After leaving Adidas, “Mannschaft” criticized for lack of “patriotism”

The suspension of the equipment manufacturer Adidas as a partner of the German football team in favor of American Nike is causing unrest in the country, even in the ranks of the government where a lack of “patriotism” is lamented.

The national football association (DFB) caused a real earthquake by revealing a partnership with the American giant Nike for the period 2027-2034, ending more than 70 years of loyalty to the Bavarian company Adidas.
The announcement comes less than three months before the start of men’s Euro 2024 on German soil (June 14-July 14).

The national team plays with the three stripes, it was as clear as the ball is round and a match lasts 90 minutes, says Markus Söder

“I can hardly imagine the German jersey without the three stripes” of the German brand Adidas, responded the Minister of Economy and Vice-Chancellor Robert Habeck.
“Adidas and black-red-gold”, the colors of the German flag, are “inseparable”, as “part of the German identity”, added the elected environmentalist. “I would have appreciated a little more local patriotism,” he criticized.

“Wrong,” declared Health Minister Karl Lauterbach, regarding the choice of an American company to equip the Mannschaft, lamenting that “trade is destroying a part of the homeland and a tradition”.
Asked after an EU summit in Brussels, Chancellor Olaf Scholz preferred to point out: “The DFB has made up its mind, it didn’t ask for my opinion.”
“The important thing is that goals are scored,” he added.

“The national team that plays with the three stripes, it was as clear as the ball is round and that a match lasts 90 minutes”, was also moved Markus Söder, head of government in Bavaria, the southern region of Germany and the birthplace of Adidas.

Beyond political circles, disapproval is widespread in the country. “It’s a question of money again,” criticizes the influential magazine Der Spiegel, while unconfirmed information from the financial newspaper Handelsblatt indicates a contract worth 100 million euros per year.
According to the popular newspaper Bild, Adidas boss Bjørn Gulden had proposed an improved last-minute offer, between 60 and 65 million per year.

This is an “insult” for the Herzogenaurach group a little more than a week after the presentation of the collection of jerseys for the Euros, including one with a gradient of pink and purple. which had caused a sensation in the country, also emphasizes daily Süddeutsche Zeitung.

It is in the Bavarian city where the equipment manufacturer was born after the second war and where it still has its headquarters that Mannschaft will set up its base camp during the upcoming European Championship. Adi Dassler, founder of the group, personally turned on the crampons of German striker Fritz Walter before the winning final of the 1954 World Cup, which sealed the link between Adidas and the selection.

“Unbelievable, the national team belongs to Adidas, it is incomprehensible that we can choose an American giant” instead, reacted to AFP Moritz Steinmann, 25, student and football fan in Frankfurt.
There are countless comments from inconsolable or angry fans on social networks.

The DFB had already anticipated the negative reactions. “We understand every feeling,” she said on X a few hours after the contract was announced. The break with Adidas “doesn’t leave us cold”.
But Nike presented “by far the best financial offer”, justified the association, which will allow it to fulfill all its obligations, including in favor of the sustainable development of women’s football and the promotion of amateur sports.

Given the DFB’s financial problems, it is “a good deal that comes at the right time”, Christoph Breuer, of the Institute of Sports Economics and Sports Management in Cologne, told the AFP sports information subsidiary SID.
“Tradition doesn’t pay the bills,” summed up Bild.

In a Germany in full economic decline, which doubts its attractiveness, the expulsion of Adidas further darkens the picture, after another symbol of German industry bit the dust: the car manufacturer Volkswagen was thrown out as a partner in Euro-2024 by its young Chinese rival. BID.