Helmut Sandrock has had an eventful year and is now looking ahead to 2014. In an interview with DFB.de reporter Steffen Lüdeke, the DFB’s General Secretary discusses the World Cup and planning the team’s route to Brazil.
DFB.de: Mr Sandrock, Christmas is coming and the year is drawing to a close. How would you rate this year as DFB General Secretary? Which events have stood out for you in 2013?
Helmut Sandrock: In sporting terms, the women’s and U-17 girls’ European Championship titles were particular highlights. Apart from that, the DFB Congress in Nuremberg in October was a special occasion. It was the first ordinary Congress I was required to plan, organise and host with my colleagues since being elected General Secretary. For me, another high point was the World Cup group draw in Costa do Sauipe. Those few days in Brazil increased the anticipation for the 2014 World Cup once again. Everyone now knows where they’re playing, which teams they’ll be facing and the journeys they’ll have to make during both the group and knockout stages of the tournament. Logistically, the group draw marked the start of the World Cup.
DFB.de: The team’s schedule between now and the World Cup has now been confirmed, but an opponent is still being sought for the friendly in Mainz. Is there anything new to report about that?
Sandrock: We will play our match in Mönchengladbach on 1 June against Cameroon, but we are still in discussions about the game in Mainz on 6 June. We’re very much looking forward to both matches. Joachim Löw and the team will be able to make the best possible preparations for the World Cup before travelling to Brazil.
DFB.de: The team will be based in Campo Bahia, not far from Porto Seguro. Incorrect reports circulated in the media that the DFB would be building its own facilities.
Sandrock: Unfortunately, yes, and it’s shocking that such a thing would be expected of us. The facts are completely different. Oliver Bierhoff has already said it, but I’ll reiterate it once more: Campo Bahia was not built by us, for us or in accordance with our requirements. Of course the DFB would not build its own team base. The simple truth is that Campo Bahia is an official team base-camp contracted by FIFA for national football associations participating in the World Cup, and we decided to rent the facilities for the tournament.
DFB.de: Others have criticised the fact that the DFB did not opt for a pre-existing hotel.
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Helmut Sandrock has had an eventful year and is now looking ahead to 2014. In an interview with DFB.de reporter Steffen Lüdeke, the DFB’s General Secretary discusses the World Cup and planning the team’s route to Brazil.
DFB.de: Mr Sandrock, Christmas is coming and the year is drawing to a close. How would you rate this year as DFB General Secretary? Which events have stood out for you in 2013?
Helmut Sandrock: In sporting terms, the women’s and U-17 girls’ European Championship titles were particular highlights. Apart from that, the DFB Congress in Nuremberg in October was a special occasion. It was the first ordinary Congress I was required to plan, organise and host with my colleagues since being elected General Secretary. For me, another high point was the World Cup group draw in Costa do Sauipe. Those few days in Brazil increased the anticipation for the 2014 World Cup once again. Everyone now knows where they’re playing, which teams they’ll be facing and the journeys they’ll have to make during both the group and knockout stages of the tournament. Logistically, the group draw marked the start of the World Cup.
DFB.de: The team’s schedule between now and the World Cup has now been confirmed, but an opponent is still being sought for the friendly in Mainz. Is there anything new to report about that?
Sandrock: We will play our match in Mönchengladbach on 1 June against Cameroon, but we are still in discussions about the game in Mainz on 6 June. We’re very much looking forward to both matches. Joachim Löw and the team will be able to make the best possible preparations for the World Cup before travelling to Brazil.
DFB.de: The team will be based in Campo Bahia, not far from Porto Seguro. Incorrect reports circulated in the media that the DFB would be building its own facilities.
Sandrock: Unfortunately, yes, and it’s shocking that such a thing would be expected of us. The facts are completely different. Oliver Bierhoff has already said it, but I’ll reiterate it once more: Campo Bahia was not built by us, for us or in accordance with our requirements. Of course the DFB would not build its own team base. The simple truth is that Campo Bahia is an official team base-camp contracted by FIFA for national football associations participating in the World Cup, and we decided to rent the facilities for the tournament.
DFB.de: Others have criticised the fact that the DFB did not opt for a pre-existing hotel.
Sandrock: Anyone judging us on that basis should first take a look at all the facts.
DFB.de: So to clear things up, please explain step by step how the search for a team base works.
Sandrock: We took decisions at three different points in time: before the Confederations Cup, after the Confederations Cup and after the group draw. The search for a base camp always begins when FIFA compiles a catalogue of hotels from which the various national football associations can select a possible team base. We did the same thing for the World Cup in Germany in 2006, offering the teams a selection of 120 hotels. At the start of the process, there was a choice of only 50 hotels in Brazil, a country that is 24 times bigger than Germany.
DFB.de: And were there no hotels within those 50 that would have met the DFB’s requirements?
Sandrock: Not quite. In August 2012 we had already selected one of the 50 hotels, situated in Itu near Sao Paolo. This hotel corresponded exactly to our requirements, so we contacted FIFA to reserve it for us at a very early stage.
DFB.de: You referred to the three points in time at which the decision was considered. What changed after the Confederations Cup?
Sandrock: We got to know the country and its conditions better. During that trip, Joachim Löw travelled from the relatively moderate climate in Sao Paolo to a match in the tropical climes of Fortaleza, and realised how drastic the differences in climate really are. This experience and the travel distances required led us to think more intensively about what we would do if we were drawn to play matches in the tropical north of the country.
DFB.de: So did this force you to look for a team base in the north?
Sandrock: Yes. It’s worth knowing at this point that half of the 50 hotels recommended by FIFA were in the region of Sao Paolo, with another significant proportion located near Rio de Janeiro. There was not much choice in northern Brazil. We identified the area around the airport at Porto Seguro as an ideal location and started discussions with the Hirmer Group, who explained their building project to us in detail and realised that it could be an excellent option for us. As a result, we put Hirmer in contact with FIFA so that Campo Bahia could be added to their official accommodation brochure.
DFB.de: How unusual is it for hotels to added to the FIFA catalogue at a later date?
Sandrock: It’s a standard procedure. It was a similar story at the 2006 World Cup in Germany, and Velmore Grande, our team base in South Africa, was no different either. The approach taken in Brazil was not a one-off occurrence, as the numbers show: the brochure has been expanded to include 80 hotels since it was first published, so Campo Bahia is one of 30 sites that were added at a later date. That’s because several other national football associations wanted to open up further options for dealing with Brazil’s logistical challenges, not just the DFB.
DFB.de: Was the final decision to stay at Campo Bahia only made after the group draw on 6 December?
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Sandrock: That was the third crucial decision-making point. Once it became clear that we would be playing all three group matches in northern Brazil, we confirmed our decision to stay at Campo Bahia and returned our option on the hotel in Itu to FIFA. That benefited the Russians, who will now be staying there instead. Our accommodation in Porto Seguro is not yet complete, but we have absolutely no doubt that it will be ready for us in time. Incidentally, it isn’t the most expensive accommodation in the catalogue, either.
DFB.de: The training pitch still has to be built too; the site is still sand dunes at the moment.
Sandrock: The training pitch will be built under FIFA’s supervision. Again, I must say that we are absolutely convinced everything will be ready for us by the World Cup in all respects. Some of the stadiums are not yet complete, along with some team bases and training pitches. There will still be building work going on all over Brazil until March, but that’s completely normal – we had a similar experience in South Africa, and even in Germany. At the 2005 Confederations Cup, the stadium in Frankfurt was only inspected and approved the evening before the first match again st Australia. I was even there at night during that time. What I mean is, we’ve got to be patient. The Brazilians haven’t yet given us the slightest reason to doubt them.
DFB.de: There has also been some criticism that a training pitch is being built especially for the DFB.
Sandrock: That was also the case in Gdansk for the 2012 European Championship, and that proved to be extremely useful in hindsight because a youth team in Gdansk have used the pitch since the tournament. The DFB is always mindful of sustainability in all of these projects, and the same is true in 2014. And nobody can tell me that there isn’t demand for first-class football pitches in a footballing nation like Brazil.
