Ex‑coach Slomka warns Jürgen Klopp: Bundesliga is a selling league

In the column interview, former coach Mirko Slomka criticizes the training of Bundesliga clubs and warns the new national team coach Jürgen Klopp of a dilemma, because the clubs provide him with only a tiny talent pool. As an example, he cites Bayer Leverkusen, the 2024 champions, where the two only German players together had just 44 minutes of playing time.

Slomka emphasizes, with emphasis on “dilemma,” that even the best coach depends on the players that German football makes available to him, and adds that the selection is getting ever smaller.

Sale league and economic strategy

He explains that the Bundesliga has become a sale league, because many clubs bring in young talents from abroad to sell them profitably after successful development, which in his view exacerbates the problems for Klopp.

Decline of the German playing time volume

The numbers demonstrate the decline: In the season before the 1990 World Cup triumph, German professionals were used for 511,759 minutes, whereas in the last season only 235,689 minutes were recorded – less than half of the former talent pool.

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He supports his thesis with numbers and suggests that perhaps German football is not too bad, too expensive, or too demanding, but that professional football is increasingly unwilling to take the necessary risk. He calls for more trust, playing minutes, and responsibility for players aged 18 to 22.

The DFB squad also includes players such as Julian Draxler, who has been active for Al‑Ahli SC since 2022, showing that even SC clubs are affected by the decline of the domestic talent pool.

The former coach's criticism shines a light on structural problems in German football, which could affect not only the selection for the national team but also the long‑term competitiveness of Bundesliga clubs.