspirations of earning more money, I suppose,” he told this daily in an interaction facilitated by Zee5, the official broadcaster of the tournament.
While only four from the starting XI play outside Germany, four of the seven Bundesliga players are from Bayern Munich, the team fancied to win the title without any major hiccups. “You have to look at the grassroots levels, the youth teams, the academies. It's just a big process. But of course, if you get the best money into the league, I think that's recently why the Bundesliga now is obviously investing and trying to sell the rights to get more money back into Germany to obviously keep investing into leagues and the grassroots to keep improving. But nothing's a quick fix. When you do have a shock exit at the World Cup, it just makes you sit back and reflect and see where they can improve,” the Englishman added.
As the federation continue with their soul-searching, it is clear that whoever takes over next as Germany head-coach, will have their task cut out.
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