German Football Ten Years Behind, World Champion Doesn't Hold Back Criticism, Also Takes Aim at Nagelsmann

The 2014 World Cup winner, in his commentary for the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, asserts that Germany has been lagging behind the global elite for a decade due to its failure to adapt to modern football trends.

“We’ve been ten years behind because we haven’t adapted to current developments. Instead, we consistently go our own way, most recently with the return to man-marking in the Bundesliga. If we continue this way, we will keep failing. Germany is taking a different path than the rest of the world and isn’t adapting,” Lahm wrote.

He also criticized the frequent changes in playing systems and player positions, which he believes was a long-standing weakness of former national team coach Julian Nagelsmann. “For me, clarity and order are crucial,” he emphasized.

According to DPA, Lahm also highlighted the decline in coaching quality in Germany. He believes the country lacks former top footballers who systematically prepare for coaching careers. He cited Didier Deschamps, Carlo Ancelotti, Mikel Arteta, Pep Guardiola, and Xabi Alonso as examples of elite coaches.

He also criticized the German Football Association (DFB), which he believes lacks clear leadership, and faulted domestic clubs for too often signing average foreign players at the expense of homegrown talent.