‘A clear statement would have been appropriate’ – Matthias Sammer attacks DFB over Nick Woltemade situation | OneFootball

Speaking in an exclusive interview with Kicker, Matthias Sammer has attacked the DFB over their handling of the Nick Woltemade situation. The day prior to Germany’s defeat against England in the UEFA European U21 Championship final, Woltemade was selected to partake in the press conference, and had to respond to questions linking the Stuttgart forward with Bayern Munich.

“This topic was a blow, wow,” Sammer told Kicker. “I can’t respond to it with a gentle approach. In this situation, a clear statement would have been appropriate.”

When asked about how the DFB could have responded, Sammer added: “Why didn’t a DFB official immediately stop this when the discussion arose? I would have like to see someone from the association responsible for this communicate the message both internally and externally. We can discuss the Woltemade issue after the tournament, but not before the final.”

DFB Sports Director Andreas Rettig also called Bayern Munich’s timing of their public pursuit of Woltemade as ‘suboptimal’ – when questioned as to who is to blame, Sammer replied: “I wouldn’t have argued against Bayern, but for the German Football Association, saying: ‘Anything that jeopardises winning the title has no place before this final.’ And I might have threatened consequences if it didn’t stop. It had to be made clear. I wouldn’t have put Woltemade in the press conference before the final. All of this has to be said by a leader.”

Could Nick Woltemade stay at Stuttgart?

Stuttgart chairman Alexander Wehrle remains adamant that Woltemade will remain at the Swabian club this summer. VfB have already rejected an approach from Bayern Munich for the 23-year-old attacker worth a reported €45m including bonuses, and unless the Rekordmeister meet Stuttgart’s €80m valuation of their player, it’s unlikely that Woltemade will be switching clubs.

GGFN | Daniel Pinder