Shortly before the European Championships in Georgia and Romania (21 June to 8 July), the German Football Association has extended the expiring contracts of U-21 national team coach Antonio Di Salvo and assistant coach Hermann Gerland up to and including July 2025. That gives us a tailwind ahead of a major tournament," said DFB sporting director Rudi Völler this Friday. In his 44 months in office so far, Di Salvo (20) has "found his own style as head coach, developed the team and every single player during this time," praised Joti Chatzialexiou, sporting director of national teams.
Former professional Di Salvo has been with the DFB since 2013, from 2016 to 2021 he acted as assistant to U-21 coach Stefan Kuntz, winning the European Championship twice during this time. In the summer of 2021, Salvo succeeded the 1996 European champions. "I would like to thank everyone involved for the great trust they have placed in me to extend my contract before the U-21 EURO. This is both a mandate and an incentive to approach this tournament meticulously and fully motivated so that we can play successfully," explained the Paderborn native.
The fact that the DFB has succeeded in extending the contract with the 69-year-old Gerland is a "great sign," said Chatzialexiou. The long-time assistant coach of record champions Bayern Munich has been at Di Salvo's side since his promotion.
From Saturday, the German team will prepare for the European Championship finals in Prato in South Tyrol. The DFB team will play their first match against Israel on 22 June (18:00 CET on Sat.1) in Kutaisi. The other preliminary round matches in Group C against the Czech Republic (25 June) and England (28th) will take place in Batumi, where the team will also set up its headquarters.