The Germany general manager put forward the oft-debated theory that the English national team will be increasingly inhibited as a result of the continued influx of foreign stars in the Premier League, which is holding back local talent.
“I think the English league is the best league in the world, but the big clubs use a lot of foreign players,” said Bierfhoof.
“You can see English clubs are well represented in the Champions League. But if you look at the statistics then at the end of the season the English players played fewer games in the competition than the German ones.
“This shows English football should also think about growing its own talent and giving the players support.”
Bierhoff went on to suggest that England’s failure to qualify for the last European Championships could end up working in their favour.
“I wouldn’t say you could predict England will always have problems in future - because Spain had a similar history before they went into Euro 2008,” he added.
“The anger of not getting to the Euros means England want to do well in the World Cup - and with such an experienced coach in Fabio Capello, they will have a good team.
“Capello has a winning mentality. Already you can see he’s doing very well and transforming his players.”
Bierhoff ended by playfully goading the English for being so fond of harping back to the 5-1 demolition job they did on Germany in Munich during an epic World Cup 2002 qualifier.
“Is that the only video they have?” he smiled. “I was sitting on the bench that night, and it was a pretty bad experience for everyone. But, of course, we have a lot of other matches to remember - especially ones that ended in penalty kicks.”
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