Junior coach from Borussia Dortmund rumbles against the DFB

Mike Tullberg from Borussia Dortmund criticizes the DFB and the training structures in the youth field. “Germany is left behind internationally,” said the youth coach at BVB sports1 said: “We run after other nations.”

“The way the Bundesliga competition is divided up makes little sense,” said the BVB U19 coach, who has been unbeaten for 33 games: “We have 60 teams in the Bundesliga seasons and therefore far too few games at the same level. We have haven’t lost a league game since 2020.”

In their current form, the structures would not be conducive to competing with the best in Europe. “You can also see that in the performance of German teams in the Youth League,” said Tullberg: “There are reasons for that. We are not competitive internationally.”

However, he struggles with a proposed solution. “If the 20 best teams in Germany played against each other in home and away games, we would only have top games. The best teams from the seasons are currently playing in the semi-finals and finals for the championship,” explained the 37-year-old: “That’s more a cup competition. Don’t get me wrong, we also have to have games against teams that we think are weaker, that’s also part of development, but it’s not good in the long run.”

On Tuesday, his team will host Paris Saint-Germain in the round of 16 of the Youth League. In view of the problems in the German offspring, however, Tullberg is satisfied that he has come this far.