Bernhard Peters, former adviser to the German Football Association (DFB), sees a great need for action in the training of talents after the early elimination of the German men's national football team at the World Cup in Qatar.
"The interaction between the DFB, the German Football League and the licensed clubs is not sufficiently goal-oriented.
Especially in the transitional period, between the ages of 17 and 21, the player's potential must be individualized, well coordinated and worked intensively on in order to get the last 20 percent out of it," said the 62-year-old in an interview with the sports magazine "Sports Illustrated".
Peters, several times world champion with the hockey selection, referred to deficits in several areas.
In a league with seven million members, "mathematically, there should be more top players coming out at the peak of talent development."
The current member of the commission for competitive sports development in the German Olympic Sports Confederation recalled the successes of Matthias Sammer as DFB sports director: "We don't need a manager with experience in scouting or with consultants.
It's only possible in an honest connection with the license clubs," said Peters, referring to the responsibility of the clubs: "That's where the players are trained, not in the few days that national coach Hansi Flick has the players with him."