By Oliver Trust
BERLIN, March 18 (Xinhua) -- Former US national coach Juergen Klinsmann has praised the efforts of the Premier League when it comes to educating young footballers.
The former Bayern Munich and Tottenham Hotspurs striker called the national league in England an example to follow for struggling German football after an early exit at the 2018 World Cup, demotion in the newly formed Nations League and the elimination of all three German Champions League participants in the last-16 round.
English clubs and the national team provide what Germany lacks the former German national coach and US residence commented: "speed."
Watching games of the Premier League and the Bundesliga show a significant difference. "I regularly follow games of both leagues and must admit the speed teams in England perform with seems much higher," the 108 times capped forward emphasized.
Regarding England's education approach, Klinsmann said: "They modernized their system with enormous determination. Clubs are increasing competitions for youth-teams, and the number of competitions youngsters can gain experience with."
TV-pundit Klinsmann said: "that is the best strategy to improve and develop."
The success of English clubs such as Tottenham (against Borussia Dortmund), Manchester City (Schalke 04) and Liverpool FC (Bayern) proved a gap has developed between English and German club football.
It is time to think about a "holistic type of education" that addresses the needs of young footballers in professional football regarding "sleeping patterns, nutrition, advanced training for all parts of life."
It is not enough to only consider the youngsters football related skills. "In Germany, we neglect looking at the young footballers as developing young people and consider the entire picture."
He demanded a substantial change for German football and warned the German association and national coach Joachim Loew not to lose the support of the fans.
Klinsmann spoke about "a state of red alert" as fans are losing faith in Loew and the association. The situation around the national team trying to initiate a re-launch while having to face the qualification round for the 2020 European Championships comes near "explosive."
A certain amount of "arrogance" developed after having won the 2014 World Championship. "We sat back and enjoyed being the best. But that is nothing that helps you face future challenges."
Germany has paid the price for winning the World Cup, he stressed.
The latest defeats must be "a motivation to improve future efforts. We must ask, how can we get to where others already are?" The 1990-World Champion said that the Netherlands, Spain, and France went through similar setbacks.
A lot of work is lying ahead of German football and Loew, Klinsmann commented, adding he regards Marco Reus (Borussia Dortmund), Joshua Kimmich (Bayern) and Antonio Ruediger (Chelsea) as the team's future leaders next to Manuel Neuer (Bayern) and Toni Kroos (Real Madrid). "It is on him and his team to turn around things and deliver satisfying results and convincing games."
Klinsmann demanded full support for Loew and said: "he deserves to get the chance to get things back into place after the disappointing World Cup."
He said Loew should reconsider his decision to no longer select the Bayern Munich trio Mats Hummels, Jerome Boateng and Thomas Mueller. He recommended staying in close contact "with them as they still stand for high quality."
