Bierhoff: English game will eat its young

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Germany team manager Oliver Bierhoff says the success of the Premier League isn't helping the England team if young English players are being overlooked in favour of expensive imports. 

"On the one side the English league is the best in the world, but in the English clubs there are a lot of foreign players,” said Bierhoff in a press conference before the Germany vs England friendly in Berlin. “Two English clubs reached the Champions League final, but the English players did not play as many games as German players when you count it up."

Although Manchester United and Chelsea fielded 10 English players in their starting line-ups for May's Moscow showpiece, the figures show that the total of 47 Englishmen in this year's Champions League squads is less than the 54 Germans and dwarfed by the 92 Brazilians. There are also more players from Spain (71), France (67), Italy (63) and Portugal (57).

"We have seen statistics that the English players had less minutes in the Champions League than German players," continued Bierhoff, who scored both goals in the Euro 96 final and now handles most of the press duties while Joachim Low concentrates on coaching. "This shows that English clubs should promote their own players. English football should grow their own players and give them support.”

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Gary Parkinson

Gary Parkinson is a freelance writer, editor, trainer, muso, singer, actor and coach. He spent 14 years at FourFourTwo as the Global Digital Editor and continues to regularly contribute to the magazine and website, including major features on Euro 96, Subbuteo, Robert Maxwell and the inside story of Liverpool's 1990 title win. He is also a Bolton Wanderers fan.