The German Football Association has appointed Andreas Rettig as its new sporting director responsible for all its national teams and youth academy. The federation said on Friday that Rettig was taking over with immediate effect. It did not say how the appointment would affect Rudi Völler’s position as sporting director of the men’s national team, but Rettig was due to hold a press conference later on Friday.

Rettig effectively takes over the position previously held by Oliver Bierhoff, who agreed to step down as executive director of Germany’s national teams and academy following the men’s team’s World Cup first-round exit last year. Völler took over the team on February 1 and acted as interim coach last Tuesday as Germany beat France 2-1 in a friendly. The federation fired Hansi Flick as coach on Sunday after a 4-1 loss to Japan the day before.

Rettigová previously held managerial roles at Bayer Leverkusen, Freiburg, Cologne, Augsburg and St. Pauli. From 2013 to 2015, he was the executive director of the German Football League and was also a member of the board of the federation.

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